My disc-brakes on my mountain bike sing/scream when I brake. I have tried to clean them, but it didn't work. Should I replace the disks or the brake pads? Is there a better (cheaper) way to fix this.
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3There's nothing wrong with screaming brakes. Some makes/models scream more than others, but it's quite normal. There's also a ton of other, similar questions. Check the "related" section to the right. – arne Dec 05 '13 at 08:11
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Maybe the pads are not bedded in properly. New pads take a dozen of very hard brakings to stop screaming and begin braking. – Vorac Dec 05 '13 at 09:07
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possible duplicate of How do I prevent disk brakes from squeaking in the rain? – Benedikt Bauer Dec 05 '13 at 10:11
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possible duplicate of how do i stop my Formula disk brakes from squealing – mattnz Dec 05 '13 at 20:18
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@BenediktBauer - Not a duplicate. It doesn't just squeak in the rain. – user2670468 Dec 06 '13 at 07:06
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@user2670468 That's right, sorry. But maybe this link which was given in one of the answers might help you as well. – Benedikt Bauer Dec 06 '13 at 08:48
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@BenediktBauer Thanks for the useful link! – user2670468 Dec 06 '13 at 09:04
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Soo Wei Tan -- "Disk" and "Disc" are equally acceptable terms for describing brakes in American English. – Daniel R Hicks Dec 07 '13 at 23:55
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2Possible duplicate of Disc brakes squeak on Trek mountain bike – Móż Feb 02 '16 at 19:00
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In short, squeaking brakes are caused by the sound of your pads sticking then slipping increadibly quickly, rather than applying presssure to your discs smoothly.
Solution: Sometimes these problems can be a right pain in the butt. Sometimes your brakes need time to bed in, sometimes, as you know, your discs just need cleaning, or importantly, drying. But if that doesn't work you need to rough up your discs. You can get products with abrasives in them just for this purpose, or, less expensively.. I know many people have had success with very fine sand paper.
Give that a try before replacing your discs.
rossagator
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How fine is very fine sandpaper? 800? Btw +1 for the exhaustive run-down. – Vorac Dec 06 '13 at 12:51
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Here is a tip for you - putting a smudge of copper grease on the BACK of your pads can reduce the noise. It may still be there until the brakes are properly bedded in, but I have found it does make a difference, especially under lighter braking.
Alan Shortis
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1I agree entirely. My advice would be do this if everything else has failed and be super careful not to ge it on the front of the pads.. That way lies madness, dudes. Also, just to emphasise yoir point to the people.. It has to be COPPER grease as you said, standard grease wont do! Good suggestion. – rossagator Dec 17 '13 at 07:31
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1What do you mean by madness? I need to know if madness means death due to brakes not working anymore. – user1881215 Jan 20 '14 at 08:42
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Madness will only occur if you manage to get grease on braking surfaces. Applying to the BACK of the pad is perfectly safe and will reduce noise. Just make sure it doesn't go anywhere else. – Alan Shortis Jan 21 '14 at 13:52
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Definitely, that's great advice, this is just as you would when servicing the brakes on a car. – rossagator Mar 19 '15 at 11:06