How to Stop Bicycle Disc Brakes From Squeaking 

I'm a first timer here and I have to say that is one of the simplest and clearest videos I've ever seen. I will be back for more and definitely plan to share too, many thanks. 👍

Been throwing bikes out and getting a new one for decades when they squeaked. This is super helpful and cost saving!

Glad I found your clear and easy to follow instructions. Sometimes the details are very important and you don't skimp on detail! Thanks :-)

Thanks CMA ! Another helpful video - i love how you explain things step-by-step and don't assume viewers already know stuff - tho at the same time i never feel 'talked down to' in your videos. Hope you might also be doing one on squeaky rim brakes ?

Hi thank you so much for this very well organized and logical video. It made a lot of sense. I have a mtb and my rear brake squeaks only when I’m riding. Not when I’m braking. What’s weird is that when I hold the brake with a bit of pressure the squeaking stops. I just had the brake pads replaced too. I didn’t know about baking them in. What do you think might be going on? Any help would be very much appreciated.

The isopropyl alcohol worked perfectly. Thanks for the tips.

Thanks!! Simple and to the point.

Followed the alignment, cleaning the disc and added new pads. Works like it came from the factory. Thanks 🙏

Thanks for the in-depth explaining 👌🏼👌🏼

Great stuff. Keep up the good work!

Very good explanation ! Thank you so much.

So clear and succinct, thanks.

Love these vids. Mary is the Queen of all Manchester’s bike mechanics (and she doesn’t swear as much in these videos either!)

I’m looking forward to trying your top tips

Well done. Thank You and good luck with your channel!

Thank you very much for sharing - it is invaluable information.

Thank you. This is very helpful 😇

I was able to easily remedy my squeaky brakes! Thankyou!

Great video. Thank you 👍🏻

Brilliant advice.

thank you so much so helpful and well explained👌

Thank you for educating us :))

Great video! One thing, I'd add is to avoid spraying lubricant or cleaning product around the rotor, as it causes that contamination you mentioned in the first place. Instead, spray your product on a fabric and apply it that way.

Thanks for sharing the video

Wow, very helpful ❤

Good ideas and solutions.

God bless you lady! Much helpful. Thanks :)

Iso alcohol wipe - fixed! Thank you heaps!

Gracias Tia!

Thank you !

Oh, thanks so much! I hope to fix my squeal tomorrow. I only have country roads with some steep hills to ride on. My brakes get used way too much! Heavy ebike, it likes to run away. 🚲😳

Thanks for the video! I ended up using car brake cleaner spray and it worked brilliant at stopping the noise as I didn’t have alcohol on hand

Great, thanks

Thanks finally found the issue, only channel which addressed it until now.

great video

Thank you very much 😊😊😊😊

Many thanks

Very helpful thank you

Thank you

Very good video, disc brakes can be a real pain and on my road bike having tried everything you suggested I ended up having to change discs and pads before having to change the calipers as well. The cost is ridiculous for the limited improvement over rim brakes on the road. I will not buy another road bike with disc brakes again if I can avoid it. MTB is a different story, rim brakes are useless off road and for some reason disc brakes on MTBs seem to be more reliable 🤔

thank you

nice thankyou

on point 🙂

Great video and helpful, I’m not sure if my braking issue fits these issues. I just bought my Gravel bike back in July and probably have under 300 miles on it and my front disc brakes squeaks when I break. I can’t imagine the pads are worn or the rotor is bad. What do you think it could be?

Thanks it really help me :))))))

Listening to commentary and effects mics on most of the Cobbled and Ardenne Classics and GTs most pros bikes squeal on hard braking and the commentators remark on it so I am not going to spend hours on all kinds of supposed hacks to get rid of it. Acceptance is the key !

i havent performed, but am now ready to diagnose, etc. thanks

Thanks!

