Fantastic advice about the washing up liquid. My front brake has always squeaked since new. I have tried multiple cleaning with Isopropynol alcohol but the squeaking always comes back. I followed your advice and importantly, carried out the bed in procedure. It's now the quietest it has ever been. Great work. A big thanks from me.
That look of fear people give you when you stop in front of them because they're thinking you're going really fast at them but actually you were slow as a slug it's just your noisy brakes makes a scandal every time.
By far the best vid to fix loud brakes. Using dish washing soap and rubbing my pads together really helped. One more very important thing you forgot to mention is after the rotor and pads are clean you need to bed them together: get your bike up to about 20 mph start braking softly for 3-4 sec than harder for another 2-3 sec to complete stop. Repeat 10-15 times. My brakes are now good as new.
High Carb Rider thanks bro! I watched some other vids and just tried using brake cleaner but they were still loud. I even bought new pads 2 weeks ago and it didnt help. All you hear in my videos are my loud brakes. Your tip with using the dish washing soap did the trick, and this time after I cleaned the rotor and pads I properly bed in my brakes. Thanks again for your helpful video.
+Tommy Huynh Can't agree enough, the bed-together part was C R I T I C A L for me after cleaning. No squeaks !! I Also think the part (in the above video) where the pads are rubbed together is interesting. When I rubbed the pads with detergent I got a mucky paste so was sure not to rub together too hard to prevent grinding. I used a good quality brake cleaner and car shop wipes (which are thicker than paper towels). Thanks so much for the above video HIGH CARB RIDER. The squeak was really deafening before so the process worked well.
+Tommy Huynh So I used the tips in this video (washed pads until I saw the gold flecks and water was clear) and I cleaned my rotors with the disc cleaner until my rag was no longer picking up dirt. When I properly bed my breaks like you said, it still squeals like a banshee on a dry spell. At this point, would it just be worth it to buy new rotors and pads? Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
I watched this, did exactly what he said, it worked like a charm!! My brakes are now quiet, smooth, SILENT!! They were so annoying before I cleaned them, I hated the noise.
Thanks for this! My local shop is probably pulling their hair out trying to help me with this problem but this is something I now do myself that actually works for me. So simple. A clean brake is a quiet brake.
Unbeleavable - I worked several times on my new used shimano XT that squeald like hell, and had applied the break cleaner already. I was desperate and did not think this would do the trick ... So I cleaned the discs with mild abrasive paste and glass cleaner and then scrubbed the hell out of my pads as described, and lo and behold - squeal eliminated !! Thanks so much
This is so 100% effective, I tried washing my brakepads with dish washing liquid. I felt like my bike is brand new. Thanks for sharing this, this is the only channel that solved my issue on squeky brakes on mtb.
After trying several recommended procedures to quiet the squeal I tried the technique presented in this video. I can assure everyone that buy using the soap the results were by far the best of all the other solutions. Brake squeal was virtually eliminated. I scuffed up the both sides of the rotor and performed the long slow drag on the brakes to bed in the pads and the results have been both lasting and satisfying. Thank you!
Hi, love the video and your technique works. Here is a little tip for persistent squealers. After you've cleaned the pads as per your video, dip them face down in Vim and rub together again. Do this 3 times. Then dip a wet cotton cloth in Vim and hold it on your disc while you rotate the wheel.Then clean the disc as normal with domestic cleaning alcohol. This works like a bit like "Squeal Out'"paste and takes the glaze off.. After that you need to do 5 or 6 hard and fast emergency stops. The first 2 or 3 will scream like mad but after that it should go quiet. You need to do this every 150Km here in sunny, dusty, dry, rocky Southern Spain even in winter.
Thank you so much! I have tried every remedy there is and none have worked. On the other hand YOUR remedy solved the problem in less than 20mins for both front and rear! Thanks again!
This is exactly what i was looking for! Thank you mate! Went to my local bicycle store and I got the impression of the old saying " car mechanics try to rip off customers with unnecessary changes" and thats how I felt there. Watching this video I am fairly confident to do the checks my self
Top man, that's exactly what I wanted to achieve when I made this video. Working in a bike shop I see so many people who could repair their bikes themselves that just need a bit of direction. Glad it helped you.
dude this worked so good for me bought a new bike and actually took it back to the shop because of it, they degreased the rotors and not the pads problems persisted and i found this brilliant help thankyou
Good way to cure noisy brakes, clearly shown and well presented :-) . Just one handy little prevention tip to add. Be very careful not to contaminate your brakes when applying a spray lube on your drive train or other components. Cover your brake caliper and disc with a plastic bag to make sure You do not get any over spray on the brake components. You would be surprised how far a cloud of fine aerosol spray can travel especially if there is a bit of a breeze :-)
You Sir are a Legend, worked a treat the 1st time i've heard of the dish soap trick in my 25+ years riding. Worked perfectly although I used the wife's 99% Acetone on the Disc's as this also evaporates completely leaving the residue on the cloth, many thanks.
Very reasonable approach. Lots of videos go like:"If your brakes squealing, THE ONLY thing you can do is to get yourself one of those blow torches and blow the pads!!!" ha ha ha I'd still try with a blow torch as a last resort cause I don't like to throw stuff in the bin if I don't have to, but doing it every time would then worry me, that the organic braking material will fall apart when I need to stop. Nice video, and crib tour ;-p Regards from junkyard ;-)
Outstanding! I just did this and it was simple and effective! Much better solution than blow torches, files, or braking hard with mud on the brakes! (these were the other solutions I found) Thanks!
