Why I used Nail polish remover? It was what I could get my hands on short notice (local super market), and also to make the point that you don't have to buy bike-specific products for 10 times the price. But you can of course use specific brake cleaners or isopropyl alcohol to get the same result. As some of the comment have pointed out, there's a lot of nail polish remover out there that can contain a lot of other stuff that is less desirable for brakes, So if you go that route, get the cheap stuff that's basically 100% acetone and you should be fine! Happy Cleaning! Previous post: Sorry for the Re-upload! I accidentally deleted the original upload (Was suppose to delete the draft of an upcoming video) Hopefully it didn't spam your subs feed this time around. Apologies again 🙇♂️
cheers man, I was like "damn, this sounds so similar."..hahahaha. I was blaming the weed!!! cheers man. Absolutely love your channel and would love to own an Open UP even though I can barely afford even the wheels. love from India. and, watching this, I must say my mechanical brakes (TRP Spyre C) have been brilliant. water, mud, and now floods and still no contamination.
all good my guy. you had any battery issues with your di2 yet? i'd love to see an "update" not a review video on your di2 experience :P Cheers tomodachi
Followed this video to clean my brakes years ago and it worked perfectly. Fast forward to early this month. I built a new disc brake bike with some old parts. Brakes honked like crazy and power wasn't great. Remembered this video, followed it again and brakes work perfectly and silent once more. Double thanks :)
3 years later and I find this video. Couldn’t sleep and wait till morning to test. Had 2 pair of thick shimano pads and two rotors all infected. First soaked everything, then toothbrushed, sand, soaked and finally cleaned with rags. Put old brakes on and man, pads bit like a pit Bull not letting go. Your video still holds ! Great video information and had the best result! Never throw good pads and rotors away…acetone it!
Acetone is nice for the rotor but if you really want to effectively save brake pad best solution i found is to burn them. If they have some oil in them they will crack a bit in fire, once they stop cracking they're free from contamination and will ride as new.
I took bike to workshop and they couldn't fix the noise and your video worked 100% and the best thing was the acetone I used that I use to clean airbrushes and works a treat and just to say thanks again and again. Happy with silence.
For contaminated pads, I remove the pads and put them in the oven at 400f for 40 minutes. I have seen people burn them with lighter fluid or gasoline, but it's not as foolproof as the oven - burns off ANY contaminants. Let them cool slowly. Clean the rotors. Break them back in and you're good to go.
Useful video. Couple of things to be mindful of: 1. Be careful not to get nail polish remover/acetone on painted/clear coated surfaces. If you do, clean it off and definitely don't let it sit there for too long. 2. Use emery cloth, not sand paper. You don't want bits of grit from the sand paper getting embedded in your pads or stuck between the pad and the disc.
Excellent points. Also, if you did indeed get mineral oil on your rotors, just wiping the surfaces may not be enough. The small holes in the rotor can have mineral oil around the edges that may work it's way back into your brake pads if you ride in the wet again. I clean these with a q-tip dipped your favorite brake cleaner (acetone is fine - just be careful with it)
Looks can be decieving. And there is something in a name. Sandpaper is just that. Paper with grit glued to it. It breaks down if it gets wet. Emory cloth is fabric (cloth) and much sturdier. It won't break down and she'd grit all over your project.
Absolutely great and detailed video. Some folks may disagree to the materials and methods, but I can see you have been through a lot of trial and error in both.
I just used this video to fix some brake howling on a brand new bike. I tried many other methods first but the Acetone was the key. Thanks for sharing. Still very useful 3 years on!
Not sure if it's been said before or not, but nail polish remover is not all the same. It's relatively dilute and can sometimes contain things like glycerin to help keep from drying out your skin. You can get pure acetone at hardware stores in the paint aisle with the rest of the solvents like mineral spirits.
Hey Hello... you didn't say if you use rubber gloves or not... but.. I just read a Scientific American article discussing harmful solvents. Please use rubber gloves if using the Brake Kleen that comes in a aerosol can. It is highly toxic and should have better warning labeling. I am old school(72 yrs) and never bothered to use rubber gloves until recently. After bladder cancer(removed), colon cancer(removed) and numerous skin cancers I am rethinking my earlier cavalier attitude toward protecting myself. Take Care(@@redtobertshateshandles
Life-saver of a video. I did the exact same thing: wasn't careful enough when cleaning the pads with mineral oil. Thanks for the detailed video on how to solve this problem.
Perfect, I tried Zefal, Facom and MucOff disc brake cleaners and plain acetone is doing the same if not slightly better job !!!! (1/3 of the price) Toothbrushing the pads with acetone is really effective and you don't have to sand the pads everytime ! Thanks a lot
I sipped the brake pads in a cup of lemon juice and left them in for a few hours. It appeared to help a tad, but not sufficiently. I must admit: I hadn't cleaned the pistons and the discs properly. I'll try denatured alcohol and SwissStop Brake Silencer. If that procedure doesn't help, I'll resort to your method. Thank you. And thank everyone suggesting alternatives to either the sandpaper or the acetone.
Great Vidieo! Love your up close views. Full pad and disc cleaning is important to understand, in order to be safe. It goes quick when you know how; even if you just spend a small time doing it; amazing results if the discs are not already warped from failing to bed-in the brakes correctly, like me. I warped my disc, and glazed the pads on the front wheel in 2 short test rides after I received it in the mail and set it up; Forgot to bed the brakes; most of my old bikes never had disc brakes.. warped the rotors a little; tried sanding the rotors, did not clean the pads, did not work; too contaminated. Have to do both; but if it's quick, probably won't matter; just do it fast. I used 1000 grit sand paper on. my discs and pads; with glass to rest the paper on, then taking pads evenly on the flat surface. Worked great; first time I've had to do it but my front brake sounded like a goose honking; it was horrible!
