Hi GC Performance, Thank you for choosing to test and review our Disc Brake Cleaner! We genuinely value constructive feedback and insight especially from bike mechanics. We have a few suggestions and thoughts on how best to use the product and how best to prevent the damage to rotors and pads that’s shown in your video. Our Disc Brake Cleaner is engineered to be an easy to use preventative tool to prevent pads and rotors from becoming damaged beyond repair. The most effective way of preventing the damage we see in your video is to proactively spray our Disc Brake Cleaner on the rotors and pads after every long ride especially if the frame and components appear dirty. The pads and rotor in this video appear to have been contaminated and then ridden on for an extended period of time which deeply embeds particulates into the pad and damages the rotor’s braking surface, thus reducing the likelihood of our Disc Brake Cleaner solving the problem. Recommendations on best practices for using our Disc Brake Cleaner: After watching your video we'd recommend being more liberal and aggressive with the application of our Disc Brake Cleaner. Make sure to completely spray and soak the entire braking surface of the rotor and pads when cleaning. When deep cleaning pads, we recommend soaking the pad, then applying sand paper to it in a circular motion and then applying a second soaking of Disc Brake Cleaner. Finally, as you already know eventually all brake pads need replacing, especially if they’re not cared for regularly. We really like your videos! Please feel free to reach out to us if you’d like to test and review any of our other products. We’d be happy to send you a few samples. -The Finish Line Team
Thank you guys so much!! That’s awesome, and I completely understand the part about some pads being to far too gone. It makes a lot more sense to be like preventive tool to help. But I will continue to use it for after bleeds and cleaning. Send me an email and I would love to do more videos on it. Thanks so much Gcperformanceyt@gmail.com
It's 2024 and this stuff works. Remeber that it's a solvent that needs to wash away the grime. Apply liberally and follow up with the standard bed-in procedure.
Likewise, I have use the product as instructed but it does not work. I even soaked the pads with the sprayed solution, wait for it to dry before putting everything back, the squeal persists, unfortunately. I have since moved on to another product and procedure and it worked every time. Sorry.
Try bedding them in again, like you do with new pads. When you clean the rotor then sand the pads you take the film of friction material off. I'm a car guy that happens to ride & fix bikes. The bike disc brake system is a lot more robust than what people think. The friction material on the pads is very similar to that on cars. Look in the environment they live in. The race bikes use mettalic pads just like race cars. They make noise like no tomorrow but, they do stop. As long as both surfaces are clean & square, caliper centered up, pads bedded in, all should work fine.
Some cyclists like working on their bikes 🤓✋🏽 Once you become disciplined and becomes a habit . A lot can’t even hold a screwdriver so for them yeah old tech should be easier . It’s not bad for me always having a brand new looking bike and groupset once you have your own stand tools cleaning and re-lubing becomes a breeze while drinking a recovery brew and cooling down the feet . 😎
@@emmanuelmr.p I agree, since I like fiddling, working on my bike is fun. Except for the part when the rs505 (pre105) pistons cracked in my hydraulic brakes. and I had to replace the whole calliper, then the other went, but because I keep crap used the other piston from the old calliper to save me $100.
I died laughing with the “test”. I had high hopes for complete silence haha. I wish I knew that answer too. My brand new brakes squeak a little already too so I don’t know 🤷🏻♂️
In the case of autos, back when I worked on them, there is an anti-squeal compound that you apply between the caliper piston and the back of the pad. It absorbs vibration (which is the source of sound, just like a guitar string or drum head).
I've owned an Allez sprint disc for over four years now and never had an issue with noisy brakes. Four weeks ago the dreaded squeal began. I tried everything, similar to what is suggested in the video and comments. Nothing worked, the squeal would always return after approximately 60-80km of riding. I came to the conclusion that it can't be the rotors or pads. It must be the wheel. After inspecting the wheel, I noticed there was play in the hub bearings. So I replaced the bearings. Like magic no more squealing brakes. I've now ridden close to 500km and the squeal hasn't returned. My guess, due to the worn bearings, when breaking the system resonates at a frequency and the wheels were acting like a speaker. Hope this is the solution for others. It worked for me.
that is crazy and good troubleshooting on your end, yea in biking there are a lot of little noises, like squeaks, tics, knocking noises, but it all comes down to process of elimination
i usually do this and it always works. 1) brush the pads with industrial alcohol , wash off 2) sand with sand paper 3) wash off 4) wipe disc with industrial alcohol 5) clean caliper and piston with alcohol. Done. and it always work.
Great honest video man! We use muc off disc brake cleaner which seems to work. But, we usually burn 🔥 the pads & rotors to get rid of contamination then sand them. But yeah, thats disc brakes 😂
Lmaooo I honestly usually call it as soon as a customer walks in for noise. They are gonna maybe pay around the same amount for pads and rotors for me doing all that labor and time to do thag lol
I had this problem too. And however I clean and sand the brake pads it always came back. Only solution so far is to hurl myself down a hill and make the brakes squal as loud as possible, at the bottom of the hill I will have braking power and the brakes are a lot quieter. I think maybe there was residue in the brake rotor holes. Supposedly you should be able to burn it of with a small blow torch, but I havent tried that yet.
I think it's freshly cleaned that's why it squeals. When i clean my rotors and pads, it takes a few kms before the squeals disappear. I use sandpaper on the pads, dish it in hot water and then spray it with alcohol. That's based on my experience
I use a different brand, but of the same disc cleaner. I've never used it on pads, just sand paper. On the rotors, I spent the cleaner onto a clean cloth, and wipe the rotor breaking surface. Been doing this every few hundred km for the last year and works great.
yea I think in this video the pads were too far gone but this product works great to maintain the discs after a wet ride or a muddy ride to clean them and to prevent them from sounding like this
I always put a small bit of grease on the backing plate, and I also would spray the cleaner on a rag and then clean both sides of the rotor. However, according to the directions that you read off the can, it should have worked. Thanks for sharing!
