What is the proper way of installing the front wheel with a disc brake back on the bike and not having any rubbing or squeak sound afterwards? Reason for asking is that I have three mountain bikes that has disc brakes which rub or squeaks each time I remove them for transportation and install them back on. All three of the bikes does the same thing which tells me this problem is not bike specific (but possibly the person who is installing the wheel and that"s me).

I tried adjusting the quick release nut the best I can where I can see the disc is closer to the fix pad and there is no deflection of the disc when I apply the brakes. Problem is that after about 5 miles or so, they will usually make rubbing or squealing noise which gets irritating. So far I tried anywhere from a loose to tight tension on the quick release but with no luck. I also flip the bike upside down when I install the wheel assuring the wheels are straight and all the way in the forks. These pad are not worn because the bikes are less than a year old and they are broken in with over 300 miles each. Is there something I am doing wrong? Please do not suggest not removing the wheels because there are certain place I park my cars after my ride where it is not safe to put it on the trunk rack or a hitch mount. For that reason is why I remove the wheel and leave the bike in the car. All I can say is thank God my road bike don't have disc brakes.

FYI, the bikes are Novara Float, Novara Piedra and Specialized Hardrock disc.

That is not the proper way of seating a wheel.

You need to have the bike upright, QR open, wheel in seated, then close the QR. The brakes also must be adjusted properly to begin with, WITH the wheels set properly in the dropouts. There should be no creeping of the adjustment with dropouts that aren't ****ed up, and with QR's that don't suck.

And going along with what Operator said, make sure that you don't squeeze the brake levers even the tiniest amount. That will completely throw disc pads out of alignment.

Also, a word to the wise. It may not be orthodox, or a great way to fix the problem, but when I worked as a soigneur for my uncle, I assembled bikes before races as well. At mountain races, he always told me to have a nickel handy for his wife's bike in case her pads were out of alignment. Wedge the nickel in between the pads to spread them apart.

if they are hydro discs then you can shove a screw driver or other tool and push the pads back in the caliper. for mechanical discs you need to use the same qr clamping pressure each time or else the alignment will change

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to have the LBS check the alignment of my brakes and condition of my drop out. Then I will try tightening the QR with the bike upright with some consistency of pressure. Hopefully that will work.

I prefer a clean plastic tire lever over nickels and screwdrivers. The odds of damaging your pads with a metal tool is far greater. but i suppose you work with what you got.

Similar question came up on another forum and it was suggested that the fork dropouts might not be entirely parallel and that a device that does the tightening on reinstallation of the front wheel more consistently, like this one https://www.1upusa.com/quicknuts.html can help if you absolutely need to constantly remove/reinstall your wheel.