How do I get my bike breaks to stop squeaking?

shktomdh4: How do I get my bike breaks to stop squeaking?
I just decided to start riding my bike to work every day instead of always driving. Gas is way too expensive. I Haven’t used my bike since high school, almost 6 years ago. I re adjusted everything, filled my tires with air and everything works great. Only problem is when I brake, they squeak worse then anything I have ever heard. They work fine, so what can I do about it? Is there a spray I can use or something? Please help!

Answers and Views:

Answer by ct
Okay… It is most likely the angle of the brake pad. If you toe them in, they should stop squeeling…

This means that the front of the pad should hit the rim first. If it is the other way around, or if the pad is flush with the rim, it can squeal because of trapped air.

Spin the tire in the normal direction, and press your finger to the rim pointing to the front of the bike – it should run smooth on your finger. If you turn your finger around pointing in the opposite direction of the rotation, it won’t be smooth – same thing with the brake pads.

Toe the pads in just slightly.. just so the front hits first – no more than that.

you can also clean your rims – I recommend rubbing alcohol and light sandpaper for this. Also make sure the surface of the brake pad is clean too. Rubbing alcohol because it doesn’t leave any residue.

DON’T get any oil or grease on the rims or pad, as it will have quite the negative effect on stopping power.

Good luck.

Answer by Tim W
First remove the pads and sand them lightly to remove any glaze. When you reinstall them, align them carefully with the rim, snug them down, put a credit card under the back edge of the pad, clamp down the brake lever, loosen then retighten the pad. This should make the front edge of the pad touch the wheel first. If it doesn’t you might need to bend the arm that holds the pad but this might be better left to a bike mechanic.
I’m assuming the wheel rims are clean too.

Answer by Jawa
DO NOT use any spray products to reduce the squeal of your brakes!!!!! The reason they are squeaking is that you have adjusted the pad so that it contacts the rim completely flat. What happens then is that the front and back of the pad start resonating (squeaking) which is completely unbearable. The best thing I can recommend is to take your bike to a reputable bike shop and get the brakes adjusted (shouldn’t cost more than $ 10 per wheel. The art of brake adjustment takes quite a while to get right, but if you want to do the trial and error method, the basic approach is like this. If viewed from the top of the wheel looking down…

pad / / |rim| pad

Rotation /|
Direction |

Yahoo is making it a bit difficult to illustrate, but the concept is sound.

The pad should be “toed in” so that the front of the pad hits the rim, and as you squeeze the brake lever, more of the pad comes in contact with the rim, increasing power. The back of the pad should only contact the rim when maximum power is applied to the brake lever, if not even then.

Hope this helps.

Answer by The Maestro
Like you, I started biking to work. I had similar problems with my bike and lots of knowledgable people tried telling me what to do. But since I wanted it done right, I opted not to do it myself. If there is a bike shop in your area, take your bike in for a tune up. That’s what I did. It’ll cost you between $ 30 and $ 40, but they will adjust your brakes, adjust your gears, put the proper air in your tires, lube any points that need to be lubed. Basicly, they’ll get your bike riding almost like brand new. I felt it was worth the money to have professionals do all this for me, rather than try it myself and screw things up.

Answer by free_mark53
adjust them, or replace them