Thank you. Tried the exact same method and it worked! But painted surface on the pads doesnt react well to acetone! LOL My swissstops yellow was peeling abit. Sanding it down works and I cleaned away the dust residue with clean water & kitchen towel. Works like a charm!
Thanks for sharing this info! I'd been battling this problem for a while, and it was driving me crazy! I didn't know you could "wash" brake pads. I used isopropyl alcohol on mine (since I had it on hand) and it worked really well! I skipped the scuffing of the discs since I'd taken that step (aggressively) on a previous attempt to fix it. Now, I have the stopping power back, and the brakes are quiet, with just a tiny chirp from them in the last 20mm of a complete stop, which I can live with. ありがとうございます！
Thanks, Tobias. I had installed some new pads after I had bled the brakes but probably did not clean up around sufficiently the calipers. So that was the likely cause of contamination. I followed your advice, to the letter, though I bought a stainless steel tray from a 100 yen store. Worked a charm. Sourcing Acetone is not easy in Japan. Nail Polish remover is the go. Always enjoy your videos and your excellent and amusing production. Peace.
Better method- clean everything with alcohol or solvent of your choice. Sand the pads a little bit. Get a creme brûlée torch and “burn” the pads and rotors by heating them up. This literally burns away any contaminates. Much faster as well. We do this at my shop and it works every time no matter how badly contaminated the pads and rotors are.
Nah man, a customer came in and his brakes squealing... he put tri-flow on the rotor... a nuclear bomb couldnt un contaminate the pads or rotor hahahaha. I just took them off and replaced hahaha
This^^^. Alcohol just spreads the oil around. If you don't burn it off, especially in all the vent holes, the oil will just recontaminate the pads. Slightly contaminated pads can be torched as well. Heat em up till they quit smoking. Quick sand to get rid of the polish, and good to go. Totally soaked pads need to be replaced.
Been using a torch for years. It's quick and simple and works every time. I clamp both pads in a vice at the same time (or all 4 if front and back are squealing). I heat the pad surface evenly until it catches on fire (it only takes a few seconds). That is the contaminate burning off. I remove the torch and let the pads flame out by themselves. I wipe the rotors with solvent (usually lacquer thinner). I put the pads back in the calipers and go ride. The whole process takes only 3~4 minutes.
Thank you. I’m new to Disc brake and I almost gonna spend another 15 bucks for a pair of brake pads. I heard this crazy sound I thought it’s time to change some new pads but it’s actually cause from oil or something with dirty pads after I did all of your steps now it’s a quiet braking. Thank you ☺️
I've had to "repair" my pads before I didn't clean them with anything but I did sand them down. I used drywall sanding screens instead though, that way when I sand the pad the dust will fall away from the pad and doesn't risk recontaminating the pads.
Nice one, cheers! Used this on the rear wheel of my MTB, and it worked a treat! From now on, I'll be using the shower cap hack when washing my bikes to keep contaminants off the rotors.
Great video. I didn’t have any nail polish remover, but “Goof Off” and 320 paper did the trick. Brand new brakes, with horrible banshee squeal… now sound wonderfully quiet!
I put pads into a small jar of petrol putvtge lid in and leave for a couple of hours. I then remove and clean with kitchen paper before i heat up on a gas stove to burn off any contaminents left on the surface. After that a light dry sand with 400 or 600 wet or dry paper. I haven't tried acetone but i do use a wax and grease remover.
I always use rubbing alcohol with a completely dry clean shop tool . yes as stated in the video , it gets torn up and i toss them.any contaminants on rags end up on the parts . some rags don,t wick up the moisture , cotton is a good way to go if its free of any oil ,soap ,and fabric softener . Great video by the way . And yes it really works ! TIP . if not bad . Sometimes a red scotch pad with alcohol on the disc to remove the glaze is all that is needed . because it is caused by road dust . I wonder if bike shops make money selling unneeded pads and /or disks? Probably the honest ones will clean it the same way as shown . but charge you the hourly rate to do it.
I never thought about using nail polish remover. The only thing that worked for me was burning the disc and pads with a flame until red hot and then sanding them. But I will definitely give this a try next time; but far away from my paint.
I just built a new bike w/ Ultegra brakes and the brake squeal at low speeds (just before stopping) was *horrible*. I followed these steps and now total silence.
@@tori-youraiguide I put on brand new rotors, and the squeal was there right away, first ride. I consider this cleaning routine a "condition the new rotors" routine going forward.
Is it me or these bicycles have gotten much more SUPER AWESOME & detailed down to the pawls/springs into the freehub body!!!!... but ALSO THEY are VERY very HIGH maintenance!? I remember being the only man who knew how to change tubes! I have a used Lefty F29 and I have been working on it ($$$) MORE than RIDING IT!
thanks for also confirming that bike noise you hear when your cruise without pedalling is normal! i thought there was something wrong with my bike but I like that noise, i use it when i cruise by busy shared paths so people know something is coming by
Very good... I had extreme squeal with new brakes.... tried various options.... cleaning sanding, sanding rotors, different pads etc etc.... in the end what really helped was a long long down hill and keeping the brakes on just below the squeal.... I know u mentioned this.... I will try the acetone next time 👍👍👍
@@tori-youraiguide no, the noise in my case was contamination. Main issues with a brake system that’s not properly bedded in is “pulsing” feeling when braking and brake pad-life being really short. Doesn’t necessarily mean they get noisy.
Never cleaned brake pads or discs before on the more modern bike but after watching this video I'm gunna give it a go.great vid easy to under stand and helped alot thanks
@@ridesofjapan the brakes ain't slowing me down properly takes a while to stop there quite new they've only been on for 4 months if done what u did in your video but there ain't much difference so I think the pads have some how got oil or grees or something on them they was also a lot of salt grit from the roads on them so I will just buy new 1s n see if that has an effect
As an extreme last ditch effort I used oven cleaner on my rotors and brake pads and rinsed well with water and it worked. But this stuff is very caustic and can etch /damage metal and bearings and damage paint so use at your own risk. Oven cleaner is the best degreaser I have found.