I had a rear brake sequel on my brand new trek remedy 7 only when stopped at the last bit. Very annoying..removed the pads and there was oil contamination. .I followed your method but used pink solution cleaner instead using a tooth brush to scrub the rotor and pink solution on the pads...and sand papered them together like you showed. It worked!...beautifully silent. Thank you for sharing your method.
Thank you, I had no idea it would be that easy to fix, didn't need to clean rotors but the pads came up a treat and the squeal is completely eliminated.
Thank you so much for the video. After nearly 2 years out of the saddle I'm ready to hit the trails again. I thought I'd bought a bike beyond my mechanical skills and as simple as that I've sorted the problem exactly as you said. Wowzer-trousers!!! I'm pumped now and once again thanks for the confidence inspiring video :-D
+Paul Rangeley Awesome man, I love the positive feedback this video has gotten and helped so many people with such a common problem. See you down the road.
+High Carb Rider to add to this I was gutted the day after as the pads started squeaking again but I've found a solution to add to your cleaning tips. I used a wood chisel sanding stone to remove a layer off the pads. It worked a treat! cleaning sorted my front pads but used the extra sanding tip on my rear pads. think the pads had perished a bit due to being in storage. Enjoy pal and thanks again.
+High Carb Rider I take that back. The squeak is back. time for new pads i reckon :(((
7 ปีที่แล้ว +31
I've been a road biker for 15 years. I finally got a mountain bike (mate gave it to me - Scott 29" something). I cannot believe the amount of fucking around mountain bikes require.
Like any other type of modern bike there's no fucking around if you set everything up properly and keep it well maintained.I service my brakes and change the pads regularly and not when you have to because they're fecked.If you do not spend some time properly aligning your calipers then you'll get uneven wear resulting in poor performance ,same with forks,shock and drivetrain,very rarely do I have any mechanical problems apart from normal wear and tear.
Thank you very much for the helpful instructions High Carb Rider. I have fixed the squeaking of my bike after watching this video! It took me some time to figure out how to put the rear wheel back on properly after the cleaning. :)
Excellent tip. My brakes were making a terrible noise and squiring the caliper with brake cleaner and cleaning the rotor made little difference. Tried this and my brakes are silent. Thank you!
Thanks a lot for sharing the bike maintenance for Brakes, you have saved me money and aggravation, thanks brother for putting this video together bless your cotton sox! regards James
Excellent vid. Like Tommy said made sure sure to do the bedding process. Should fix the problem. BTW. If your using spray oil on your brakes make sure you don't spray it on the discs.
Hello @High Carb Rider, this is just the video i was looking for, it is exactly what my breaks sound like and now they are working excellent. Thank you!
Good guidance. I did end up using some very fine wet and dry paper on the pads as well in the end but this video did get me going in the right direction.
It was easy and worked great. I can't believe my local bike shop couldn't solve the problem, and I was dumb enough to fork over $50 for basically nothing.
Best video I've seen but again it might be worth mentioning to observe the handing of both the pads and springs when reassembling. May seem obvious but some people don't realise they have a correct way to be assembled. I didn't realise the Shimano springs were also handed until recently. Other than that a good video.
This worked a treat! Super easy to do, perfect results. And here I was looking at buying new brake pads and using industrial degreaser without any success.
Good video, worked for me. If the washing liquid doesn't work, and if you dont own a blowtorch, you can put the pads in oven @ 200celcius for about 10minutes to vaporize the oil out of the pads.
Thank you for this video, I have massive problem with this on my Specialized Crosstrail, I’m not advanced when it comes to bike maintenance, I’m going to try this today and see how I go... thank you again 😊
Thanks! Saved me buying new pads. Plenty of meat left on there but squealing like a pig, quite embarassing at the trails. How they get so greasy in the first place baffles me, I always thought I cleaned my bike really well...
Awesome video! Thank You. Worked very well for me. I had done a bleed with new pads on XT brakes. The brakes squealed like a pig even though I had tried to keep all parts free of oil. This fixed the problem in about 5 minutes
If you have pads that are older and are making noises, the process outlined in this video is right one the money. The surface has hardened, some call it glazed, so applied pressure creates a Slip-Stick situation that creates a harmonic vibration or frequency we hear as noise. Bottom line, the hardness must be removed or the pad replace. A good way to do this on small pads is to put a piece of wet and dry sandpaper on a super flat table. Add water to a clean glass, put in a scoop of GWR brake soap powder and then stir well. Pour some of the water on paper surface and then gently push the pad across in straight lines and in small circles. Keep pad flat, keep adding water and keep checking the surface, after you rinse with clear water. Once done, set pads aside and let dry or warm in a oven situation, etc. At this time be sure to clean rotor with solvent, to remove any grease. If they are used, you should block sand to remove any glaze. You will of course need to determine the best way to physically do this so that both sides are de-glazed. Again, you need to use a sanding block idea, wet and dry paper and soapy water with a through rinse afterwards. Now you are ready to finally fix the problem... Perhaps you have seen our aerosol spray for brake noise since most bike guys are familiar with SwissStop pads, we have been a manufacturer and OE supplier for over 30 years. Our Silencer brake conditioning treatment allows a "new" set of pads to burnish at a slower rate of speed, so that the film transfer is "controlled". This process, which also happens at a lower temperature do to Slip-Stick control, creates a softer pad and therefor a quieter final brake pad. www.theSilencer.com Another extremely important part of every brake service is what you put behind the brake pad, they can not be installed dry. We can not forget that the pressure applied to back of pad can easily exceed thousands of pounds of pressure. You will experience noise issues if your pads do not move free of stress, while at the same time provide a coupled resonance conduit for harmonics. How do we do this with out causing a problem? Simply apply a real synthetic solids based boundary lubricant to the assembly... the one we make just for brake assemblies. You can't just use anything, it must be extreme temperature, high pressure, heavy in boundary solids and unable to melt. www.Ceramlub.com This application of our specialized products is the answer to brake noise on any vehicle, weather it has two wheels, four wheels or more. Thanks for questions, we are always happy to share technical information regarding the testing and developing we have been doing for nearly 3 decades. P.S. Please remember that you can use this on older brake pads, you simply need to prepare the pads and rotor before re-assembly with GWR brake products. P.P.S. Ceramlub is the perfect chain and cable lubricant, it won't melt or collect dirt like greases do. When you have over 30% solids the lube acts like a dry film, but with all the benefits of a conventional lubricant.
