Technical > Wheels, Tyres and Brakes

Squeal like a pig...

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Chris Land:
I have a Nomad fitted with Avid Shorty 6 brakes and Sun Rhyno rims.  The bike is great and the stopping power is fine, but I can't do a thing about the awful squeal.

At first I set the toe-in so sharp that it reduced the noise for a while, but onlly because the full pad wasn't connecting so braking power was reduced and wear-rate was too high.  I have tried avid, shimano and aztec blocks and none of them get rid of it (though shimano seem to be the worst).  

For a while I just told myself that it was a good thing as the noise would warn people of my approach, but it has started getting to be again as I have been dealing with this for two years now.  

Can anyone rid me of this troublesome squeak?

ront:
Hi Chris, I had a similar problem caused by a residue of wax I had used to polish the frame.  It was of the spray on variety and had contaminated the rims.  It was difficult to remove and lead me to using fine "Wet and Dry paper under the brake blocks to clean the rim, followed by a degreaser, and repeating the process on the brake blocks.  (take care that you do not damage the sidewall of the tyre in this exercise)  Resetting the blocks per the book got rid of my problem.
Good luck.
ront

hoogie:
Hi there,
I have installed Avid Shorty 6's on my new Nomad as well ... and yes, they squeal real bad too ... although I have reset the brake pads and the front only tends to squeal a bit when braking very hard.

after asking around, some solutions I was offered:
*use brake boosters ... those arch/horseshoe type thingys.
*use Koolstop salmon BMX brake pads [best solution I have been told]
*keep checking toe in

Chris Land:
Well, Robin has just talked me into trying a carbon-fibre brake booster as all the other solutions failed.  I had become quite used to it and it even served as a warning system for peds but as I am about to start work as a cycle trainer in schools I thought I had better get it fixed before lecturing year 6s on the importance of keeping your bike well serviced!

hoogie - I had also been told about kool-stops, but could only find the small pad size, not the kind you need for the Avids.  Toe-in worked to a point, but only when it was so extreme that much of the block didn't contact so wear was fast and uneven and braking was reduced (not an ideal solution).

Will let you know how the BB works out...

Bruce Robbins:
Here's what the much-respected Rivendell Bicycles in the US say about these brakes:

"We used to sell the Avid Shorty brakes but the consensus is that they squeal too much. As long as we can get other brakes we will. Besides the squeek they are great brakes. We still carry replacement pads for those of you who purchased the brakes from us. SQUEEEEEEAL!"

Seems like it's a design fault.

Bruce

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