Isopropyl alcohol works great as well! And it has the benefit that you can buy it pure, so it leaves no residue and contains no water (or very little water) compared to acetone solutions. A pricey but effective option is also to buy a specific brake cleaner for cars or bikes (muc-off is expensive but it does work great and it evaporates faster than acetone and alcohol)
Hey, I just learned a better way to clean the pads! 1: Apply a generous amount of dishwasher soap to the braking surface of both pads. 2: Rub the pads together for maybe 10-30 seconds. You'll see pitch black dishwasher soap ooze out from between the pads. 3: Rinse under hot water while still rubbing the pads together. 4: repeat a few times. I just tried it on the squeakiest pads I've ever experienced, and after 3-4 repetitions they looked good again. Note that they look more like silver than that bronze tint when you're done, but once you wipe them dry, they will look like new pads. (Brasklapp: I haven't test ridden yet, so I don't know if it really worked, but befoer cleaning they squeaked on the work stand, now they don't)
Ok, test ride complete. The first attempt actually failed. I actually only tried with the rear brake, and put in a new set of pads in the front. Front was completely silent. Rear was better than before, but not good. Still pretty lousy power, still some howling. I then realized that I had cleaned the front rotor much more thoroughly than the rear, so I went back in and gave the rear rotor a good scrub. Since the pads had likely been re-contamined by the not perfectly clean disc, I gave them some more dishwashing soap. New test ride. Success! Silent rear brake with good power! Can definitely recommend this!
PSA: if you have painted brake pad housings, don’t dump the acetone all over them like in the vid as it’ll soften and strip off the paint and cause you issues. Just rubbing with a cloth is fine. Unfortunately I found this out the hard way...
Rubbing alcohol is better-it doesn’t really affect the paint, and acetone leaves a residue, especially finger nail polish remover, which also often contains additives. Didn’t seem to affect his brakes though.
That’s great. I just paid to replace disc rotors, bc the handyman convinced me those “blue lines” is a sign that the discs are over. Didn’t fiix the squeeling issue.. he suggested me to replace them again. Went to another service provider.. they suggested me this.
love your vids. had this same issue. the LBS cleaned rotors and pads and also sanded pads but the noise kept coming back. so...ended up just swapping in new pads and rotors and we're back to quiet braking. BUT, i loved the other rotors which cost $75 each compared to the crappy rotors i got in their stead, am wondering if the LBS sanded the surface contaminant into the resin pad and that's why it kept happening even after cleaning. regret not seeing this before i spent $60 on new pads and $130 on new rotors. def pads did not need replaced in terms of age, and neither did the rotors. just the rotors where white and matched the bike. lol.
Thank you so much for the tip! This method worked wonders on my contaminated brake pads and rotors! I just spent less than $2 to fix the thing, instead of buying a pair of new brake pads that'll cost me more than $5. Acetone, cotton balls, and sand paper did the trick for me.
I would not use acetone with resin pads. I work with resin mounts in the lab and we actually use acetone to break it.. i would use isopropyl alcohol, instead.
Bro! I tried alcohol just like the other channel tutorial but it still doest work until i saw this acetone. You saved me! Last time i bought new brake pads. I didnt know this back then. Thankfully i didnt throw the old brake pads. Haha
my wife almost scolded me when she saw me using her acetone hahahha! but great thanks. the best brake cleaning tip ive ever tried! yurushiku onengaisimasu!
Man, I'm all pro new tech and progress when it comes to bikes, however, discs on road bikes seem to be a huge headache for now. Maybe in the future, when these annoying things are sorted, I will move from rim brake to disc brake. Until then, I prefer riding my bike to fixing it all the time. Great video though.
you are right there,but i have an ebike the power with the v brakes was crap, and my rear disc brake will not shut up :( ur right i have to try fix it all the damn time.
Just bought an Ozark Trail Ridge 29 inch from Walmart as it's recommended by many to start getting into the hobby and my brakes make that noise from the get go. I thought it was due to cheap brakes as somebody recommended upgrading the brakes on the bike... so basically, now I understand it was actually due to the assembler at Walmart contaminating either or both the disc and pads. Smh. I didn't expect to put in work from the start from purchasing a "new" bike. That sucks, but good to know all I really need is nail polish remover and figuring how to disassemble my calipers/brake pads.
Class videos. I appreciate that your instructions are simple and you are not chasing the £ and suggest cheap options. The Rockbros cheap bikepacking bags you recommended were cheap but waterproof and have lasted. I hope integrity pays.
Hi there thank u for this useful video. Have u face the problem about disc bike when u riding in sitting position there is no sound. However when I ride in stand position some sounds come from disc.
Common issue there is that the calipers are not perfectly aligned. Can also happen when the brake mounting holes are not properly faced, so the caliper is sitting at a slight angle. Can also be flex in the fork/frame etc etc. But I’d start by setting to get the calipers as straight as possible.
Lightly sanding glazed pads, and spraying with aerosol brake cleaner works at treat. Contamination is worse with resin (soft) pads, less do with metallic pads. You can always rub the rotors with scotch brute, light sandpaper also, especially when installing new pads.
Thanks for the video! I have had squealing brakes for awhile and can’t figure out how to fix them. I’ve taken the bike to two different shops with no luck. I tried your method exact but still squeezing just as loud 😐
From what i heard you should switch out the pads and probably the disc too unless they already done it, and prob also getting new brake calipers is my best guess, but thats gonna cost basicly same as getting a new
Get some other brakes man. I had disc too. Nothing but cancer. Got Shimano roller brakes on my city bike. Know you nerds like your speed and lightweight parts, but holy fuck these are the best and only brakes I will use from now on. If anyone here wants to buy a citybike with disc brakes, please just don't for your own sake. Get roller brakes. 15.000 km and no problems so far. Haven't even changed them once.