Just follow the method and worked beatifully well. As mi rotors were not too dirty rubbing them with a cleaner soaked cloth was OK, no need to remove the rotors nor the wheel. Thanks a lot for the video.
Thanks for the vid. I have a Giant hybrid but I only use it as a road bike. It came with disc brakes and I wish I could swap them out for traditional cantilever rim brakes. I didn't have any clue when I bought it.
Perfect. I was using degreaser on the pads and it didn't work well for the older pads. I am looking forward to using the dish soap. My customers are going to really enjoy this:)
Tried all of the above. Still squealed. Did it all again. still squealed. Baked pads. better, but squealing came back after ten minutes. I then put Jif cream scourer on disc and rubbed for a minute with a little water. Didnt rinse it off, went for a rap round the block with heavy braking. Silence! Answer is JIF.
Mine even squark when freewheeling and a quick but dangerous flick on the levers gets rid of it for a few yards at best! Will be happy to be rid of it,using both these tips :)
Thanks alot, worked a treat. Dont worry if initially they still squeak, I found after a few brakes that the squeak went away for good so i think it was just moisture left on the pad
I'm going to try this. I've only ever rubbed my pads with sandpaper to freshen them up but I think this cleaning is important. I think that brake contamination is inevitable however careful you are because when you clean your bike you can get gunge on them and also off the road too.
i had to ride my bike down from our property couple miles almost ALL downhill and that squeaking drove me and my parents (followed behind in car) absolutely mad, im gonna try this tomorrow (provided its not raining outside for me to get my bike) and ill come back and post my results!
Nice! Didn't realize to that hidden level of contamination would cause that problem. Can't wait to get rid of my squeaky breaks. And, might even work on car, who knows, but I will try it too lol
Just watched this great tip and will be doing it tommorrow! But got to add a caveat on using the blowtorch. Do not burn brake cleaner as the fumes are mundo toxic. They can damage your lungs with one inhalation!!!!
I just put on new hope rotors and xt brake pads. Did a bleed both front and rear and the front brake was squealing insanely bad at low speed. No issues with the rear. Sucks because I do lots of flat land tricks on it. So Imma try this.
Have you tried laundry detergent? Your dish washing detergent idea is awesome and made me wonder if laundry detergent would also work. We used to use Tide to clean our epoxy shop floor because it doesn't suds up too much and really lifts the grease off. Cheers.
My previous bike had Tektro brakes and all I did to get rid of squeaking was clean the rotors with denatured alcohol. Now that my current bike has Deore brakes, I no longer experience brake squeaking. But I still clean it occasionally. If it gets to a point where it starts squeaking and cleaning both the rotor and the pads doesn't fix it, I would just buy a new set of pads - it's only $6 for my Deore ($7 in case of your XT). I'm not willing to go through that hassle of removing the pads, washing it, then torching it just to save $6.
thank you...will try it this....someone told me to clean the bike with diesel...well the bike got cleaned....the break became loud and bad...will let you know how it goes
Perfect... I have XT shimano brakes, just loke those. I fallowed your tutorial, cleaned rotor, pulled out the pin, pulled out the pads, cleaned pads, puted them back in puted the wheel back in and VOILA. NO PRESSURE IN BRAKE ... I did not touch the leaver (I am very carefull about that) did nothing more not one move that you didn't do and yet... I lost my brake ... amazing... The pistens do do not even twich when I press the leaver, which I did, cause I wanted to see if I'm still squeeking... Please help =C
As an alternative to the expensive break cleaner you can use break cleaner for cars and trucks. Also acetone works great. You can get this for around $7.00 at home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot.
I just dabbed a bit of valve grinding/lapping compound on the rotor, which is basically like the sand/mud trail trick except less messy and all one grain size. Go out and ride/resurface with even brake pressure. Wipe/Wash off any excess.
Thanks for the video. My squeally brakes were driving me mad. I was sure the caliper or wheel was out of alignment and spent ages trying to adjust them. When in fact all it was, was dirty pads !!! Aaaah Silence again :)
I simply use 100 grit sand paper and turn the wheel to take out the smoothnes on the disc and take out the pads and rub then with the sand paper also and problem solved...
