avid bb7 problem
 

when i hold the front caliper lever so that the wheel can't move, and rock back and forth on my bike, it move slightly as i rock. like something is loose. i checked the rotor bolts, and the bolts that mount the caliper onto the frame. i'm not familiar with these brakes, can anyone offer some advice?

Loose headset?

the harder i ipress down on the lever, the less it does it.

Can you describe what you mean by "Something feels loose" more specifically?

I know when I rock my bike back and forth, it moves slightly, I assumed this was normal..

Could it be your brake pads shifting a little? I've hit the little tabs on my pads before when putting the front wheel back on and wiggled the pads loose.

i think it might be, but i have no idea how to fix that

Could one of the adjustments be off? Either the inboard or outboard pads could be further from the rotor, so you can make the wheel lockup with one in full contact, but it takes more pressure to make the other contact it?


Also could play in your hub or fork be making it look like play in the brakes?

So instead of starting another BB7 thread I figured I ought to ask this here.

How in the **** do I get these to stop squealing? I have tried everything I have read. Sanded pads and rotors, cleaned with iso alcohol, re aligned to many times to remember. Is it down to spending money now?

New pad? I have read that organics are quieter but don't have the stopping power. I think I recall somebody saying that they would never run non sintered pads, scrub maybe? I really want to keep the stopping power and I can deal with a little noise but the way it squeals now is ridiculous.

Sorry you are having trouble with the set-up.

I do not have too much experience with discs, but I have noticed that it takes a few rides to get the pads to bed in properly. Maybe the squealing will go away in a bit if you don't go crazy first.

However, I suspect that the problem of them feeling loose and the problem of them squealing are related.

Here would be my order of attack:

-make sure the headset has no slop in it. It might cause or contribute to both problems.
-make sure the disc tabs are properly alligned. Seems like others here have had this problem on even new bikes sometimes. If so, the set up never really goes well. I do not know how to check allignment.
-start over again. Take the entire braking system off and set it up again according to specs. I was too clever for my own good the first time and really could not get them to dial in right. After following the directions to the letter, it was a piece of cake.

Good luck.

jim

@yellowjeep - How long have you had the BB7's? Mind squealed like a banshee at first, after a few rides they bedded in and quieted down and are pretty much silent now.

I have a buddy whose bb7s squeaked for, seriously, a little longer than i'd tolerate. I thought he was a danged fool. Now, in dry conditions, they're fairly close to silent. As for the brother who seems to have something loose: sounds like you have something loose. Haha. Tighten everything down: headset, stem, every bolt associated with the brake itself, tighten the pads. Still a problem? Grab a friend's disc-equipped bike, rock his back n forth. Maybe what seems like a lot of wiggling to you is normal play? Still, i doubt it, so tighten all that stuff down, and let us know what happens.

-rob

Yeah I have had them for a solid month, and to me, they should be bedded in by now, couple of trail rides and a bunch of urban.

Come to think of it, they were quite for a while, but that was only after being loud to begin with.

My buddies squealed to some extent for a couple months, but he doesn't ride everyday. The fact that yours got better, than worse, leads me to believe that you may'vecontaminated the pads.

-rob

I've had a lot of Avid BB/Juicy noise issues over the past 4 years. This may sound stupid, but:

Squeak - I hear a tiny little squeak on them once in a while no matter what. (not loud or often)
Howl - This happens when they either get wet, or if your frame enhances the resonance. I went with a smaller rotor to kill the resonance issue.
Warble - Due to misalignment from either improper setup, sticky piston, or a flexy frame.
Shreek - My Code's let out a Screaming Banshee from Hell noise when breaking them in. Went away though.


What rotors you running Jeep?

to add to the BB7s, I test rode my bike today after working on it, I layed on the brakes hard, then pulled in to the garage and hit them again.
Went to remove the front wheel (replacing rubber) and burnt my hand on the rotor -_-

Serves you right for touching the rotor. That is a no no unless you plan on cleaning it after.

jim

I wasn't intending to touch it, I crossed my arm over to get to the QR, and my wrist hit it.

But yes, It was cleaned.

Rob, can full metallic pads be permanently fubared? I can't think of anything that could have gotten on them and to boot I did sand them down quite a bit. That said I did notice that there were imperfections in the pad material itself. Small areas that look like the metal is missing but to deep to sand out. Hard to describe really.

Chel, I guess its more of a howl as you describe it. Its really only the front though so I don't think that beefcake fork is the issue. I am using roundagons. One other thing. Did your rotor run really really close to the post mounts on the 55?

Does it actually move (wheel turns) or it feels like something is loose? When you lock on the brakes and rock the bike, its usually to test out if anything is loose like quick release, headset, hubs, etc.

Re: 55r - I don't recall.

U wanna try some G3 rotors? If ya like them U can swap me your Round'a'goons.

Yeah that would be awesome, what size are they?

I am not in Lawrence anymore though... not for a while anyway.

Huh?

Fubared?!?? The last time I heard that word used was in the movie Saving Private Ryan.

I know your pain YJ. My BB7s were fine in the dry when they were new years ago, but they started making a loud noise in the rain. I mean embarrassingly loud! Mine was not a howl like yours, it was more like a goose honk... it was so loud it would echo thru the entire valley and other riders miles away would hear me coming! :lol:

I tried changing rotors and pads - same result in the wet. Until I had to ride through a muddy river crossing (thick-ish goo), and it was quiet ever since (even after having to wash the calipers with a hose later). I still don't know the reason why. I never thought I would share this to anyone but... there you go.

.

This might be a bit late, but I just had the same problem from my rear brake. I found that the rotor bolts had worked loose and needed to be tightened and have some more thread locker applied. That's fixed all.

160's (I don't remember what you're running)

When I went (on this bike) from a 160 to a 140 in the rear...my noise issues were gone. I ran Avid G2 185f/160r on the XLT for a looooong time w/o any noises whatsoever.