Hello, thank you for your video; what kind of sand paper grit should I use on my brake pads please?

so on my new bike one of the brakes started Squeaking and it sounds uneven cleaned it and nothing and the disc is strait and the other things seem fine to so going to have it serviced

is it advisable to sand down rotor disc? i have seen some videos here on youtube where they sand the rotor but did not try it because i might regret it later..

Thank you! For me Magura rotors with Shimano resin pad made wonders.

Thank you.

thank you for enlightening me. I've been cleaning my brakes and it just won't stop squeaking. i just realized it has uneven bedding.

I've got new pads coming in but will be keeping the rotor, hopefully my rotor is fine

I've had problems with road disc bikes. Currently i have a hydrolic brake bike that screeches and vibrates alot under braking , this is after putting on new discs and pads ,not sure if i bed them in as you described. So I'll give it one last try. My current bike is rim brake and is soooooo much less maintenance.

Wow. First channel that doesn't just tell the same as everyone else. The obvious. They even disprove many of the common tips with argumentation as to why the tips will never work and in what situation. I was so sure I had contaminated the set and have changed them three times now! It is quickly becoming a reason for me to stop using discs. But the glassing issue I have never heard of, so this is probably what is happening since I was sure oil was not an issue because I even changed the caliber once.

The alcohol method worked for me. Both worked on my old and new noisy brakes.

Recommended grit?

Cheers

Every time I replace the pads, I clean the brakes and pistons and make sure they are all moving equally. I also loosen the two bolts holding the brake to the bike or arch, squeeze the brake, and then retighten the bolts. It's fast and easy and seems to recenter the brake with the new pads.

In my case, one or the other method works fine for the rear brake. However, I can't get rid off the noise for my front brake. I have done all mentioned in the video except changing the caliper itself, I don't see any oil leak though. I have been riding for more than a year with rear brake only to avoid noise at the front, which reduces efficient stopping. Only when I change the brake pads with new thick ones, the noise goes down, but after a little while they all start squeaking. Really annoying.

What type of sand paper should I get? any specifications?

1:07 => That´s EXACTLY my noise problem, that I have for years now !!! SM RT86 rotors with Saint M820 brakes. I tried the following organic pads: DS03S, Kool stop, BBB, Cube. The Kool stop were silent when they were new, but loud in the end, too. All other pads were loud all the time (especially in humid conditions). I love my bikes and I maintain them neurotically. I only have that problem on my Haibike FS RC 26 pedelec. Not on my recumbents or my E-Scooter. Does anyone have advice for me (speaking from experience with my above mentioned setup) ?

Hello, I have bought a NEW eBike and has now 50km. I realised that when braking harder, it makes the gurgling sound like bubbling! What is the problem and what should I do? Thanks for the advice in advance!

What size are the hub cones?

I solved my disc brake noise permanently. I went back to a rim brake bike. 😁

thnaks i have a turnament next 3days

What exactly is occurring with a glazed brake pad?

i did the bedding-in braking only 17 times and it still worked!... impressive eh?

What is the likely cause if they only squeal when wet?

how to choose a disk ? can i buy a cheep disk from aliexpres? are all disk the same?

Can i know what's the breaking pads name please? Thanks

I have a continuous humming sound that only stops when I apply the brakes. Any ideas??

my brother put break cleaner on his discs if it fixable?

Does this problem also come when we completely buy a new bike?

Disc brakes on a road bike are a nightmare - have tried all the above - MTB bike on the other hand works with no problem - didn't need to bed in, or any additional cleaning of the pad and rotors. Have now upgraded the road bike to Shimano dura-ace which has an increased clearance between pad and rotor - these seem to be working OK at the moment. Does leave the question as to whether the design of the road bike set up is flawed.

I have changed my break pads but my bike still squeaks wot should i do

Great video, though I think you can sand/resurface and clean the rotors instead of replacing them.