I would also use a 220 wet dry sandpaper and re-scuff both sides of the rotor to remove as much glaze as you can. I would also make sure that the pads are well beveled on the leading and trailing edge. You can also try anti-squeal compound on the backside of the pads being careful you don’t get it on the rotor. If that doesn’t work then by process of elimination replace the pads and replace the rotors and bed them in properly.
Had contaminated rear brake pads. Did the whole sanding rigamorol. Nothing. My dentist (avid cyclist) took my pads to his office and sandblasted them with a a dental sandblaster. I degreased the rotor and scuffed it up with 220 grit sand paper. They burned in beautifully.
I had the same problem, i just used a little bit of brake cleaner, lit in on fire. Burned for 20 seconds, nothing. Then i took out the propane torch, and "cooked" them both for about 3 mins, with some breaks, cleaned them, sanded them, and it stopped squeling. I recommend the method I used. Good video tho!
New pads, with cleaning of the rotors, is, unfortunately mostly always the solution, from my experience. You can try a "run-in" period after the procedure you just did so that they can heat up and friction can burn off and reduce and/or evaporate any leftover contaminants but most of the time, your pads have fully soaked up the greasy contaminants to the core, like a sponge. Another thing is that you will ALWAYS generate squeal by applying the brake and rolling the bike, walking alongside it afterwards. You need to actually take the bike out for a few rides with the weight of yourself on the bike while applying the brakes to shave off the greasy layer that you have just cleaned. You're always at a 50/50 success rate with this scenario.
This will sound crazy, but many times the source of that noise is coming from the area between the back of the pads and the caliper pistons. I’ll give you a few areas to chase after. First, scotch bright is your friend. Use it on the rotors. Second, the BACK of the brake pads. Look at them for witness marks to see where the piston is contacting. If it looks like there are a few high points, fine sandpaper the backs of the pads, and a light treatment on the caliper pistons. The bigger of a contact patch you can achieve, the better. Take for a road test and if there’s till a problem, Last, and this will require an expensive Park Tool Brake caliper mount facing tool. Reface the caliper mount. If during that process you find the mount was out of parallel etc, then the pads will be too since they’ve been on the bike a while, and will need to be replaced.
I think your suppose to soak the pads in the solution using a container. And than sand. I normally just take off the rotor, wash and sand with some dish soap till the darker marks are gone. And I also wash and sand the pads till all the shiny stuff goes away. The glaze is what causes the disc brakes to make noise. Oh and I forgot I also do a wipe down with some isopropyl alcohol once everything is back on the back before riding. Sometimes you will need to re-align the calipers. On my MTB bikes normally the brakes howl is when the caliper us not straight and one side of the pads come into contact with the rotors first when braking. Or like you said just replace new rotors and pads. Much easier if money is no issue.
Soak I solution. I interpret that as squirt some into a container. Submerge the pads in the solution and leave for a while. Also I think after the rotors had dried, getting a clean rag, spray it the cleaner and wipe the rotors clean
Its a feature, not a bug 🙂. See, now your customer doesn't have to call out his stops in groups rides, and conserve 'watts'. IMHO, it only is ever a problem if it starts to squeal when he's not braking, but that feature is a SRAM exclusive.
It’s the pads I had the same problem last week on my venge after my local Specialized concept store contaminated the pads. Changed the pads cleaned the rotors and problem solved.
spray on rotor, clean with a clean rag till no more dirt comes off the break track. Sandpaper of the top of the pads, take of more then just the surface caus the oil soaks in deeper. Spray on the pad and light it on fire and let the fire die out. Mount everything again and see the results. I'm not entirely shore, but letting the pads soak to long will ruin the material. Burn to get out residue. You can try heating it up with a "blowtorch" You can try heating up the rotor to, but don't warp in. Try with a old one first.
no lie acetone works amazingly, I tried to make it just like how the product advertises but Imean I have got a ton of them to work with a lot of work and trial and error
Lol all that work!!! Should’ve sand paper the disc as well. Have some hi and shiny spots on the disc that the sandpaper would’ve taken care of!! Rim brakes!!!
I use this stuff and I just spray on a cloth and wipe the hell out of the rotor and then after I let it dry I ride it around the neighborhood and burn them in and it seems to work
Remove rotor and scrub with a sponge and strong washing up liquid. Leave to soak in soapy water then rinse thoroughly. Finally wipe off soap/water residue with isopropyl alcohol. Replace pads before re-installing rotors and off you go, works like a charm 👍🏼
I clean my brake rotor by spraying and wiping it a couple of times with perfectly clean paper towels. I clean, then sand the pads so I don't sand contamination into the pads. Then I clean them again after just to be dead sure. Then I do a pad breakin procedure. Also, I don't come to a complete stop with my brakes on. I get almost stopped then let the brake off and put a foot down. Mine stay pretty quiet, not dead silent but I had to start yelling so I wouldn't sneak up on people at stop lights. I haven't tried that particular cleaner.
First step, do a proper bedding in. Everybody can do it with a 5 min UA-cam tutorial (ParkTool, Sram... same procedure anyway) Never spray anything on pads. Clean brake dust with clean rag and water when necessary. Check if you use resin pads instead of metal pads. Resin - road conditions Metal - more grip and durability on bad condition (DH, MTB, CX...) can be noisy!
It literally says directly on the can to spray pads. Also the pads were already bedded in. But after I did the cleaning i bedded them in whole riding up and down the street
Lol, that test after cleaning was epic! The sound made my dog all cringy and ran away! 🤣 In any case, what I try to do is similar to my cars disc brakes. After a while you get slight ridges which can produce sound somewhat like the rim of a wine glass if you rub your wet finger around it. So I just chamfer the edges of the pads to avoid it touching those ridges and sand the pad surface too. Seems to work mostly. You could try that on bike disc brakes and see if it helps.
