
Whenever a new rotor or brake pad is installed on your bike, it needs to be broken in properly. However, if your brake pad went for a bath in chain lube, your best bet is to replace the brake pads.

If you have already contaminated the pads, there is hope! Try removing the pads from the caliper and carefully sanding down the outer layer with a fine-grained sand paper. If you suspect you have gotten any oil or grease on your brake rotors, clean them off immediately with a clean rag and isopropyl alcohol. Even touching your rotor or pads with your hands can possibly cause contamination! Things like chain lube, bike polish, degreaser, brake fluid can find their way to your brake rotor and contaminate the pads. Brake pads are porous, so like a sponge, they will soak up grease and oils easily and cause the brake pad to squeal and not work effectively. If you have a loud, consistent squealing noise whenever the brake is applied, then the problem is likely contamination. This takes time, patience, and a light hand! Contamination Use a Park Tool Rotor Truing Fork to bend the rotor back into place. It may be easier to see if you hold a white piece of paper under the caliper. Look down through the caliper and spin the wheel, you should be able to see when the brake pad comes in contact with the rotor (where the rotor is bent). This is a common problem and can usually be easily fixed. If that pesky brake rub is persisting, it usually means your brake rotor is bent. It may take a couple of tries before the caliper is aligned correctly. With the brake lever pulled, tighten the caliper bolts equally and evenly. Holding down the brake lever will center the caliper over the rotor with the help of the brake pads. Loosen the caliper bolts and wiggle the caliper loose, then hold down the brake lever. Next, check the alignment of the caliper.

An improperly installed axle would cause both the wheel and rotor to appear to be out of alignment.

This could be a problem if you are running a wheel with quick release (QR) skewer that doesn’t thread into the frame. If the wheel does not spin freely and comes to a stop, you have a brake rub issue! Fix it!įirst, check to make sure your wheel is properly seeded in the dropouts of the fork or chainstay.

Check to make sure this is the problem by lifting your wheel off the ground and giving it a spin. If you have a squeak, squeal or pinging noise that occurs while you are riding at regular intervals, it is usually a caliper alignment issue or a bent rotor that is causing your brake pads to rub as you ride. But first, familiarize yourself with the parts of a disc brake:
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Sqeeeeaaakkk!!! While there could be tons of reasons your disc brakes are making loud, obnoxious noises, here are the most common culprits and how to fix it. But even the best set of brakes can suffer from annoying squeaks if you don't maintain your bike properly. And now disc brakes are offered on a variety of bikes, from gravel grinders to road race machines, bringing all those awesome disc brake benefits. How to Fix Squeaky Disc Brakes Stop the Squeal: Disc Brake Fixesĭisc brakes have changed the way we ride mountain bikes with incredible stopping power in all weather conditions and precise modulation that makes decreasing speed down the mountain a little easier.