Have you tried Isopropylic Alcohol? Its much stronger than normal alcohol and can dry pretty fast and get rid of any contamination, also works good when placing handlebars that dont have a lock
@@StuWright try sanding them, sort of worked for me atleast somewhat than before. I just tried didnt go full in ima do it soon but sanding both should work, atleast better
2:28 Acetone did it for me thanks! Oddly enough I had a bottle of acetone nail polish remover 5 feet from where I parked my bike. If I had been looking for that bottle I would never had found it. Must have been "new brake funk" because it was quiet on the 1st day and then squeaky (like a baby rabbit in a dogs mouth) while riding (not braking) on the 2nd day. Spinning the wheel backwards seemed to help as I cleaned it with acetone. (ace-tone)
Nice job! I had a leaking fork spewing oil out of my dust seals which, you guessed it, contaminated my brake pads giving that squeal.... Thanks for this informative video! I'll attempt this fix.
Some people say that acetone can wreck the resin pads and doesn’t work well and say don’t use it and use 99.9% isopropyl alcohol or 70% I have shimano mt200 with resin pads hydraulic can I use this are u sure acitone will be ok pls reply thz
Hello. Need your opinion about disc brakes. I'm currently on mechanical disc brakes (TRP Spyres) that work nice with durace rotors but I'm thinking about an upgrade to Hydraulic brakes . Do you think the switch worths the money? Thanks
Mineral oil to lubricate the pistons is great, but after you push them back, clean the inside with 99% isopropyl alcohol and QTips. Then wiped dry with shop towel, and you won’t re-contaminate the pads.
i have NEW set of Avid bb7s and they do squiell at light braking. when i squeze harder the noise stops. so what is happening there? and they are a fairly abrasive pad. thus i think its the combo or an aggressive pad AND a rotor that is thin and so cut out with holes/spokes than the rotor vibrates!!! what do you think? are the manufacturers cutting to much metal out of the rotors- causing them to vibrate excessively !!!!??? seems like a thicker rotor would not vibrate as much??? and i will probably have to find a less agro pad?
Why I used Nail polish remover? It was what I could get my hands on short notice (local super market), and also to make the point that you don't have to buy bike-specific products for 10 times the price. But you can of course use specific brake cleaners or isopropyl alcohol to get the same result.
As some of the comment have pointed out, there's a lot of nail polish remover out there that can contain a lot of other stuff that is less desirable for brakes, So if you go that route, get the cheap stuff that's basically 100% acetone and you should be fine! Happy Cleaning!
Previous post:
Sorry for the Re-upload! I accidentally deleted the original upload (Was suppose to delete the draft of an upcoming video) Hopefully it didn't spam your subs feed this time around. Apologies again 🙇♂️
cheers man, I was like "damn, this sounds so similar."..hahahaha. I was blaming the weed!!! cheers man. Absolutely love your channel and would love to own an Open UP even though I can barely afford even the wheels. love from India. and, watching this, I must say my mechanical brakes (TRP Spyre C) have been brilliant. water, mud, and now floods and still no contamination.
Still worth a re-watch. Like all your videos! Congrats on the channel, cheers from tiny Malta (Europe)
LOL! I was like "hmmm I guess his last fix didn't work"
Ah, ok. I saw the title, started to watch and wondered what the difference might be compared to your previous "silence"-video 🤔
all good my guy. you had any battery issues with your di2 yet? i'd love to see an "update" not a review video on your di2 experience :P Cheers tomodachi
I found that squeal more useful than the bell at getting oblivious pedestrians on the bike path out of the way
hahaa yeah! they jumped and stay away from my path almost immediately! :D
Same 😂
100% true. My bike sounded like a freight train coming through & boy did some people jump......
Haha...ace.
lol, hate the sound but started using it in place of a bell too.
I followed these instructions and was immediately approached by ladies asking for my number. Thanks!
Followed this video to clean my brakes years ago and it worked perfectly.
Fast forward to early this month. I built a new disc brake bike with some old parts. Brakes honked like crazy and power wasn't great.
Remembered this video, followed it again and brakes work perfectly and silent once more.
Double thanks :)
Awesome, happy to hear!
3 years later and I find this video. Couldn’t sleep and wait till morning to test. Had 2 pair of thick shimano pads and two rotors all infected. First soaked everything, then toothbrushed, sand, soaked and finally cleaned with rags. Put old brakes on and man, pads bit like a pit Bull not letting go. Your video still holds ! Great video information and had the best result! Never throw good pads and rotors away…acetone it!
Happy to hear! 🙌
im going to try this right now
But squealing brakes act as a great horn replacement.
I actually use the rear brakes for that :P:P
Oo yea i think the same
Down with thatt
But I woke the whole country side with my squealing 🤦🏼♀️
I used squeaking brakes for 2 years as a horn and it was effective until I fixed them bc it made me crazy lol
Brake manufacturers always say if the fluid gets on the pads then they become useless. I enjoyed the video thank you.
Well they actually are useless, if you dont fix it😅
The sound makes you almost not want to break
Legit
Just role it out hahaha
*brAke.
The bike doesn't want to BRAKE but I want BREAK!!!!
People ask me how I’m so fast on my mountain bike
Acetone is nice for the rotor but if you really want to effectively save brake pad best solution i found is to burn them. If they have some oil in them they will crack a bit in fire, once they stop cracking they're free from contamination and will ride as new.
I took bike to workshop and they couldn't fix the noise and your video worked 100% and the best thing was the acetone I used that I use to clean airbrushes and works a treat and just to say thanks again and again. Happy with silence.