Why would someone want to get rid of that squeak? You don't have to ring your bell passing people on the trail. Just put on your brakes and scare the crap out of them. Fun!
My dad has a Sram SL7 Pro and his breaks squeal like that. I kept telling him it was the lower quality Sram components 🤣. Now I see its happening on Shimano too lolol
Yo’ washing the bike helps specially road disc .. I honestly think half the issue it’s discipline of keeping it clean after riding over puddles and not choosing to ride it on the rain if it happens well get In the habit to clean after or pay later .. They are not MTB’s even a lot of them spray the mud off it right off the trail before they loaded , for road as you mentioned we pick up oil and debree specially in the city . The other big one it think it’s squeezing the crap of the levers to stop right after not keeping the rotor clean all it takes it’s a look before and after , if it ain’t smooth your pads are set incorrectly not clean and improper breaking technique . I just brush mine evenly and progressively stop instead of constantly slamming on them that’s a good way to warp them and scratch them and lead to loud noises . IME ridding disc on road since 2016
Clean the rotors with a cloth. Maybe take the rotors off and regrease the centerlock? Might be vibration. I use the shimano rotor cleaning and it works fine
Put alcohol in a spray bottle does the same thing. Looks like those might be metallic pads. They make a lot more noise. And once you use metallic pad you can't go to semi-metallic organic. Good tips in this video.
Clean the pads with sand paper and clean the rotors with paint thinner on a towel.If there is something on the rotor it will defenately remove it.Dont rub the paint obviously :D
lmao I could but all it really is, is jsut patience plus I have a bike stand to help me out and also I am getting paid to solve this problem where as you the consumer are not and thats why people tend to give up...and jsut bring it in to me lol, but I am not against it and i think it would be nice vidoe
@@GCPerformance18 sounds great! I do have a bike tool stand myself. But it’s extremely difficult to tune road bike’s disc brake calipers compare to mtb ones. Would love to learn the techniques!
Pull the pads out. Sand them on 100 grit sandpaper so they are clean and level. Clean the disk with cheap automotive brake cleaner and a green scotch pad. Done.
You should always remove rotors when cleaning with strong spray solvents to avoid overspray which will soak into bearings. Also don’t spread shimano pistons with a metal tool, as the ceramic pistons can easily crack and write off the calliper. Read the shimano white paper on servicing of their callipers!
I never use finishline products in lubes, cleaning or anything its just branding selling of products that dont work. one suggestion is acetone the pads and scrub then sand lightly with a plaster sand paper mesh not sand paper, then clean rotors with isopropal or brake kleener. Their is a bloke in Austalia called oz cycles he is the genious of cycle maintenance.
Once the squeal arrives there’s little you can do but sometimes you get lucky. On one ride my mates emonda got a puncture in his front tubeless tyre his new white top was covered in pink sealant, then on the last 40 miles his rear rotor started squealing and he bust a spoke. That century ride cost him between £100 to £150 in parts not bad for a two week old bike.new tyre , new disc, pads tyre sealent and tape.
Clean with isopropyl then climb to the top of a hill (yeah I know Florida is flat) and fly down and burn the brakes in again. After getting them super hot, squeal will be history
@@GCPerformance18 We see this in our shop often from city bikes or from older ebike riders. Most roadies brake too soft or conservatively to build heat in the brakes (especially in flat areas) and that soft braking leads to the pads and rotors becoming polished. The polished shine you saw on the pads and roughed up with sandpaper isn't contamination, just the result of soft braking. It's what causes brake squeal and is the same effect as if you spin a wet finger on the top of a wine glass. The finger can't grip because of the lubrication factor of it being wet and the result is vibrations resonating in the glass. Get the brakes hot just like you would to "burn in" or "break in" on a new bike, they will quiet down and squeal will disappear.
Loads & loads of gritty mud liberally plastered over discs, and your good to go. In almost 25 years of using discs I've never experienced squeal. Your rotors are far too clean. Stop obsessing!
Easy fix remove the wheels clean off with alcohol+microfibre wipe. Take the pads off, sand them down a little bit. If that doesn't work then take the rotor off. Use a blow torch on it just enough to heat the surface/burn off any contamination.
@@superstrada6847 I've had a disc brake bike for 2 years now. I live in Vancouver lots of hills and some nice local rideable mountains. Wouldn't trust rim brake. I work on my bike so to me it's not a hassle it's an extra 2-5 minutes out of the year.
why not take off the rotors for cleaning? takes 1 minute with centrelock systems. Also I spray the rotors once, wipe with cloth, and then spray again its normal for that squeal after cleaning but disappears after 30 seconds of hard braking as all the contaminants are evaporated from heat. The solvent works by dissolving the oils/contaminants (solute) in it forming a solution. You then must blow of the solution with additional spray or wipe it off
Just sand the pads. And for the rotor spray them and wipe it off. You have to get the contamination off the rotor as well. It won't come off without wiping it.