I'm so glad I watched this video I sprayed my bike black and the paint got in the disc breaks the sound was something els but I finally sorted the problem just using washing up liquid ND bleach to herbage paint off lovely jubley
This is not a brake question but you were a big help last time I posted here - After a freewheel is assembled, should it be fairly solid without any movement from side to side? The freewheel on my new bike has about a mil or 2 millimeters of movement side to side (i.e. if you were to push down or lift up on a tooth towards or away from the spokes). I ask because after switching gears, sometimes it makes a knocking noise (pretty loud at times) which I figured out was the freewheel jostling side to side (Trek couldn't seem to figure out where the noise was so they gave me a brand new wheel and still the same issue so I decided to solve the mystery myself). Its made louder because it's a fat tire rim (the vibrations are more noticeable due to the larger cavity). Should I demand Trek fix or replace the freewheel (it's a Shimano) or do freewheels inherently jostle a bit and just not worry about the noise and hope it works itself out? Thanks for any advice/thoughts. The bike is here: www.electrabike.com/sites/default/files/styles/bike_full/public/skus/539996.jpg?itok=Y3exVQIg
So are you saying when the delay in the freewheel engagement is engaged that there is a knocking sound or is the actual freewheel moving from side to side? If its a noise issue then technically no, they are loud and noisy things mainly as they are a replaceable part and the internals are oiled not greased which takes out some of the acoustical resonance etc. However, if you are not happy and the part Trek have supplied is spoiling your enjoyment of your bike, I would push for a replacement part. Trek are a great company who want their customers to be happy and switching a simple part like the freewheel shouldn't be a problem for them. Hope that helps
Thanks for the reply. Yes, when pedaling and only when pedaling, there is sometimes a knocking sound that is produced by the freewheel rocking about 2 millimeters side to side. I'm guessing this slight rocking is normally the case with freewheels but is not noticeable on your average rim width. But when that rocking occurs on my bike with fat tires and rims the sound is amplified. Not sure if another freewheel will help and not sure if there is a way to make it rock less.
Thanks I tried using Muck Off cleaner and they still make a noise. I will go for a ride and see if they bed in, if not the shop can sort it out, that's what I aid them for!
The problem is typically the rotor itself. They all tend to come with black paint on the edges; when you brake the paint melts/flakes off and contaminates your brake pads (I realized this after the pads turned black just after 5 minutes of test riding on sidewalk). Removing the paint from the rotor before installation should decrease brake squeal significantly if not entirely.
Fantastic advice about the washing up liquid. My front brake has always squeaked since new. I have tried multiple cleaning with Isopropynol alcohol but the squeaking always comes back. I followed your advice and importantly, carried out the bed in procedure. It's now the quietest it has ever been. Great work. A big thanks from me.
instablaster...
That look of fear people give you when you stop in front of them because they're thinking you're going really fast at them but actually you were slow as a slug it's just your noisy brakes makes a scandal every time.
yeah that's right I hate that sqwiling
lol
When we had v-brakes on trials bikes with tar on rims it generated so much squeaking people literally jumped aside sometimes XD
I know how it feels
By far the best vid to fix loud brakes. Using dish washing soap and rubbing my pads together really helped. One more very important thing you forgot to mention is after the rotor and pads are clean you need to bed them together: get your bike up to about 20 mph start braking softly for 3-4 sec than harder for another 2-3 sec to complete stop. Repeat 10-15 times. My brakes are now good as new.
Tommy Huynh Good tip man
High Carb Rider thanks bro! I watched some other vids and just tried using brake cleaner but they were still loud. I even bought new pads 2 weeks ago and it didnt help. All you hear in my videos are my loud brakes. Your tip with using the dish washing soap did the trick, and this time after I cleaned the rotor and pads I properly bed in my brakes. Thanks again for your helpful video.
+Tommy Huynh Can't agree enough, the bed-together part was C R I T I C A L for me after cleaning. No squeaks !! I Also think the part (in the above video) where the pads are rubbed together is interesting. When I rubbed the pads with detergent I got a mucky paste so was sure not to rub together too hard to prevent grinding. I used a good quality brake cleaner and car shop wipes (which are thicker than paper towels). Thanks so much for the above video HIGH CARB RIDER. The squeak was really deafening before so the process worked well.
+Tommy Huynh So I used the tips in this video (washed pads until I saw the gold flecks and water was clear) and I cleaned my rotors with the disc cleaner until my rag was no longer picking up dirt. When I properly bed my breaks like you said, it still squeals like a banshee on a dry spell. At this point, would it just be worth it to buy new rotors and pads? Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Tommy Huynh when you bed your new clean brakes are you trying to avoid excessive heat? or does that not matter?
I watched this, did exactly what he said, it worked like a charm!! My brakes are now quiet, smooth, SILENT!! They were so annoying before I cleaned them, I hated the noise.
Thanks for this! My local shop is probably pulling their hair out trying to help me with this problem but this is something I now do myself that actually works for me. So simple. A clean brake is a quiet brake.
Unbeleavable - I worked several times on my new used shimano XT that squeald like hell, and had applied the break cleaner already. I was desperate and did not think this would do the trick ...
So I cleaned the discs with mild abrasive paste and glass cleaner and then scrubbed the hell out of my pads as described, and lo and behold - squeal eliminated !! Thanks so much
Excellent- cured my squeaky, weak brakes! Appreciate you taking the time to put this together!
