Originally Posted by
bkaapcke
Dump the Loud Stop pads and get Avid Pro's, aka Quiet Stops. REI has them. bk
One idea I encountered from chatting at the dudes from box dog bikes in san francisco that I did not encounter in this thread (or the reference thread the kind poster linked to earlier): metal-backed brake pads.
Pads (like my particular kool stops at issue here) are one piece of brake material. The force of placing the pad up against the rim could cause the brake material to flex and thus squeal.
Solution: Metal backed brake pads might provide that bit of rigidity needed to get that squeal out of a canti brake (similar to adding rigidity via a brake booster to dissipate vibration, but earlier in the braking sequence).
You can see examples of both here:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakeshoes.html