I agree I usually go at this a different way but I wanted to read the bottle and do exactly as it says, but I usually sand rotors as well and everything
Muc Off Disc Brake Cleaner works a treat only advice always use latex gloveswhen cleaning and replacing anything to do with breaks another handy reminder is when cleaning I like to remove the pads and clean down area with APA baby wet wipe and then spray the disc cleaner can't see logic of only cleaning the surface and not under the hod so to speak! EDIT: Oh also recently bought these FINISH LINE GEAR FLOSS MICROFIBRE ROPE highly recommend them for cleaning... God I have OCD wen it comes to cleanliness ad my bikes...
www.google.com/search?q=disc+brake+silencer+swissstop&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwitvtGk4fTuAhVpleAKHTYrDSQQ_AUoAnoECAUQBA&biw=1280&bih=689#imgrc=OrUji2Smj37z5M This is the only product that solve noisy disc brake. (Or equivalent) 1. Shake the bottle 2. Poor some on a clean rag 3. Make sure to put it everywere on the disc 4. Go ride the bike and make couple of stop and go until the noise disapear 5. Enjoy noise free rotor again (works every time)
Ask manufacturer and/or good bike mechanics. Don’t use / recommand product to put on pads or disc. Products like this reduce friction/noise meaning reduce braking performance
Use a blowtorch to burn the oil out of the pads. Then wet sand them with 400 grit black sandpaper to create a smooth braking surface. I left my pads soaking in acetone for a day and that didn't do shit. It's a bitch to get the oil out once it has soaked in.
I but cans of generic brake cleaner from my local auto parts store, and it works great! I also spray the pads and hit them with sandpaper to deglaze them. I also scuff the rotor surfaces to remove any build up of material. What I do is spray the lot lightly then go for a quick ride around the block and apply the brakes from decent speed to almost a stop. Within 3-4 applications the noise reduces, and then stops. I think it’s important to allow the surfaces to re-bed with each other. We regularly did the same in racing cars when braking performance wasn’t quite right.
I find descending on Steep Grade tends to over heat then get the squealing , so you can either buy pads and rotors every month or turn up the ear buds disc brake problems ☹️
Lol I don't miss this being back on rim brakes, I used IPA and sand paper and the noise always came back.... New rotas are £45 EACH in the UK New Pads are £20 x2 as u only get 2 pads per set.... So a total of..... £130 for something u may need to change YEARLY not including any bleeding.... Alloy training wheels like the scribes, hunts or Zondas are around £300 most people will get 5 years plus out of a NEW alloy wheelset So... 300 / 5 years = £60 per year Add on pads u might need to change once per year like Swiss stop BXP they're £20 for a pack of 4... Total yearly cost £80.00 with less grief, lighter and easier to maintain. So this just shows imo discs may save your rim but in most cases they're costing u more anyway 🙈
Ceramic embedded pads, just like in automobiles? I think the real problem with squeaky disc brakes is simply due to them being wafer thin metal that vibrates too easily, especially at that sweet harmonic point as demonstrated. Lol. Better tech designs in materials might save disc brakes noisy flaw.
Hi GC Performance,
Thank you for choosing to test and review our Disc Brake Cleaner! We genuinely value constructive feedback and insight especially from bike mechanics. We have a few suggestions and thoughts on how best to use the product and how best to prevent the damage to rotors and pads that’s shown in your video.
Our Disc Brake Cleaner is engineered to be an easy to use preventative tool to prevent pads and rotors from becoming damaged beyond repair. The most effective way of preventing the damage we see in your video is to proactively spray our Disc Brake Cleaner on the rotors and pads after every long ride especially if the frame and components appear dirty. The pads and rotor in this video appear to have been contaminated and then ridden on for an extended period of time which deeply embeds particulates into the pad and damages the rotor’s braking surface, thus reducing the likelihood of our Disc Brake Cleaner solving the problem.
Recommendations on best practices for using our Disc Brake Cleaner: After watching your video we'd recommend being more liberal and aggressive with the application of our Disc Brake Cleaner. Make sure to completely spray and soak the entire braking surface of the rotor and pads when cleaning. When deep cleaning pads, we recommend soaking the pad, then applying sand paper to it in a circular motion and then applying a second soaking of Disc Brake Cleaner. Finally, as you already know eventually all brake pads need replacing, especially if they’re not cared for regularly.
We really like your videos! Please feel free to reach out to us if you’d like to test and review any of our other products. We’d be happy to send you a few samples.
-The Finish Line Team
Thank you guys so much!! That’s awesome, and I completely understand the part about some pads being to far too gone. It makes a lot more sense to be like preventive tool to help. But I will continue to use it for after bleeds and cleaning. Send me an email and I would love to do more videos on it. Thanks so much
Gcperformanceyt@gmail.com
just how professional you guys replied, I am buying it. GC Performance great video
It's 2024 and this stuff works. Remeber that it's a solvent that needs to wash away the grime. Apply liberally and follow up with the standard bed-in procedure.
Likewise, I have use the product as instructed but it does not work. I even soaked the pads with the sprayed solution, wait for it to dry before putting everything back, the squeal persists, unfortunately. I have since moved on to another product and procedure and it worked every time. Sorry.
Try bedding them in again, like you do with new pads. When you clean the rotor then sand the pads you take the film of friction material off. I'm a car guy that happens to ride & fix bikes. The bike disc brake system is a lot more robust than what people think. The friction material on the pads is very similar to that on cars. Look in the environment they live in. The race bikes use mettalic pads just like race cars. They make noise like no tomorrow but, they do stop.
As long as both surfaces are clean & square, caliper centered up, pads bedded in, all should work fine.
I was having this issue, even after cleaning them with alcohol. The solution was to “bed” the brakes, not to just clean them.
In sum, disc brakes are alot of work.
Yesh
You must be joking, so much easier. All the toeing in crap. Business card and an Allen key,
Some cyclists like working on their bikes 🤓✋🏽 Once you become disciplined and becomes a habit .
A lot can’t even hold a screwdriver so for them yeah old tech should be easier .
It’s not bad for me always having a brand new looking bike and groupset once you have your own stand tools cleaning and re-lubing becomes a breeze while drinking a recovery brew and cooling down the feet . 😎
@@emmanuelmr.p I agree, since I like fiddling, working on my bike is fun. Except for the part when the rs505 (pre105) pistons cracked in my hydraulic brakes. and I had to replace the whole calliper, then the other went, but because I keep crap used the other piston from the old calliper to save me $100.
Actually it's an easy job maintaining them..