This is so 100% effective, I tried washing my brakepads with dish washing liquid. I felt like my bike is brand new. Thanks for sharing this, this is the only channel that solved my issue on squeky brakes on mtb.
After trying several recommended procedures to quiet the squeal I tried the technique presented in this video. I can assure everyone that buy using the soap the results were by far the best of all the other solutions. Brake squeal was virtually eliminated. I scuffed up the both sides of the rotor and performed the long slow drag on the brakes to bed in the pads and the results have been both lasting and satisfying. Thank you!
Cleaned roters with isopropyl alcohol, and then the pads with dish soap. Worked like a charm!!!!!freakin awesome video!!
Hi, love the video and your technique works. Here is a little tip for persistent squealers. After you've cleaned the pads as per your video, dip them face down in Vim and rub together again. Do this 3 times. Then dip a wet cotton cloth in Vim and hold it on your disc while you rotate the wheel.Then clean the disc as normal with domestic cleaning alcohol. This works like a bit like "Squeal Out'"paste and takes the glaze off.. After that you need to do 5 or 6 hard and fast emergency stops. The first 2 or 3 will scream like mad but after that it should go quiet. You need to do this every 150Km here in sunny, dusty, dry, rocky Southern Spain even in winter.
Thank you so much! I have tried every remedy there is and none have worked. On the other hand YOUR remedy solved the problem in less than 20mins for both front and rear! Thanks again!
This is exactly what i was looking for! Thank you mate! Went to my local bicycle store and I got the impression of the old saying " car mechanics try to rip off customers with unnecessary changes" and thats how I felt there. Watching this video I am fairly confident to do the checks my self
Top man, that's exactly what I wanted to achieve when I made this video. Working in a bike shop I see so many people who could repair their bikes themselves that just need a bit of direction. Glad it helped you.
dude this worked so good for me bought a new bike and actually took it back to the shop because of it, they degreased the rotors and not the pads problems persisted and i found this brilliant help thankyou
Good way to cure noisy brakes, clearly shown and well presented :-) . Just one handy little prevention tip to add. Be very careful not to contaminate your brakes when applying a spray lube on your drive train or other components. Cover your brake caliper and disc with a plastic bag to make sure You do not get any over spray on the brake components. You would be surprised how far a cloud of fine aerosol spray can travel especially if there is a bit of a breeze :-)
Not to mention keep dirty hands away from rotors and pads while working on your brakes,not the first time this has been the cause of contamination.
Great simple, effective cleaning method. Have used this with every brake service! Thanks for sharing the knowledge!.
You Sir are a Legend, worked a treat the 1st time i've heard of the dish soap trick in my 25+ years riding. Worked perfectly although I used the wife's 99% Acetone on the Disc's as this also evaporates completely leaving the residue on the cloth, many thanks.
A handy tip regarding one of the many alternative treatments that inhibit and remove squeaky brake systems ! Best wishes & Happy Pedalling 🙏
Very reasonable approach. Lots of videos go like:"If your brakes squealing, THE ONLY thing you can do is to get yourself one of those blow torches and blow the pads!!!" ha ha ha
I'd still try with a blow torch as a last resort cause I don't like to throw stuff in the bin if I don't have to, but doing it every time would then worry me, that the organic braking material will fall apart when I need to stop.
Nice video, and crib tour ;-p
Regards from junkyard ;-)
Outstanding! I just did this and it was simple and effective! Much better solution than blow torches, files, or braking hard with mud on the brakes! (these were the other solutions I found) Thanks!
Wow you are a superstar I've just followed your instruction to the letter and no squeal and my brakes significantly sharper. Thank you oh brake guru 👍
I had a rear brake sequel on my brand new trek remedy 7 only when stopped at the last bit. Very annoying..removed the pads and there was oil contamination. .I followed your method but used pink solution cleaner instead using a tooth brush to scrub the rotor and pink solution on the pads...and sand papered them together like you showed.
It worked!...beautifully silent. Thank you for sharing your method.
Thanks for the video! I tried spraying automotive brake cleaner and it didn’t work, tried washing it like your video suggested it worked like a champ!
Thank you, I had no idea it would be that easy to fix, didn't need to clean rotors but the pads came up a treat and the squeal is completely eliminated.
Thank you so much for the video. After nearly 2 years out of the saddle I'm ready to hit the trails again. I thought I'd bought a bike beyond my mechanical skills and as simple as that I've sorted the problem exactly as you said. Wowzer-trousers!!! I'm pumped now and once again thanks for the confidence inspiring video :-D
+Paul Rangeley Awesome man, I love the positive feedback this video has gotten and helped so many people with such a common problem. See you down the road.
+High Carb Rider to add to this I was gutted the day after as the pads started squeaking again but I've found a solution to add to your cleaning tips. I used a wood chisel sanding stone to remove a layer off the pads. It worked a treat! cleaning sorted my front pads but used the extra sanding tip on my rear pads. think the pads had perished a bit due to being in storage. Enjoy pal and thanks again.
+High Carb Rider I take that back. The squeak is back. time for new pads i reckon :(((
I've been a road biker for 15 years. I finally got a mountain bike (mate gave it to me - Scott 29" something). I cannot believe the amount of fucking around mountain bikes require.
