Mountain Bike Squeaks
My squeaky bike brakes?
Yeah, the brakes on my mountain bike are really squeaky and it gets annoying when I’m riding, stop to say hi to someone and there is this loud annoying squeak!!!!!Also, when I pull my front brake, it kinda like shakes. Do I just need to grease something? I have WD-40, I just don’t know where to put it. How do I make the squeaking stop!?
By the way, I just got new brake pads on the back last 2 weeks ago.
what the heck are cantilever caliper!? also, what does toeing mean? sorry, some of your answers don’t help because of my undeveloped vocabulary for biking words…
WD-40 – Don’t use it on your brake pads, unless you don’t really want working brakes. Get proper bike lube, and ensure that all of the pivot points on your brake calipers or cantilevers are well lubricated. Also ensure that your brake cables (inside the cable housing) are properly lubed.
With regards to the squeaking, there are a couple of things you can try.
1. File or sand down your pads to remove any glazing. Glazed brake pads are often quite hard, and will often cause the unwanted squealing. If this fails, you can buy new brake pads. The brake manufacturer’s pads are ideal, but there are many aftermarket manufacturers that produce great brake pads (Aztec, Kool Stop, Ritchey, to name a few).
2. Toe in your brake pads. Many brakes have play in the cantilever or caliper arms such that when you apply the brakes, the play in the arms and the rotation of the wheel will bring pull the pads flat and into full contact with the rim. 99% of the time, this will eliminate the squeal.
Break a Bike: Squeaks