I'd say finish line will be delighted with this review 😂
lol!!!!!!!
hahhaha I hope they contact me and tell me what I did wrong I wouild love a solution to this
I guess this was a non-sponsored video...
I died laughing with the “test”. I had high hopes for complete silence haha. I wish I knew that answer too. My brand new brakes squeak a little already too so I don’t know 🤷🏻♂️
Lmao thank you
My brakes don't squeak... They squeal as if crying out in pain 🥲
Sand slightly the braking surface of the rotors as well... sometimes they just vibrates because they are resonating... Worked for me.
In the case of autos, back when I worked on them, there is an anti-squeal compound that you apply between the caliper piston and the back of the pad. It absorbs vibration (which is the source of sound, just like a guitar string or drum head).
I've owned an Allez sprint disc for over four years now and never had an issue with noisy brakes. Four weeks ago the dreaded squeal began. I tried everything, similar to what is suggested in the video and comments. Nothing worked, the squeal would always return after approximately 60-80km of riding. I came to the conclusion that it can't be the rotors or pads. It must be the wheel. After inspecting the wheel, I noticed there was play in the hub bearings. So I replaced the bearings. Like magic no more squealing brakes. I've now ridden close to 500km and the squeal hasn't returned. My guess, due to the worn bearings, when breaking the system resonates at a frequency and the wheels were acting like a speaker. Hope this is the solution for others. It worked for me.
that is crazy and good troubleshooting on your end, yea in biking there are a lot of little noises, like squeaks, tics, knocking noises, but it all comes down to process of elimination
i usually do this and it always works. 1) brush the pads with industrial alcohol , wash off 2) sand with sand paper 3) wash off 4) wipe disc with industrial alcohol 5) clean caliper and piston with alcohol. Done. and it always work.
I have done this and it rarly works, maybe in the shop for the first bit but as soon as the rider goes out it still squeals
@@GCPerformance18 always works for me for the past 5 years.
Directions : turn down volume on the second test 🤣✅
hahahha I am so soryyyyyyy
Great honest video man! We use muc off disc brake cleaner which seems to work. But, we usually burn 🔥 the pads & rotors to get rid of contamination then sand them. But yeah, thats disc brakes 😂
Lmaooo I honestly usually call it as soon as a customer walks in for noise. They are gonna maybe pay around the same amount for pads and rotors for me doing all that labor and time to do thag lol
No. No. And No.
Can we just go back to braking by pedaling backwards please?
Fixie 🤢
nah, not those death traps. the ones where you actually have a brake in the rear hub or whatever. I dunno, kids bikes had it back in the day.
@@Incaensio coaster brake
@@cosinus_square fuck yeah man! that's it. those were the best. J skids all day.
Did the instructions say soak pads then sand?
I had this problem too. And however I clean and sand the brake pads it always came back. Only solution so far is to hurl myself down a hill and make the brakes squal as loud as possible, at the bottom of the hill I will have braking power and the brakes are a lot quieter.
I think maybe there was residue in the brake rotor holes.
Supposedly you should be able to burn it of with a small blow torch, but I havent tried that yet.
I'm gonna use the squeal as my alarm from now on
I think it's freshly cleaned that's why it squeals. When i clean my rotors and pads, it takes a few kms before the squeals disappear. I use sandpaper on the pads, dish it in hot water and then spray it with alcohol. That's based on my experience
I use a different brand, but of the same disc cleaner. I've never used it on pads, just sand paper. On the rotors, I spent the cleaner onto a clean cloth, and wipe the rotor breaking surface. Been doing this every few hundred km for the last year and works great.
yea I think in this video the pads were too far gone but this product works great to maintain the discs after a wet ride or a muddy ride to clean them and to prevent them from sounding like this
I always put a small bit of grease on the backing plate, and I also would spray the cleaner on a rag and then clean both sides of the rotor. However, according to the directions that you read off the can, it should have worked. Thanks for sharing!
yea I think this product is more for precaution then to fix after word
I would also use a 220 wet dry sandpaper and re-scuff both sides of the rotor to remove as much glaze as you can. I would also make sure that the pads are well beveled on the leading and trailing edge. You can also try anti-squeal compound on the backside of the pads being careful you don’t get it on the rotor. If that doesn’t work then by process of elimination replace the pads and replace the rotors and bed them in properly.
Had contaminated rear brake pads. Did the whole sanding rigamorol. Nothing. My dentist (avid cyclist) took my pads to his office and sandblasted them with a a dental sandblaster. I degreased the rotor and scuffed it up with 220 grit sand paper. They burned in beautifully.
very nice and good to know thank you so much
I hear crisco works really well I believe it’s for educational purposes for the rider. 😂 😂 😂
Hey, great review 😅. I use my wife’s nail polish remover to clean my disk breaks, it works for me at least!
I found the solution for loud road disc bikes. I tested so many bikes and combos.
The solution?
RIM BRAKES! 😂
Alcohol as well as the finish line product worked for me.
I just rubbed it dry with a micro fibre rag
I had the same problem, i just used a little bit of brake cleaner, lit in on fire. Burned for 20 seconds, nothing. Then i took out the propane torch, and "cooked" them both for about 3 mins, with some breaks, cleaned them, sanded them, and it stopped squeling. I recommend the method I used. Good video tho!
I usually just use chainlube and they never squeal. LOL
Hahahhahahaha good solution
WoW
I was going to say put some WD40 on them.
@@wasupwitdat1mofiki94 I used that before, but I found that ceramic chain lube just runs way smoother LOL
LOL, great video... I will also continue to simply replace the pads, not that expensive and faster than this whole cleaning process.
Agreed😂
Super useful and informational my man.