Most of that is because mtn bikes get beat to hell.
Like any other type of modern bike there's no fucking around if you set everything up properly and keep it well maintained.I service my brakes and change the pads regularly and not when you have to because they're fecked.If you do not spend some time properly aligning your calipers then you'll get uneven wear resulting in poor performance ,same with forks,shock and drivetrain,very rarely do I have any mechanical problems apart from normal wear and tear.
My stationary never sqeeks, it's like a road bike...... Dirt4Life
Fantastic video. Did exactly what you said and my brakes feel brand new, great stopping power and no screeching whatsoever. Thanks!
very good free advice i had washed my brake pads with washing up liquid for years , great to see an actual bike mechanic do the same
Thank you very much for the helpful instructions High Carb Rider. I have fixed the squeaking of my bike after watching this video! It took me some time to figure out how to put the rear wheel back on properly after the cleaning. :)
Thank you for this. Worked a treat. Highly recommended method to eliminate that annoying disc brake squeal!!
Excellent tip. My brakes were making a terrible noise and squiring the caliper with brake cleaner and cleaning the rotor made little difference. Tried this and my brakes are silent. Thank you!
Thanks a lot for sharing the bike maintenance for Brakes, you have saved me money and aggravation, thanks brother for putting this video together bless your cotton sox! regards James
Excellent vid. Like Tommy said made sure sure to do the bedding process. Should fix the problem. BTW. If your using spray oil on your brakes make sure you don't spray it on the discs.
Hello @High Carb Rider, this is just the video i was looking for, it is exactly what my breaks sound like and now they are working excellent.
Thank you!
Fantastic...I have been cursed by squeaky brakes for a while now and this has stopped that.
Thanks so much for this upload.. Best explanation on the net for cleaning disc brakes on a mountain bicycle
Good guidance. I did end up using some very fine wet and dry paper on the pads as well in the end but this video did get me going in the right direction.
A big thanks from me as well. The way to clean the brake pads really was the key. My brakes are quiet now!
I just did it with my brakes and it worked perfectly. Instead of disc brakes cleaner I used isopropyl alcohol. Thanks a lot!!!
Thank you 'High Carb Rider' this video was exactly what I wanted to know, very helpful and easy to follow directions.
You are a 'Star Man'
It was easy and worked great. I can't believe my local bike shop couldn't solve the problem, and I was dumb enough to fork over $50 for basically nothing.
I used your method today. Worked like a charm! Thanks for the video.
Best video I've seen but again it might be worth mentioning to observe the handing of both the pads and springs when reassembling. May seem obvious but some people don't realise they have a correct way to be assembled. I didn't realise the Shimano springs were also handed until recently. Other than that a good video.
This worked a treat! Super easy to do, perfect results.
And here I was looking at buying new brake pads and using industrial degreaser without any success.
Thank you so much. This has helped my squeaking in my disc breaks go. Big thumbs up!
Good video, worked for me. If the washing liquid doesn't work, and if you dont own a blowtorch, you can put the pads in oven @ 200celcius for about 10minutes to vaporize the oil out of the pads.
The best product ever for cleaning disc rotors and used by the pro's is butter on the front rotor, and Vaseline on the rear rotor. Try it
You sir...are a genius!
y not use oil instead😜
By god he's right - it was a much more exciting ride...
Put some lube on the seat too, makes it slip in easier 😋👍
Very helpful video mate.... let's hope you can't hear an squealing echo around Cannock Chase tonight.
Thank you for this video, I have massive problem with this on my Specialized Crosstrail, I’m not advanced when it comes to bike maintenance, I’m going to try this today and see how I go... thank you again 😊
Thanks! Saved me buying new pads. Plenty of meat left on there but squealing like a pig, quite embarassing at the trails.
How they get so greasy in the first place baffles me, I always thought I cleaned my bike really well...
Thanks very much. I did exactly as you suggested and yes my pads changed colour! Brakes are completely quiet now. Cheers!
Awesome video! Thank You. Worked very well for me. I had done a bleed with new pads on XT brakes. The brakes squealed like a pig even though I had tried to keep all parts free of oil. This fixed the problem in about 5 minutes
If you have pads that are older and are making noises, the process outlined in this video is right one the money. The surface has hardened, some call it glazed, so applied pressure creates a Slip-Stick situation that creates a harmonic vibration or frequency we hear as noise. Bottom line, the hardness must be removed or the pad replace. A good way to do this on small pads is to put a piece of wet and dry sandpaper on a super flat table. Add water to a clean glass, put in a scoop of GWR brake soap powder and then stir well. Pour some of the water on paper surface and then gently push the pad across in straight lines and in small circles. Keep pad flat, keep adding water and keep checking the surface, after you rinse with clear water.
Once done, set pads aside and let dry or warm in a oven situation, etc.
At this time be sure to clean rotor with solvent, to remove any grease. If they are used, you should block sand to remove any glaze. You will of course need to determine the best way to physically do this so that both sides are de-glazed. Again, you need to use a sanding block idea, wet and dry paper and soapy water with a through rinse afterwards.
Now you are ready to finally fix the problem...