For contaminated pads, I remove the pads and put them in the oven at 400f for 40 minutes. I have seen people burn them with lighter fluid or gasoline, but it's not as foolproof as the oven - burns off ANY contaminants. Let them cool slowly. Clean the rotors. Break them back in and you're good to go.
Gas torch if u are on the clock....
Useful video. Couple of things to be mindful of:
1. Be careful not to get nail polish remover/acetone on painted/clear coated surfaces. If you do, clean it off and definitely don't let it sit there for too long.
2. Use emery cloth, not sand paper. You don't want bits of grit from the sand paper getting embedded in your pads or stuck between the pad and the disc.
Excellent points. Also, if you did indeed get mineral oil on your rotors, just wiping the surfaces may not be enough. The small holes in the rotor can have mineral oil around the edges that may work it's way back into your brake pads if you ride in the wet again. I clean these with a q-tip dipped your favorite brake cleaner (acetone is fine - just be careful with it)
Emery cloth and sandpaper look the same to me.
Looks can be decieving. And there is something in a name. Sandpaper is just that. Paper with grit glued to it. It breaks down if it gets wet. Emory cloth is fabric (cloth) and much sturdier. It won't break down and she'd grit all over your project.
@@jimhansen5395 Thank you for the clarification. Will try these emery cloth. 😊
I'm guessing acetone is also called white spirit?
I was riding with my dog and my brakes started howling, my dog also started howling.😂
Absolutely great and detailed video. Some folks may disagree to the materials and methods, but I can see you have been through a lot of trial and error in both.
I just used this video to fix some brake howling on a brand new bike. I tried many other methods first but the Acetone was the key. Thanks for sharing. Still very useful 3 years on!
Not sure if it's been said before or not, but nail polish remover is not all the same. It's relatively dilute and can sometimes contain things like glycerin to help keep from drying out your skin. You can get pure acetone at hardware stores in the paint aisle with the rest of the solvents like mineral spirits.
I use brake clean spray on a rag.
Hey Hello... you didn't say if you use rubber gloves or not... but.. I just read a Scientific American article discussing harmful solvents. Please use rubber gloves if using the Brake Kleen that comes in a aerosol can. It is highly toxic and should have better warning labeling. I am old school(72 yrs) and never bothered to use rubber gloves until recently. After bladder cancer(removed), colon cancer(removed) and numerous skin cancers I am rethinking my earlier cavalier attitude toward protecting myself. Take Care(@@redtobertshateshandles
Life-saver of a video. I did the exact same thing: wasn't careful enough when cleaning the pads with mineral oil. Thanks for the detailed video on how to solve this problem.
Why would you clean the pads with mineral oil ?
@@Sage..... Puzzles me too.
my shimano brakes were not engaging with the rotor and this fixed it thank you
Perfect, I tried Zefal, Facom and MucOff disc brake cleaners and plain acetone is doing the same if not slightly better job !!!! (1/3 of the price)
Toothbrushing the pads with acetone is really effective and you don't have to sand the pads everytime !
Thanks a lot
I sipped the brake pads in a cup of lemon juice and left them in for a few hours. It appeared to help a tad, but not sufficiently. I must admit: I hadn't cleaned the pistons and the discs properly. I'll try denatured alcohol and SwissStop Brake Silencer. If that procedure doesn't help, I'll resort to your method. Thank you. And thank everyone suggesting alternatives to either the sandpaper or the acetone.
Have had this problem for ages and always stops after braking when flying down mountains. Will try this tonight! Cheers!
Hope it helps!
Nail polish remover worked! !! Cleaned the rims and gone. I was sooo embarrassed with that horrid noise!
Great Vidieo! Love your up close views.
Full pad and disc cleaning is important to understand, in order to be safe. It goes quick when you know how; even if you just spend a small time doing it; amazing results if the discs are not already warped from failing to bed-in the brakes correctly, like me. I warped my disc, and glazed the pads on the front wheel in 2 short test rides after I received it in the mail and set it up; Forgot to bed the brakes; most of my old bikes never had disc brakes..
warped the rotors a little; tried sanding the rotors, did not clean the pads, did not work; too contaminated. Have to do both; but if it's quick, probably won't matter; just do it fast. I used 1000 grit sand paper on. my discs and pads; with glass to rest the paper on, then taking pads evenly on the flat surface. Worked great; first time I've had to do it but my front brake sounded like a goose honking; it was horrible!
Thank you. Tried the exact same method and it worked!
But painted surface on the pads doesnt react well to acetone! LOL My swissstops yellow was peeling abit.
Sanding it down works and I cleaned away the dust residue with clean water & kitchen towel. Works like a charm!
Thanks for sharing this info! I'd been battling this problem for a while, and it was driving me crazy! I didn't know you could "wash" brake pads. I used isopropyl alcohol on mine (since I had it on hand) and it worked really well! I skipped the scuffing of the discs since I'd taken that step (aggressively) on a previous attempt to fix it. Now, I have the stopping power back, and the brakes are quiet, with just a tiny chirp from them in the last 20mm of a complete stop, which I can live with.
ありがとうございます！
SkarTisu awesome, glad to hear it worked for you 👍
Thanks, Tobias. I had installed some new pads after I had bled the brakes but probably did not clean up around sufficiently the calipers. So that was the likely cause of contamination. I followed your advice, to the letter, though I bought a stainless steel tray from a 100 yen store. Worked a charm. Sourcing Acetone is not easy in Japan. Nail Polish remover is the go. Always enjoy your videos and your excellent and amusing production. Peace.
Better method- clean everything with alcohol or solvent of your choice. Sand the pads a little bit. Get a creme brûlée torch and “burn” the pads and rotors by heating them up. This literally burns away any contaminates. Much faster as well. We do this at my shop and it works every time no matter how badly contaminated the pads and rotors are.