New pads, with cleaning of the rotors, is, unfortunately mostly always the solution, from my experience. You can try a "run-in" period after the procedure you just did so that they can heat up and friction can burn off and reduce and/or evaporate any leftover contaminants but most of the time, your pads have fully soaked up the greasy contaminants to the core, like a sponge. Another thing is that you will ALWAYS generate squeal by applying the brake and rolling the bike, walking alongside it afterwards. You need to actually take the bike out for a few rides with the weight of yourself on the bike while applying the brakes to shave off the greasy layer that you have just cleaned. You're always at a 50/50 success rate with this scenario.
This will sound crazy, but many times the source of that noise is coming from the area between the back of the pads and the caliper pistons. I’ll give you a few areas to chase after. First, scotch bright is your friend. Use it on the rotors. Second, the BACK of the brake pads. Look at them for witness marks to see where the piston is contacting. If it looks like there are a few high points, fine sandpaper the backs of the pads, and a light treatment on the caliper pistons. The bigger of a contact patch you can achieve, the better. Take for a road test and if there’s till a problem, Last, and this will require an expensive Park Tool Brake caliper mount facing tool. Reface the caliper mount. If during that process you find the mount was out of parallel etc, then the pads will be too since they’ve been on the bike a while, and will need to be replaced.
I think your suppose to soak the pads in the solution using a container. And than sand. I normally just take off the rotor, wash and sand with some dish soap till the darker marks are gone. And I also wash and sand the pads till all the shiny stuff goes away. The glaze is what causes the disc brakes to make noise. Oh and I forgot I also do a wipe down with some isopropyl alcohol once everything is back on the back before riding. Sometimes you will need to re-align the calipers. On my MTB bikes normally the brakes howl is when the caliper us not straight and one side of the pads come into contact with the rotors first when braking. Or like you said just replace new rotors and pads. Much easier if money is no issue.
Well the squeal is annoying but It beats not being able to use carbon rims in the mountains due to risk of them exploding if you’re over 70kg I guess.
Soak I solution. I interpret that as squirt some into a container. Submerge the pads in the solution and leave for a while. Also I think after the rotors had dried, getting a clean rag, spray it the cleaner and wipe the rotors clean
Finish Line epic fail! I have used acetone and 400 grit on rotor and pads with good luck!
Same thought, were they bedded in? And boy am I glad my brakes don't sound like that.
yea those brakes are mad old like 1k miles on there
Its a feature, not a bug 🙂. See, now your customer doesn't have to call out his stops in groups rides, and conserve 'watts'. IMHO, it only is ever a problem if it starts to squeal when he's not braking, but that feature is a SRAM exclusive.
Thank god I have a rim brake bike
It’s the pads I had the same problem last week on my venge after my local Specialized concept store contaminated the pads. Changed the pads cleaned the rotors and problem solved.
spray on rotor, clean with a clean rag till no more dirt comes off the break track. Sandpaper of the top of the pads, take of more then just the surface caus the oil soaks in deeper. Spray on the pad and light it on fire and let the fire die out. Mount everything again and see the results.
I'm not entirely shore, but letting the pads soak to long will ruin the material. Burn to get out residue. You can try heating it up with a "blowtorch" You can try heating up the rotor to, but don't warp in. Try with a old one first.
These kinds of products are faster but nothing beats a good and thorough cleaning in a bath with degreaser and a finish with acetone.
no lie acetone works amazingly, I tried to make it just like how the product advertises but Imean I have got a ton of them to work with a lot of work and trial and error
@@GCPerformance18 And Acetone is much cheaper compared to these products.
Lol all that work!!! Should’ve sand paper the disc as well. Have some hi and shiny spots on the disc that the sandpaper would’ve taken care of!!
Rim brakes!!!
I use this stuff and I just spray on a cloth and wipe the hell out of the rotor and then after I let it dry I ride it around the neighborhood and burn them in and it seems to work
I think this isa great preventive, it is great for cleaning hoods after a bleed or a calipers with no pads in after a bleed
When should you replace your rotors?
bahahahahhahahahaha!!!! Give me back my 10 mins!!!!
Hahahhaha
Remove rotor and scrub with a sponge and strong washing up liquid. Leave to soak in soapy water then rinse thoroughly. Finally wipe off soap/water residue with isopropyl alcohol. Replace pads before re-installing rotors and off you go, works like a charm 👍🏼
You forgot to add: "Do this after every ride."
1:25 someone at the toilet who had to hold it al day
hahahhahha im fucking dying over here, I rewatched it... its old man bob hes the old guy who works here and just makes noises
I clean my brake rotor by spraying and wiping it a couple of times with perfectly clean paper towels. I clean, then sand the pads so I don't sand contamination into the pads. Then I clean them again after just to be dead sure. Then I do a pad breakin procedure. Also, I don't come to a complete stop with my brakes on. I get almost stopped then let the brake off and put a foot down. Mine stay pretty quiet, not dead silent but I had to start yelling so I wouldn't sneak up on people at stop lights. I haven't tried that particular cleaner.
Quick rub round rotors with muc off disc brake cleaner after every ride keeps my rotors squeal free.
First step, do a proper bedding in. Everybody can do it with a 5 min UA-cam tutorial (ParkTool, Sram... same procedure anyway)
Never spray anything on pads.
Clean brake dust with clean rag and water when necessary.
Check if you use resin pads instead of metal pads.
Resin - road conditions
Metal - more grip and durability on bad condition (DH, MTB, CX...) can be noisy!
It literally says directly on the can to spray pads. Also the pads were already bedded in. But after I did the cleaning i bedded them in whole riding up and down the street
Hi GC Performance,
I am facing the exact problem.
new rotors and brake pads, yet same issue.
I did clean with disc brake cleaner but no luck.
loook at my disc brake squeal video, I have a product u can buy on how to fix it
Good honest review.......road bike disc brakes are an immature design....