Perhaps you have seen our aerosol spray for brake noise since most bike guys are familiar with SwissStop pads, we have been a manufacturer and OE supplier for over 30 years. Our Silencer brake conditioning treatment allows a "new" set of pads to burnish at a slower rate of speed, so that the film transfer is "controlled". This process, which also happens at a lower temperature do to Slip-Stick control, creates a softer pad and therefor a quieter final brake pad.
www.theSilencer.com
Another extremely important part of every brake service is what you put behind the brake pad, they can not be installed dry. We can not forget that the pressure applied to back of pad can easily exceed thousands of pounds of pressure. You will experience noise issues if your pads do not move free of stress, while at the same time provide a coupled resonance conduit for harmonics. How do we do this with out causing a problem? Simply apply a real synthetic solids based boundary lubricant to the assembly... the one we make just for brake assemblies. You can't just use anything, it must be extreme temperature, high pressure, heavy in boundary solids and unable to melt.
www.Ceramlub.com
This application of our specialized products is the answer to brake noise on any vehicle, weather it has two wheels, four wheels or more. Thanks for questions, we are always happy to share technical information regarding the testing and developing we have been doing for nearly 3 decades.
P.S. Please remember that you can use this on older brake pads, you simply need to prepare the pads and rotor before re-assembly with GWR brake products.
P.P.S. Ceramlub is the perfect chain and cable lubricant, it won't melt or collect dirt like greases do. When you have over 30% solids the lube acts like a dry film, but with all the benefits of a conventional lubricant.
Just follow the method and worked beatifully well. As mi rotors were not too dirty rubbing them with a cleaner soaked cloth was OK, no need to remove the rotors nor the wheel. Thanks a lot for the video.
Would never have though of using fairy liquid. I have always used brake disc cleaner, but like you said the squeak will always come back. Top tip man.
Can I do this kind of cleaning without removing the rear wheel on my ebike? Thanks for the great tutorial. Very well done indeed mate!
Bob A providing you can remove the pads from the calliper without having to remove the wheel then yes
Thanks for the vid. I have a Giant hybrid but I only use it as a road bike. It came with disc brakes and I wish I could swap them out for traditional cantilever rim brakes. I didn't have any clue when I bought it.
Finally, squeak-free brakes. Bliss. Thanks for this.
Perfect. I was using degreaser on the pads and it didn't work well for the older pads. I am looking forward to using the dish soap. My customers are going to really enjoy this:)
Thank you, I followed your instructions and my brakes no longer squeaks.
Great video... I'll be trying this asap..because my brakes are squeaking like a good un !
Tried all of the above. Still squealed. Did it all again. still squealed. Baked pads. better, but squealing came back after ten minutes. I then put Jif cream scourer on disc and rubbed for a minute with a little water. Didnt rinse it off, went for a rap round the block with heavy braking. Silence! Answer is JIF.
Ben Ryan nice one, I actually use that too in extreme circumstances. Been meaning to do a vid about it, good to hear you worked it out too.
Mine even squark when freewheeling and a quick but dangerous flick on the levers gets rid of it for a few yards at best! Will be happy to be rid of it,using both these tips :)
D'Andre Brown that’s my next move! They did improve with bedding but the front still likes to make some noise. Thanks :)
Thanks alot, worked a treat. Dont worry if initially they still squeak, I found after a few brakes that the squeak went away for good so i think it was just moisture left on the pad
super like the fix over replace attitude of this dude! you can fix it yah yah yah!
This worked like a charm! Youre my official internethero now
I'm going to try this. I've only ever rubbed my pads with sandpaper to freshen them up but I think this cleaning is important. I think that brake contamination is inevitable however careful you are because when you clean your bike you can get gunge on them and also off the road too.
I followed your advice and everything worked like a dream. Thank you very much.
This worked a treat! All other methods I tried did not work.
pro tip - if yoy dont have the cleaner or spirit 95%, take the metal scrub for stoves and soap and clean it hard - worked for me.
Sweet solution, worked great, pads are golden and stop silently
i had to ride my bike down from our property couple miles almost ALL downhill and that squeaking drove me and my parents (followed behind in car) absolutely mad, im gonna try this tomorrow (provided its not raining outside for me to get my bike) and ill come back and post my results!
Cheers Carb, Specialized Enduro, road use mainly, solved my squeaky brakes, thanks very much
Michael Molloy Enduro? Mainly road use? It's squealing for dirt.
Thanks! it worked. I accidentally sprayed some wd-40 on the disk and this fixed the squeak. The brake is still a little weak though.
My friend was struggling to stop on a ride and couldn't understand why, he had used WD40 to clean the breaks, good job.
Nice! Didn't realize to that hidden level of contamination would cause that problem. Can't wait to get rid of my squeaky breaks. And, might even work on car, who knows, but I will try it too lol
I was skeptical about this but it worked perfectly! Thanks.
Washing the pads seems like a pretty good idea, I've heated and filed them in the past to get pads working again but this seems more sensible.
Nice one. Will try this in the morning as my rear squeaks like a good 'un at the moment. No stopping power either.
Thanks! accidentally got some gt-85 on the discs and brakes are making the worst noise imaginable.
Gonna try this
Thanks for the suggestion! I've got to get the cleaner for my disc, then I'll try this.
Awesome...all fixed. Last time the bike shop replaced the discs...this time thanks to High Carb Rider I fixed them myself...for free👍. Thank you
Adam Russell that's awesome to hear and I'm so happy you fixed it yourself
Thankyou for your tips. squeal has been driving me mad! Off to get some brake cleaner. Cheers
Just watched this great tip and will be doing it tommorrow! But got to add a caveat on using the blowtorch. Do not burn brake cleaner as the fumes are mundo toxic. They can damage your lungs with one inhalation!!!!