Nah man, a customer came in and his brakes squealing... he put tri-flow on the rotor... a nuclear bomb couldnt un contaminate the pads or rotor hahahaha. I just took them off and replaced hahaha
This^^^. Alcohol just spreads the oil around. If you don't burn it off, especially in all the vent holes, the oil will just recontaminate the pads. Slightly contaminated pads can be torched as well. Heat em up till they quit smoking. Quick sand to get rid of the polish, and good to go. Totally soaked pads need to be replaced.
Scott Hollister metal is porous also. The way his pads and rotors were, they weren’t fixable no matter what.
Hope it works, just waiting for my rotors to cool down, theyre supposed to be like liquid metal right?
Been using a torch for years. It's quick and simple and works every time. I clamp both pads in a vice at the same time (or all 4 if front and back are squealing). I heat the pad surface evenly until it catches on fire (it only takes a few seconds). That is the contaminate burning off. I remove the torch and let the pads flame out by themselves. I wipe the rotors with solvent (usually lacquer thinner). I put the pads back in the calipers and go ride. The whole process takes only 3~4 minutes.
Works like a charm! Thanks!
Edit: I've also used Meglio degreaser on both the pads and rotor. I have also sanded my pads with 220 grits , works too.
Thank you. I’m new to Disc brake and I almost gonna spend another 15 bucks for a pair of brake pads. I heard this crazy sound I thought it’s time to change some new pads but it’s actually cause from oil or something with dirty pads after I did all of your steps now it’s a quiet braking. Thank you ☺️
The Hyping Bee happy to hear it worked out for you 👍
Subscribed*
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Thank you for this ! I’ve just followed the steps and now silent brakes ! It was driving me nuts and rather embarrassing 😂
Great advice ! I have just tried your trick to get my rear brakes back to life and then bedded them in again … it works wonders !
I've had to "repair" my pads before I didn't clean them with anything but I did sand them down. I used drywall sanding screens instead though, that way when I sand the pad the dust will fall away from the pad and doesn't risk recontaminating the pads.
Nice one, cheers! Used this on the rear wheel of my MTB, and it worked a treat! From now on, I'll be using the shower cap hack when washing my bikes to keep contaminants off the rotors.
Found this video after 2 hours swearing at my brakes. Fixed. Thank you.
Great video. I didn’t have any nail polish remover, but “Goof Off” and 320 paper did the trick. Brand new brakes, with horrible banshee squeal… now sound wonderfully quiet!
I put pads into a small jar of petrol putvtge lid in and leave for a couple of hours. I then remove and clean with kitchen paper before i heat up on a gas stove to burn off any contaminents left on the surface. After that a light dry sand with 400 or 600 wet or dry paper. I haven't tried acetone but i do use a wax and grease remover.
Thank you so much, I followed your instructions and now my brakes are quiet!
Happy to hear it worked!
I always use rubbing alcohol with a completely dry clean shop tool . yes as stated in the video , it gets torn up and i toss them.any contaminants on rags end up on the parts . some rags don,t wick up the moisture , cotton is a good way to go if its free of any oil ,soap ,and fabric softener .
Great video by the way . And yes it really works !
TIP . if not bad . Sometimes a red scotch pad with alcohol on the disc to remove the glaze is all that is needed . because it is caused by road dust .
I wonder if bike shops make money selling unneeded pads and /or disks? Probably the honest ones will clean it the same way as shown . but charge you the hourly rate to do it.
I never thought about using nail polish remover. The only thing that worked for me was burning the disc and pads with a flame until red hot and then sanding them. But I will definitely give this a try next time; but far away from my paint.
Great tutorial, this helped to get rid of the annoying noise!
I just built a new bike w/ Ultegra brakes and the brake squeal at low speeds (just before stopping) was *horrible*. I followed these steps and now total silence.
Awesome to hear mate! Thanks for reporting back 🙏
About to try the same....brand new rotors. I must've been careless in my clean and installation...hoping it works
Likewise! I’m going to give this a try now. Were they like this from even before your first ride?
@@tori-youraiguide I put on brand new rotors, and the squeal was there right away, first ride. I consider this cleaning routine a "condition the new rotors" routine going forward.
Simple instructional video. Good job. By the way...your English is fine.
Works perfectly. My ears and pride thank you.
Haha
Is it me or these bicycles have gotten much more SUPER AWESOME & detailed down to the pawls/springs into the freehub body!!!!... but ALSO THEY are VERY very HIGH maintenance!? I remember being the only man who knew how to change tubes! I have a used Lefty F29 and I have been working on it ($$$) MORE than RIDING IT!
thanks for also confirming that bike noise you hear when your cruise without pedalling is normal! i thought there was something wrong with my bike but I like that noise, i use it when i cruise by busy shared paths so people know something is coming by
Dude, just take apart your wheel hub to see that the bearings cause the noise
It happens to the best of us, great easy to follow video for people at any skill level. 👍
Very good... I had extreme squeal with new brakes.... tried various options.... cleaning sanding, sanding rotors, different pads etc etc.... in the end what really helped was a long long down hill and keeping the brakes on just below the squeal.... I know u mentioned this.... I will try the acetone next time 👍👍👍
If it was a brand new bike it sounds like your issue might have been that the brakes had not been properly bedded in.
Rides of Japan very likely .... then again how does one bed in new brakes🤔🤔🤔
Fritz Dittmann the really thorough way to do it is something like this: ua-cam.com/video/2yl7KWaF_oA/v-deo.html
@@ridesofjapan the brakes not being bedded in will sound like the noise in your video?
@@tori-youraiguide no, the noise in my case was contamination.
Main issues with a brake system that’s not properly bedded in is “pulsing” feeling when braking and brake pad-life being really short. Doesn’t necessarily mean they get noisy.
Never cleaned brake pads or discs before on the more modern bike but after watching this video I'm gunna give it a go.great vid easy to under stand and helped alot thanks
Cheers mate!