Lol, that test after cleaning was epic! The sound made my dog all cringy and ran away! 🤣
In any case, what I try to do is similar to my cars disc brakes. After a while you get slight ridges which can produce sound somewhat like the rim of a wine glass if you rub your wet finger around it. So I just chamfer the edges of the pads to avoid it touching those ridges and sand the pad surface too. Seems to work mostly. You could try that on bike disc brakes and see if it helps.
hahahahahhaha thank you so much
Why would someone want to get rid of that squeak? You don't have to ring your bell passing people on the trail. Just put on your brakes and scare the crap out of them. Fun!
hahaha this is ture, it is a bell for the cost of nothing
Isopropyl alcohol, then acetone (i.e. nail paint remover)
yeah acetone works for me too
Works every time.
My dad has a Sram SL7 Pro and his breaks squeal like that. I kept telling him it was the lower quality Sram components 🤣. Now I see its happening on Shimano too lolol
Yo’ washing the bike helps specially road disc ..
I honestly think half the issue it’s discipline of keeping it clean after riding over puddles and not choosing to ride it on the rain if it happens well get In the habit to clean after or pay later ..
They are not MTB’s even a lot of them spray the mud off it right off the trail before they loaded , for road as you mentioned we pick up oil and debree specially in the city .
The other big one it think it’s squeezing the crap of the levers to stop right after not keeping the rotor clean all it takes it’s a look before and after , if it ain’t smooth your pads are set incorrectly not clean and improper breaking technique . I just brush mine evenly and progressively stop instead of constantly slamming on them that’s a good way to warp them and scratch them and lead to loud noises . IME ridding disc on road since 2016
At least it's all cleaned now 🤣🤣
Clean the rotors with a cloth. Maybe take the rotors off and regrease the centerlock? Might be vibration. I use the shimano rotor cleaning and it works fine
Put alcohol in a spray bottle does the same thing. Looks like those might be metallic pads. They make a lot more noise. And once you use metallic pad you can't go to semi-metallic organic. Good tips in this video.
I have used something now called squeal out and works amazing
I had my suspicions but was going to try it. Disc brakes, of course it doesn't work. Thanks.
Clean the pads with sand paper and clean the rotors with paint thinner on a towel.If there is something on the rotor it will defenately remove it.Dont rub the paint obviously :D
Sounds crazy but I find using "dawn" dish detergent stops the squeaking as well as 90% alcohol and sanding the pads
yea I have also seen people use oil and then light it on fire
@@GCPerformance18 lol
I got some mo-94, like WD-40 in my front brakes. I just used drivetrain degreaser and it's better, but still not as good as before.
Could you go over the different type of disc brake pads please ? A bit confused when I go on Swiss stop website and see all the pad compounds
Can u do a detailed troubleshoot on the brake caliper alignment instead? It'll be very helpful but bad for your bike business 😅
lmao I could but all it really is, is jsut patience plus I have a bike stand to help me out and also I am getting paid to solve this problem where as you the consumer are not and thats why people tend to give up...and jsut bring it in to me lol, but I am not against it and i think it would be nice vidoe
@@GCPerformance18 sounds great! I do have a bike tool stand myself. But it’s extremely difficult to tune road bike’s disc brake calipers compare to mtb ones. Would love to learn the techniques!
Pull the pads out. Sand them on 100 grit sandpaper so they are clean and level. Clean the disk with cheap automotive brake cleaner and a green scotch pad. Done.
look up squeal out
You should always remove rotors when cleaning with strong spray solvents to avoid overspray which will soak into bearings.
Also don’t spread shimano pistons with a metal tool, as the ceramic pistons can easily crack and write off the calliper. Read the shimano white paper on servicing of their callipers!
lol. same thoughts. Mechanics should know better.
I did not know that. Good stuff.
unfortunately i use rim brakes :D
I never use finishline products in lubes, cleaning or anything its just branding selling of products that dont work. one suggestion is acetone the pads and scrub then sand lightly with a plaster sand paper mesh not sand paper, then clean rotors with isopropal or brake kleener. Their is a bloke in Austalia called oz cycles he is the genious of cycle maintenance.
Once the squeal arrives there’s little you can do but sometimes you get lucky. On one ride my mates emonda got a puncture in his front tubeless tyre his new white top was covered in pink sealant, then on the last 40 miles his rear rotor started squealing and he bust a spoke. That century ride cost him between £100 to £150 in parts not bad for a two week old bike.new tyre , new disc, pads tyre sealent and tape.
Yes that’s honestly what I tell customers, your pretty much done for, those pads are so absorbent there’s little to be done
Clean with isopropyl then climb to the top of a hill (yeah I know Florida is flat) and fly down and burn the brakes in again. After getting them super hot, squeal will be history
Good idea!
@@GCPerformance18 We see this in our shop often from city bikes or from older ebike riders. Most roadies brake too soft or conservatively to build heat in the brakes (especially in flat areas) and that soft braking leads to the pads and rotors becoming polished. The polished shine you saw on the pads and roughed up with sandpaper isn't contamination, just the result of soft braking. It's what causes brake squeal and is the same effect as if you spin a wet finger on the top of a wine glass. The finger can't grip because of the lubrication factor of it being wet and the result is vibrations resonating in the glass. Get the brakes hot just like you would to "burn in" or "break in" on a new bike, they will quiet down and squeal will disappear.
It is impossible to get rid of squeeling once you have it. I even tried SwissStop.
trry squeal out very hard to find but this works the best
Loads & loads of gritty mud liberally plastered over discs, and your good to go. In almost 25 years of using discs I've never experienced squeal. Your rotors are far too clean. Stop obsessing!
