Squealing Front Brakes

[Smokin Joe]

Your brake blocks may be toed in when you set them up, but they will only stay that way for a very short while. As they wear they will soon end up parrallel to the rims and that's how they will stay.

 

[piedwagtail91]

Your brake blocks may be toed in when you set them up, but they will only stay that way for a very short while. As they wear they will soon end up parrallel to the rims and that's how they will stay.

thats the way i look at it ,so never bother toeing in and set them parallel to start with.

 

[Dave5N]

After reading this i'm begining to think that i must be the only one in the country who sets blocks parallel to the rim with no squeal.
in 30 years i've never toed in brake blocks.
to set i leave the shoes/blocks slightly loose on both sides of the rim, then pull the brake lever tight and set the blocks for height and tighten up the bolt, leaving them parallel to the rim.
i do clean the rims and run a cloth between the rim and block to clean it after every ride.

No you're not. I don't routinely toe them in.

But if they squeal, I reset them with toe-in so they don't squeal.

 

[Smokin Joe]

If your brakes squeal, find a long steep hill and do a few emergency stops on the way down. They will scream like a banshee the first few times, but it will cure it after a few goes.

 

[Twenty Inch]

I had a squealing set of front brakes. I tried everything mentioned above, and tried not braking at all, swearing and crying as well.

In the end I put different brake blocks on and the squealing disappeared. It seems that some blocks are incompatible with some rims and there is nothing to be done.

 

[Tynan]

got a pair of 'new' blocks on the front that I found lying about, they might be seven years old or more

working fine but they're really loud, most of the time I like it, a dab lets everyone know where you are, can be an arse when slowing to stop, granted

 

[pw2389]

Thanks for the replies, folks. The squealing seems to have died down now, purely due to the process of repetitive braking. Think I might give the beast a good clean this weekend and see if some as-yet-not-apparent clag is causing the problem.