But there no reason to do this unless you have problem with you brakes 👍
@@ridesofjapan the brakes ain't slowing me down properly takes a while to stop there quite new they've only been on for 4 months if done what u did in your video but there ain't much difference so I think the pads have some how got oil or grees or something on them they was also a lot of salt grit from the roads on them so I will just buy new 1s n see if that has an effect
How fortuitus I was just about to dispose of a pair of brake pads. Tried degreaser but no joy. Will save them and try this method. Thank you!
As an extreme last ditch effort I used oven cleaner on my rotors and brake pads and rinsed well with water and it worked. But this stuff is very caustic and can etch /damage metal and bearings and damage paint so use at your own risk. Oven cleaner is the best degreaser I have found.
i just use a torch and heat them up and when it stops smoking its done, it works great!
good video. usefull for expensive pads. if they cost around 5-6€ and old ones are halfway done, just replace the pads.
took 95% of the noise. Great fix, thanks
Isopropyl alcohol works great as well! And it has the benefit that you can buy it pure, so it leaves no residue and contains no water (or very little water) compared to acetone solutions.
A pricey but effective option is also to buy a specific brake cleaner for cars or bikes (muc-off is expensive but it does work great and it evaporates faster than acetone and alcohol)
Hey, I just learned a better way to clean the pads!
1: Apply a generous amount of dishwasher soap to the braking surface of both pads.
2: Rub the pads together for maybe 10-30 seconds. You'll see pitch black dishwasher soap ooze out from between the pads.
3: Rinse under hot water while still rubbing the pads together.
4: repeat a few times. I just tried it on the squeakiest pads I've ever experienced, and after 3-4 repetitions they looked good again. Note that they look more like silver than that bronze tint when you're done, but once you wipe them dry, they will look like new pads.
(Brasklapp: I haven't test ridden yet, so I don't know if it really worked, but befoer cleaning they squeaked on the work stand, now they don't)
Ok, test ride complete. The first attempt actually failed. I actually only tried with the rear brake, and put in a new set of pads in the front. Front was completely silent. Rear was better than before, but not good. Still pretty lousy power, still some howling. I then realized that I had cleaned the front rotor much more thoroughly than the rear, so I went back in and gave the rear rotor a good scrub. Since the pads had likely been re-contamined by the not perfectly clean disc, I gave them some more dishwashing soap. New test ride. Success! Silent rear brake with good power! Can definitely recommend this!
Thx
The way to fix compromised brakes is to "haul ass downhill" 😃
@G Georg you refer to yourself actually
PSA: if you have painted brake pad housings, don’t dump the acetone all over them like in the vid as it’ll soften and strip off the paint and cause you issues. Just rubbing with a cloth is fine.
Unfortunately I found this out the hard way...
Rubbing alcohol is better-it doesn’t really affect the paint, and acetone leaves a residue, especially finger nail polish remover, which also often contains additives. Didn’t seem to affect his brakes though.
That’s great. I just paid to replace disc rotors, bc the handyman convinced me those “blue lines” is a sign that the discs are over. Didn’t fiix the squeeling issue.. he suggested me to replace them again. Went to another service provider.. they suggested me this.
love your vids.
had this same issue. the LBS cleaned rotors and pads and also sanded pads but the noise kept coming back. so...ended up just swapping in new pads and rotors and we're back to quiet braking. BUT, i loved the other rotors which cost $75 each compared to the crappy rotors i got in their stead, am wondering if the LBS sanded the surface contaminant into the resin pad and that's why it kept happening even after cleaning. regret not seeing this before i spent $60 on new pads and $130 on new rotors. def pads did not need replaced in terms of age, and neither did the rotors. just the rotors where white and matched the bike. lol.
Thank you so much for the tip! This method worked wonders on my contaminated brake pads and rotors! I just spent less than $2 to fix the thing, instead of buying a pair of new brake pads that'll cost me more than $5. Acetone, cotton balls, and sand paper did the trick for me.
Awesome, Happy to hear that! 👍
Lacquer thinner will also work if you cannot find acetone. They are in the same family of hydrocarbons.
I would not use acetone with resin pads. I work with resin mounts in the lab and we actually use acetone to break it.. i would use isopropyl alcohol, instead.
Bro! I tried alcohol just like the other channel tutorial but it still doest work until i saw this acetone. You saved me! Last time i bought new brake pads. I didnt know this back then. Thankfully i didnt throw the old brake pads. Haha
Great video - simple, effective advice presented in a clear & positive way.
Your English is a lot better than many people who only speak English.
Great upload! I'll subscribe now and do this to my brakes later, lol.
my wife almost scolded me when she saw me using her acetone hahahha! but great thanks. the best brake cleaning tip ive ever tried! yurushiku onengaisimasu!
Man, I'm all pro new tech and progress when it comes to bikes, however, discs on road bikes seem to be a huge headache for now. Maybe in the future, when these annoying things are sorted, I will move from rim brake to disc brake.
Until then, I prefer riding my bike to fixing it all the time. Great video though.
you are right there,but i have an ebike the power with the v brakes was crap, and my rear disc brake will not shut up :( ur right i have to try fix it all the damn time.
Great tutorial mate! I just did my first air job on my hydralics now i will try this because i still have so much sound when i break. Thanks
Nice vid. Will give this a go tomorrow as my brakes are making a horrendous noise
Excellent guide helped me a lot
Thank you very much
Just bought an Ozark Trail Ridge 29 inch from Walmart as it's recommended by many to start getting into the hobby and my brakes make that noise from the get go.
I thought it was due to cheap brakes as somebody recommended upgrading the brakes on the bike... so basically, now I understand it was actually due to the assembler at Walmart contaminating either or both the disc and pads. Smh. I didn't expect to put in work from the start from purchasing a "new" bike. That sucks, but good to know all I really need is nail polish remover and figuring how to disassemble my calipers/brake pads.
