Bicycle Mechanics - My Brakes Sound Like Truck Brakes

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mrog71
08-22-04, 08:17 PM
I recently replaced my brake pads because my old ones were old and hard, but now when I apply any significant pressure to slow down, I sound like an 18 wheeler with his brakes locked up! Any suggestions on getting rid of the noise?
Thanks
Matt

Dusk
08-22-04, 08:53 PM
Okay just some general brake stuff. You don’t tell us what kind of bike or brakes you have. Some pads just have to wear in to lose the sound problem. You do need to make sure that the pad does not touch the rim all at once. One old trick is to put a wire tie on the back end of the pad and set the pad to touch the rim with the front edge of the pad and at the wire tie. That will give your pads an angle and that angle will keep the 18 wheeler sound from happening because the pad doesn’t grab the whole rim at once. Instead it is a progressive pressure that builds as you add pressure. You might also need to clean the rims. Aluminum can hold a lot of dirt and rubber and you could have build up of rubber and gunk that is adding to the sound.

Cheers
mrog71
08-22-04, 10:59 PM
Okay just some general brake stuff. You don’t tell us what kind of bike or brakes you have. Some pads just have to wear in to lose the sound problem. You do need to make sure that the pad does not touch the rim all at once. One old trick is to put a wire tie on the back end of the pad and set the pad to touch the rim with the front edge of the pad and at the wire tie. That will give your pads an angle and that angle will keep the 18 wheeler sound from happening because the pad doesn’t grab the whole rim at once. Instead it is a progressive pressure that builds as you add pressure. You might also need to clean the rims. Aluminum can hold a lot of dirt and rubber and you could have build up of rubber and gunk that is adding to the sound.

Cheers

Thanks for the info. The bike is an early-80s vintage Peugeot with center-pull brakes. I'm not sure what kind of pads they are (threw away the box), but they are thin and the front of the pad angles in a little so that it contacts the rim before the rest of the pad, so I should be getting the effect that you're talking about with the wire-tie technique.