Squeaky brakes

[bunky]

OK, many of you may have heard the front brakes on my Gunnar on recent rides honking like a flock of Canadian Geese heading south. When I installed them, I toed them in, and since then have tried adjusting them repeatedly. Nevertheless they keep on honking. I figured that after some of the brake material had been worn down and was stuck on the rim (Mavic X517), they would quiet down. This hasn't happened.

I recently broke down and bought some new pads (2 sets actually- regular and extreme conditions).

Questions
1) Will one type of pad be better than the other?
2) Should I attempt to clean/ degrease the rims before installation or is it better to have some crus on there?
3) Are there any other hints for clearing this problem up?

Please let me know!

Thanks,

Bunky

[riderx]

Not sure which one would be better, I'd personally go w/ the regular ones though.

I'd clean your rims good - some super fine steel wool and some rubbing alcohol will get then good to go.

What type of brakes are they? I've heard of a lot of people having this problem with parallel push Shimano brakes, something about slop in the pivots. Might be older ones, I don't recall.

You also might try adjusting the brakes so they are a bit more "mushy". If they are currently "on/off" in their feel, this can make them noisy.

[bunky]

Thanks, Joe,

I'll try the regular pads, then. I was going to hit them with simply green and one of those sponges with the scrubby side on it. I think I have some rubbing alcohol and fine steel wool lying around though.

They are brand spanking new Shimano XT V brakes. Driving me NUTS!!!

Bunk

[riderx]

Scroll down to #3. This is no longer on Shimano's site, but they used to have tips on eliminating the squeal. Maybe they thought that made their brakes look defective...

Shimano FAQ (http://216.109.117.135/search/cache?p=shimano+brake+squeal&ei=UTF-8&SpellState=n-3546213415_q-5iemrtFvnJBbRZihhbtYAQABAA%40%40&pstart=1&b=11&u=bike.shimano.com/services/faq.asp&w=shimano+brake+squeal&d=A92FA217F6&icp=1&.intl=us)

BTW, those scrubbies will work just as good as the steel wool.

[bunky]

Thanks--glad to see I am not alone in the world on this. You are probably right about why they took it down.

I'll tinker around with it a bit tonight. When they say "for V-Brakes: make sure all the play of the parallel push mechanism is eliminated by applying forward pressure on the brake shoe" what does this mean? I think it means loosen up the pad assembly with an allen wrench and then hold the front of the pad in to "toe" the pad on the rim while tightening the allen bolt again. Is that a fair interpretation?

[riderx]

Is that a fair interpretation?Not sure, I've always stayed away from the Shimano V-brakes. Sounds like a good guess though! :D

[DaveG]

They are brand spanking new Shimano XT V brakes. Driving me NUTS!!!

Bunk

Tried quite a few things. What finally worked? Sold them. Many/many people have this problem. Whenever I hear v-brakes making a hideous noise I always ask "Shimano XT v-brakes?". About 95% of the time it is :)

Good luck,

Dave

[bikerRob]

OK, many of you may have heard the front brakes on my Gunnar on recent rides honking like a flock of Canadian Geese heading south. When I installed them, I toed them in, and since then have tried adjusting them repeatedly. Nevertheless they keep on honking....

1) Will one type of pad be better than the other?
2) Should I attempt to clean/ degrease the rims before installation or is it better to have some crus on there?
3) Are there any other hints for clearing this problem up?

Please let me know!

Thanks,

Bunky

2/05/05 >> Just some thoughts...V-brakes can be a real bitch if your trying to adjust the pad holders. I'm running a pair of XTR V's that I had for about five years or so. I never had any problems until one of the pad holders came loose. Then , it was a real struggle to get it back to the original alignment. I'm really not sure if you have to set a toe in adjustment when these are first installed on a bike ( but then again I'm not sure if the set you bought came with the pad holders pre-set) Mine were originally installed by the local bike shop.

As for the noise problem....lots of stuff can cause that.(Oh, let me count the ways...) un-true rims, tracked rims, water on rims..piece of rock stuck in pad, one pad contacting rim too early...etc.

If your still having problems just remember that brake pads really hate cold weather. I use the black Ritchie pads which
usually work great but in real cold weather (below 30'F) they sound like two bricks rubbing together. It'd be real nice if someone made a pad with a softer compound for cold weather use.

I found this web site years ago. Hope it helps...http://www.myra-simon.com/bike/vbrakes.html (*if you read the link, pay attention to the third paragraph.)