Thisguy

So yesterday I was ridding down a steep hill on my road bike, and was coming up to an intersection. The last 100 yards of the hill seemed steeper so I really clamped down on my brakes and rode them so I would be able to stop at an upcoming stop sign. When I did, I suddenly heard a weird "clunking" sound, but felt no change in the ride. I stopped and inspected the brake, and rim, and couldn't figure out what it was. I proceeded down the hill for another quarter of a mile or so, and whenever I i hit the brake I would hear that clunking sound every half second to a whole second. So I stopped and rechecked my bike, but this time I removed the wheel. I found a rock lodged into the brake pad, so I removed it and wiped down the pads. After this I still heard the noise, however, it was not as loud nor as often.

After reading up on possible causes for this noise, I checked the tightness of the caliper and headset (per Shelton Brown's site) and they both seem securely fastened. I didn't crank down on the bolts just put enough pressure to know they were fastened correctly. Do you guys have any idea what my problem maybe? Other than the noise the brake seems to be working normally. Do you think it is safe to ride still? My bike is around 3 years old and have roughly 1k miles on it. I do use my brakes a lot since I live in very hilly area, and not very comfortable above 30 mph, but never really rode them like I had to yesterday. Thanks for any help.

trailangel

I don't know what the problem is.
But,
when was the last time you cleaned your rims????

Thisguy

About 2 weeks ago when I last washed and oiled it.