I changed pads, did not work. I spray diluted dishwasher on rotors and squeaking goes away for next few hours ride. Don't know why.

brand new brakes, properly torqued screws, thoroughly degreased with disk brake cleaner... squeeks like MAD BANSHEE at low speed... im guessing some form of misalignment.... they brake like hell also... like it is almos binary in that they are on or off... very little mid control... I know I could introduce air into the hydrolic lines to "cushion" the fel a little but I feel like that is so wrong from a mechanical standpoint. I feel like it is a harmonic issue related to manufacturing or misalignment... still not a big enough issue to make me buy anything new yet.

I got race rim brakes and i got rotors and only the rear squeaks

I find adding oil to the brake itself fixes it 😉

Bedding the brakes in one at a time sounds like a good idea.

i think mine could be salt contamination salt in the air at my marina

Mine squeeks while i ride it with low speed. One of the pads is always touching the disc

Hi

2:00 you can let the pads soak in mineral spirts, alcohol, and the likes. This will solves the oil

Clean the discs with a toothbrush and washing up liquid,or fine sandpaper.

An easy solution is put a little copper grease on the back of the pads

Great info. but please discard annoying music.

what if your brakes are new

❤❤ 4:20

Great video. I completely agree with replacement of pads and rotors, proper centering of the pads on the rotor, and some kind of bedding the pads. Below is a trick works well, and can buy some time, for example; if you just want to keep riding while you wait for the new parts to arrive, don't have the money for the new parts at the moment, etc.: Remove the wheel. Remove the rotor. Run the brake surface of the rotor against a bench grinder that has a wire wheel attached. Hold the rotor so that the brake surface is perpendicular to the wire wheel, vs. holding the rotor so that the wire wheel is "scrubbing" in line with how the pads run. This perpendicular smoothing by the wire wheel will take the sharp edges off of all the scratches on the rotor, so that the pads will stop "playing" on the scratches, like how a record player/turn table needle plays on a record album. Dress both sides of the rotor this way. A little flat sanding, as done in the video, on the pads, and quick wipe off, and then re-assembly the bike. The brakes will be quiet for a long time. I stumbled upon this accidentally when dealing with an extremely noisy and embarrassing front brake. Originally I tried cleaning, with no change. Then I used 60grit sand paper to sand both sides of the rotor, and the surface of the pads in a cross-hatch pattern. Still no change. Next, I replaced the pads with new metallic pads. Still no change. Knowing that the issue must be with the old rotor, I ordered a new one. In the mean time, I still wanted to ride, and thought, "I wonder what would happen if I just wire wheeled the rotor? It's clearly ruined/worn out, so I'm not going to hurt it." I didn't even remove the rotor from the wheel. I just held it up to the bench grinder, did my thing, re-installed the wheel, and went for a ride.........perfection! I recently did the same trick on another bike while waiting for the new parts, but this time, was more serious, and removed the rotor. Dressed both sides of the rotor, and again, with brand new pads, it was completely silent (I did replace the rotor a week later, once it had arrived in the mail).

But my pads are new

Maybe the quality of the shimano pads are not what they used to be😢Simply cannot get rid of that dreadful screech no matter what i do. The front brake is perfect!

I just use machine oil on the disk surface and the squeaking stops.

This video was enough to scare me away from disc brakes forever. I stay away from high maintenance things & people.

This should be titled "Why do brakes squeak, all the ways that don't fix it so buy new pads and discs."

No issues with assembly for me ru-vid.comUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L but I could see where some might benefit from using an experienced bike assembler/mechanic. I'm an older rider starting back after a 10 year break. This bike exceeds my capabilities and has been easy to get comfortable riding. I'm mostly on easy trails with almost no street riding and have not been disappointed with the performance of the bike. My fitness level is far below what I previously rode with and because of that the mileage is going on the bike slowly. While I'm losing weight slowly, the bike seems to tolerate my 220 pounds just fine. The bike has been used by several family members ranging from 5'5" - 5'9".