We recently purchased the Kent Del Rio cruiser bike for my wife. She loves the ride and how it feels. Brakes didn't stop or hold very good but I adjusted them and now they are good on that. The problem that persist is the brakes are squealing really bad. Have read that it is because of the painted rims. Are there any tricks to fix this issue? Was thinking of taking Emery cloth to the rims to see if that helps, good or bad idea? Any help would be great thanks.
Squeaky brake help please.
- Thread starter Taz88
- Start date
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Racing roadkill
Guru
The pads need 'toe in' setting. Get a small piece of card and fold it in half to form a V shape. Put it between the pad and the rim, with the 'V' pointing forward. Squeeze the brake hard until the card is clamped between the card and rim. Release the brake a bit until the card opens up into a V shape, with the point of the V pointing forward. Release the bolt holding the pad into the calliper a little bit. Holding the brake where it is, tighten the bolt holding the pad in the calliper back up. Hopefully the pad is now 'toe in' and the squealing will stop.
Globalti
Legendary Member
Sorry, that doesn't sound like a very sure way to achieve toe-in.
Fold the card double and trap it at the back of the brake block while holding the brake lever on. Loosen the bolt holding the block, allow the washers etc. to settle in the new position then gently tighten, while holding the block against the rim with the lever. Once it's nipped up enough to stop the block from moving, release the brake and finish tightening the bolt while bracing the block with your fingers to prevent it from rotating. The brake block should now be toed out by two card thicknesses at the rear, so that braking action drags it flat against the rim.
Rim brake squeal is caused when the wheel drags the brake blocks forward, bending the caliper arms and causing the blocks to move out of parallel with the rim. They lose grip, let go and bounce back, setting up juddering or vibration as the cycle repeats. By toeing in the blocks you "pre-stress" them so that the wheel pulls them parallel with the rim.
Fold the card double and trap it at the back of the brake block while holding the brake lever on. Loosen the bolt holding the block, allow the washers etc. to settle in the new position then gently tighten, while holding the block against the rim with the lever. Once it's nipped up enough to stop the block from moving, release the brake and finish tightening the bolt while bracing the block with your fingers to prevent it from rotating. The brake block should now be toed out by two card thicknesses at the rear, so that braking action drags it flat against the rim.
Rim brake squeal is caused when the wheel drags the brake blocks forward, bending the caliper arms and causing the blocks to move out of parallel with the rim. They lose grip, let go and bounce back, setting up juddering or vibration as the cycle repeats. By toeing in the blocks you "pre-stress" them so that the wheel pulls them parallel with the rim.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
There was a guy from a bike shop (FMB) that had a promotional bike with painted rims (red as I recall) and the brakes on that squealed like a piggy, they couldn't stop em. It is always good practice to toe the pads in but I think the paint is the culprit.
Yellow Saddle
Guru
- Location
- Loch side.
Painted rims are the work of Satan himself. Provided the rims are aluminium, remove the paint. If the rims are steel, get a new bike. Painted rims will not work very well, particularly in the wet, they will destroy pads due to the heat generated, they will contaminate the pads with burnt paint and they will squeal like hell.