I live in the country which doesn't have bike lane, so in order to say "hey I'm here don't try to ram me", the squeaking discbrake helps a lot.
Class videos. I appreciate that your instructions are simple and you are not chasing the £ and suggest cheap options. The Rockbros cheap bikepacking bags you recommended were cheap but waterproof and have lasted. I hope integrity pays.
Incredibly hilarious Intro!
Great video man 🏁
I just followed your advice...it worked great! Thanks for the easy to follow instructions.
Hi there thank u for this useful video. Have u face the problem about disc bike when u riding in sitting position there is no sound. However when I ride in stand position some sounds come from disc.
Common issue there is that the calipers are not perfectly aligned.
Can also happen when the brake mounting holes are not properly faced, so the caliper is sitting at a slight angle.
Can also be flex in the fork/frame etc etc.
But I’d start by setting to get the calipers as straight as possible.
Thanks for the guidance! It worked for me, brakes are like new now.
Glad to hear it worked!
Excellent video, very educational... tks bro
Lightly sanding glazed pads, and spraying with aerosol brake cleaner works at treat. Contamination is worse with resin (soft) pads, less do with metallic pads.
You can always rub the rotors with scotch brute, light sandpaper also, especially when installing new pads.
Patrick Parisien or Patricia Parisienne
@@jsaintclair1 neither mate, that’s my name!
Thanks for the video! I have had squealing brakes for awhile and can’t figure out how to fix them. I’ve taken the bike to two different shops with no luck. I tried your method exact but still squeezing just as loud 😐
From what i heard you should switch out the pads and probably the disc too unless they already done it, and prob also getting new brake calipers is my best guess, but thats gonna cost basicly same as getting a new
Get some other brakes man. I had disc too. Nothing but cancer. Got Shimano roller brakes on my city bike. Know you nerds like your speed and lightweight parts, but holy fuck these are the best and only brakes I will use from now on. If anyone here wants to buy a citybike with disc brakes, please just don't for your own sake. Get roller brakes. 15.000 km and no problems so far. Haven't even changed them once.
Have you tried Isopropylic Alcohol? Its much stronger than normal alcohol and can dry pretty fast and get rid of any contamination, also works good when placing handlebars that dont have a lock
Micael Marcos that should work as well 👍
Those little alcohol pads you buy at Rite Aid work great for this. Just stuff a couple in your seat pack.
doesnt work on my bike........cleaned rotor and new brakes, same squeeky shit.
@@StuWright try sanding them, sort of worked for me atleast somewhat than before. I just tried didnt go full in ima do it soon but sanding both should work, atleast better
Thanks for the video. The breaks on my brothers Raleigh bike started making this noise, hope this cleaning will help.
2:28 Acetone did it for me thanks! Oddly enough I had a bottle of acetone nail polish remover 5 feet from where I parked my bike. If I had been looking for that bottle I would never had found it. Must have been "new brake funk" because it was quiet on the 1st day and then squeaky (like a baby rabbit in a dogs mouth) while riding (not braking) on the 2nd day. Spinning the wheel backwards seemed to help as I cleaned it with acetone. (ace-tone)
Legit thought the start of the video was an ad for insurance or something 😂😂
I only had cheap engine degreaser on hand but that and checking the caliper position did the job. CHEERS no more death squeal.
Good video. Thanks. I find that I have to do this very two or three weeks which is a real pain! Putting me off ever have a disc bike again!
If you have to do it that often, I’d worry something else is not right, like leaking pistons or something 🤔
Disc brakes are overhyped. Nothing but problems.
Nice job! I had a leaking fork spewing oil out of my dust seals which, you guessed it, contaminated my brake pads giving that squeal.... Thanks for this informative video! I'll attempt this fix.
Isopropyl alcohol works for me 😉 you don't need loads of it, tried NPR but noise was back quickly!
Your videos are comical but yet informative. I'm so happy that I'm a subscriber to your channel.
Some people say that acetone can wreck the resin pads and doesn’t work well and say don’t use it and use 99.9% isopropyl alcohol or 70% I have shimano mt200 with resin pads hydraulic can I use this are u sure acitone will be ok pls reply thz
As time pass, more and more I appreciate V-brake system
Thats it… new is not always better
Hello. Need your opinion about disc brakes. I'm currently on mechanical disc brakes (TRP Spyres) that work nice with durace rotors but I'm thinking about an upgrade to Hydraulic brakes . Do you think the switch worths the money? Thanks
Just done this after watching your video. Worked a treat thank you 👍
Glad it helped
Tip from a bike shop I got; use a creme brulee lighter or similar and burn the acces contaminations
I am fixing mine with a nice long downhill. When the rotors gets red/blue all is fixed :-D
Mineral oil to lubricate the pistons is great, but after you push them back, clean the inside with 99% isopropyl alcohol and QTips. Then wiped dry with shop towel, and you won’t re-contaminate the pads.
Better still, sewing machine oil. Much, much finer.
mascara snake it might eat at the seals.
i have NEW set of Avid bb7s and they do squiell at light braking. when i squeze harder the noise stops. so what is happening there? and they are a fairly abrasive pad. thus i think its the combo or an aggressive pad AND a rotor that is thin and so cut out with holes/spokes than the rotor vibrates!!! what do you think? are the manufacturers cutting to much metal out of the rotors- causing them to vibrate excessively !!!!??? seems like a thicker rotor would not vibrate as much??? and i will probably have to find a less agro pad?
How do I clean the brake caliper? Did you use any products like the nail polish remover or was it just a dry cloth with nothing on it?
what is the brand of your 6 bolt disc brake rotor ? shimano ? which model ? it works with dura ace brake caliper ?
Sean Edou Hope floating rotors
Easier way is to put your disk and pads on a container get boiling water and pure it and live it for 3mins hope it helps rider from the Philippines 😊