This
It is always good to clean everything as you did, but it is best to install new brake pads.
yes this is the best way
You have to change the pads to metallic pads, The pads are contaminated but replace with metallic pads
I ride in a wet sandy area the water and sand helps clean the gunk that cause the sound.
that is nice, I never thought of it, kind of like scrapping of the grit
Easy fix remove the wheels clean off with alcohol+microfibre wipe. Take the pads off, sand them down a little bit. If that doesn't work then take the rotor off. Use a blow torch on it just enough to heat the surface/burn off any contamination.
Yea, disc brakes, so easy to live with, not like those complicated rim brakes.
@@superstrada6847 I've had a disc brake bike for 2 years now. I live in Vancouver lots of hills and some nice local rideable mountains. Wouldn't trust rim brake. I work on my bike so to me it's not a hassle it's an extra 2-5 minutes out of the year.
why not take off the rotors for cleaning? takes 1 minute with centrelock systems.
Also I spray the rotors once, wipe with cloth, and then spray again
its normal for that squeal after cleaning but disappears after 30 seconds of hard braking as all the contaminants are evaporated from heat. The solvent works by dissolving the oils/contaminants (solute) in it forming a solution. You then must blow of the solution with additional spray or wipe it off
Just sand the pads. And for the rotor spray them and wipe it off. You have to get the contamination off the rotor as well. It won't come off without wiping it.
I agree I usually go at this a different way but I wanted to read the bottle and do exactly as it says, but I usually sand rotors as well and everything
I sanded the rotors and the pads. Degresed them. I even "cooked" them on my stove. I tried SwisStop. I runned them in. NOTHING helps.
That squeal sounds like the sand people from star wars
hahaha I am glad u enjoyed it
Killer Roval wheels! I love my Rapides.
yes
give me some suggestions if you have any luck with disc brake cleaning products!!!!! please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Muc Off Disc Brake Cleaner works a treat only advice always use latex gloveswhen cleaning and replacing anything to do with breaks another handy reminder is when cleaning I like to remove the pads and clean down area with APA baby wet wipe and then spray the disc cleaner can't see logic of only cleaning the surface and not under the hod so to speak!
EDIT:
Oh also recently bought these FINISH LINE
GEAR FLOSS MICROFIBRE ROPE highly recommend them for cleaning... God I have OCD wen it comes to cleanliness ad my bikes...
www.google.com/search?q=disc+brake+silencer+swissstop&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwitvtGk4fTuAhVpleAKHTYrDSQQ_AUoAnoECAUQBA&biw=1280&bih=689#imgrc=OrUji2Smj37z5M
This is the only product that solve noisy disc brake. (Or equivalent)
1. Shake the bottle
2. Poor some on a clean rag
3. Make sure to put it everywere on the disc
4. Go ride the bike and make couple of stop and go until the noise disapear
5. Enjoy noise free rotor again (works every time)
Ask manufacturer and/or good bike mechanics.
Don’t use / recommand product to put on pads or disc.
Products like this reduce friction/noise meaning reduce braking performance
Use a blowtorch to burn the oil out of the pads. Then wet sand them with 400 grit black sandpaper to create a smooth braking surface. I left my pads soaking in acetone for a day and that didn't do shit. It's a bitch to get the oil out once it has soaked in.
I but cans of generic brake cleaner from my local auto parts store, and it works great! I also spray the pads and hit them with sandpaper to deglaze them. I also scuff the rotor surfaces to remove any build up of material.
What I do is spray the lot lightly then go for a quick ride around the block and apply the brakes from decent speed to almost a stop. Within 3-4 applications the noise reduces, and then stops. I think it’s important to allow the surfaces to re-bed with each other.
We regularly did the same in racing cars when braking performance wasn’t quite right.
I find descending on Steep Grade tends to over heat then get the squealing , so you can either buy pads and rotors every month or turn up the ear buds disc brake problems ☹️
Those flat-head break-pad screws on Shimano brakes are riduculous. Thankfully, the newer brakes have hex screws. Finally!
bro they are brutallll
Lol I don't miss this being back on rim brakes, I used IPA and sand paper and the noise always came back....
New rotas are £45 EACH in the UK
New Pads are £20 x2 as u only get 2 pads per set....
So a total of..... £130 for something u may need to change YEARLY not including any bleeding....
Alloy training wheels like the scribes, hunts or Zondas are around £300 most people will get 5 years plus out of a NEW alloy wheelset
So... 300 / 5 years = £60 per year
Add on pads u might need to change once per year like Swiss stop BXP they're £20 for a pack of 4...
Total yearly cost £80.00 with less grief, lighter and easier to maintain.
So this just shows imo discs may save your rim but in most cases they're costing u more anyway 🙈
Ceramic embedded pads, just like in automobiles? I think the real problem with squeaky disc brakes is simply due to them being wafer thin metal that vibrates too easily, especially at that sweet harmonic point as demonstrated. Lol. Better tech designs in materials might save disc brakes noisy flaw.
Does that spray or any other cleaners hurt the carbon wheels when dropped all over them?😮
Squealing is actually a result of vibrations! (Scientifically speaking).
I mean yea that can make sense, but to be honest, this is due to contaminated pads
gotta love rim breaks
hahahaha
I think you need to bed the brakes first
#SaveTheRimBrake
acetone works really well
How about de squeak disc brake spray? It’s a car product though....
Has anyone tried Loctite “disc brake quiet”? I believe it goes between back of pad and caliper piston.
the can doesn't even say it gets rid of brake squeal so why would it work?
maybe you can try the motorex power brake clean, use to use that when i work in a bike shop, and they are for moto bikes and cheaper LOL
Thanks for the tip!
Pads need to be bedded in proparly. Also try some copper grease on the back of the pads like they do with cars.
thats pretty cool on the back of the pads
you're a super nice friend sir 😁👍😅
Thanks friend
Shouldn't mechanics know when brake pads are too far gone?
FWIW, i would have washed the pads first before sandpapering.
Yea of course, but not like too far wore down more like too contaminated
How to stop Froomenatics to squeal? ✌️