I just put on new hope rotors and xt brake pads. Did a bleed both front and rear and the front brake was squealing insanely bad at low speed. No issues with the rear. Sucks because I do lots of flat land tricks on it. So Imma try this.
Have you tried laundry detergent? Your dish washing detergent idea is awesome and made me wonder if laundry detergent would also work. We used to use Tide to clean our epoxy shop floor because it doesn't suds up too much and really lifts the grease off. Cheers.
No not tried it but always open to suggestions cheers
I have horrendous howling brakes so going to give this a go cheers
My previous bike had Tektro brakes and all I did to get rid of squeaking was clean the rotors with denatured alcohol. Now that my current bike has Deore brakes, I no longer experience brake squeaking. But I still clean it occasionally.
If it gets to a point where it starts squeaking and cleaning both the rotor and the pads doesn't fix it, I would just buy a new set of pads - it's only $6 for my Deore ($7 in case of your XT). I'm not willing to go through that hassle of removing the pads, washing it, then torching it just to save $6.
thank you...will try it this....someone told me to clean the bike with diesel...well the bike got cleaned....the break became loud and bad...will let you know how it goes
Perfect... I have XT shimano brakes, just loke those. I fallowed your tutorial, cleaned rotor, pulled out the pin, pulled out the pads, cleaned pads, puted them back in puted the wheel back in and VOILA. NO PRESSURE IN BRAKE ... I did not touch the leaver (I am very carefull about that) did nothing more not one move that you didn't do and yet... I lost my brake ... amazing...
The pistens do do not even twich when I press the leaver, which I did, cause I wanted to see if I'm still squeeking... Please help =C
As an alternative to the expensive break cleaner you can use break cleaner for cars and trucks. Also acetone works great. You can get this for around $7.00 at home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot.
I just dabbed a bit of valve grinding/lapping compound on the rotor, which is basically like the sand/mud trail trick except less messy and all one grain size. Go out and ride/resurface with even brake pressure. Wipe/Wash off any excess.
Thanks for the video. My squeally brakes were driving me mad. I was sure the caliper or wheel was out of alignment and spent ages trying to adjust them. When in fact all it was, was dirty pads !!! Aaaah Silence again :)
I simply use 100 grit sand paper and turn the wheel to take out the smoothnes on the disc and take out the pads and rub then with the sand paper also and problem solved...
Did you do all of this while the wheel stayed on the bike, or did you have to remove it? THX!
I'm so glad I watched this video I sprayed my bike black and the paint got in the disc breaks the sound was something els but I finally sorted the problem just using washing up liquid ND bleach to herbage paint off lovely jubley
I did the soap treatment on the pads, but i cleaned the rotors using acetone, and the noise was gone.... Thanks for the advice....
This is not a brake question but you were a big help last time I posted here - After a freewheel is assembled, should it be fairly solid without any movement from side to side? The freewheel on my new bike has about a mil or 2 millimeters of movement side to side (i.e. if you were to push down or lift up on a tooth towards or away from the spokes). I ask because after switching gears, sometimes it makes a knocking noise (pretty loud at times) which I figured out was the freewheel jostling side to side (Trek couldn't seem to figure out where the noise was so they gave me a brand new wheel and still the same issue so I decided to solve the mystery myself). Its made louder because it's a fat tire rim (the vibrations are more noticeable due to the larger cavity). Should I demand Trek fix or replace the freewheel (it's a Shimano) or do freewheels inherently jostle a bit and just not worry about the noise and hope it works itself out? Thanks for any advice/thoughts. The bike is here: www.electrabike.com/sites/default/files/styles/bike_full/public/skus/539996.jpg?itok=Y3exVQIg
So are you saying when the delay in the freewheel engagement is engaged that there is a knocking sound or is the actual freewheel moving from side to side? If its a noise issue then technically no, they are loud and noisy things mainly as they are a replaceable part and the internals are oiled not greased which takes out some of the acoustical resonance etc. However, if you are not happy and the part Trek have supplied is spoiling your enjoyment of your bike, I would push for a replacement part. Trek are a great company who want their customers to be happy and switching a simple part like the freewheel shouldn't be a problem for them. Hope that helps
Thanks for the reply. Yes, when pedaling and only when pedaling, there is sometimes a knocking sound that is produced by the freewheel rocking about 2 millimeters side to side. I'm guessing this slight rocking is normally the case with freewheels but is not noticeable on your average rim width. But when that rocking occurs on my bike with fat tires and rims the sound is amplified. Not sure if another freewheel will help and not sure if there is a way to make it rock less.
Top tip thanks.
It did the business for me after having tried other cleaners.
Thanks I tried using Muck Off cleaner and they still make a noise. I will go for a ride and see if they bed in, if not the shop can sort it out, that's what I aid them for!
Awesome job I will use your cleaning method for the future. Thanks for the video buddy.
The problem is typically the rotor itself. They all tend to come with black paint on the edges; when you brake the paint melts/flakes off and contaminates your brake pads (I realized this after the pads turned black just after 5 minutes of test riding on sidewalk). Removing the paint from the rotor before installation should decrease brake squeal significantly if not entirely.
isnt that like grese to protect the rotor from rust even tho its stainless steel xd