Squeaky bike brakes are one of the most embarrassing things many of us cyclists have had to deal with at one time or another.

If bike brakes squeak and make noise, eventually, it might even deter you from using your bike and cause your friends to refuse to ride alongside you. Which is not positive 🙂

But squeaking brakes are not inevitable. They can be avoided with a few simple measures that we will see.

First of all, why do bicycle brakes make that squealing noise? Lets look at the different factors that cause squealing brakes, the techniques to get rid of them, and how you can improve your braking performance.

Squeaky Bike Rim Brakes

Cause Of Squeaky Brakes

To solve a problem, you must first identify the cause of the problem.

What causes the brakes to squeal is the vibration between the brake pads and the rim.

When you look at it objectively, the rim brake system is straightforward.

So what you need to do is stop whatever is causing the vibration. And here are a few things you can do:

Rubber Compound

The first thing to do is to check if your brake system is still functional or worn.

If you have rim brake pads, make sure you have at least a few millimeters of rubber compound left on your pads. If not, it could be the reason your brakes are squealing.

Some models have grooves to help you know if you can still use the pads. Once these grooves disappear, you know its time to replace them with new pads. This will help reduce the risk of squeaking or squealing.

Note that these grooves are essential because they keep water off the rim giving you better braking.

Brake is moving

The brake itself may also move and cause vibration.

Dirty brakes

The most common cause of rim-to-pad vibration, and therefore brake squeal, is the accumulation of dirt and oil on the wheel rim.

Bicycle brakes are open to contamination because as you ride on the road, all sorts of dirt, grime, and other residue are thrown around and contaminate the rims and pads.

So make sure these braking surfaces are as clean as possible.

Fix squeaky bike brakes

Clean the rim surface

Step 1

Clean everything thoroughly with hot soapy water and apply it to the braking surface with firm pressure.

Try to get all that brake dust, all that dirt off to make them, well, pretty shiny. And dont forget to do both sides.

This tends to work well with your brake pads.

Step 2

If the previous cleaning method didnt help you fix the annoying noise, try cleaning with alcohol:

• Take some alcohol, which you can find at your local drugstore.
• Please put it on a rag and wipe the surface of the rim where the brake pad hits.
• Go around the rim and rub it to try to remove all the old dirt and oil from the rim.
• Do both sides.

Clean the surface of the brake pads

Take a look at your brake pads. Are they covered with a dark, powdery substance? Or maybe they are varnished, a little shiny?

If so, you need to clean the surface of the brake pads.

The easiest way to do this is to remove the wheel first.

Once the wheel is removed, take some alcohol, apply it to a clean cloth and rub it on the brake pads where they touch the rim to remove any contamination (oil, dirt).

Rough up the surface of the brake pads

Once the wheel is removed, take some rough sandpaper (or light emery paper) and roughen the surface of the brake pads where they touch the rim because sometimes they are covered with ice and become too smooth. The goal is to roughen them back up.

Just roughen the entire surface of the brake pad and remove that shiny look. There should be no shiny parts left.

Adjust the brake pads / toe your brake pads in

The  next step is to adjust the brake pads, so  theres a slightly toe-in :

• Take something about 2mm thick, like a penny or a folded piece of paper
• Just stick it between the  brake pad and the rim on the backside
• Loosen the brake pad a little bit.
• Squeeze the brakes against the rim.
• Then tighten it down.

This will adjust the brake pads and make your bike brakes stop squeaking.

Install brand new brake pads

Now, if none of the previous solutions hasnt stopped your brakes squealing yet, I will admit it is getting harder to find the cause. Maybe you should consider replacing the pads.

Squeaky Bike Disc Brakes

What about disc brake users? What causes disc brake squealing?

It is the vibration of the pads against the rotor of the disc.

Start with a visual check of your disc brakes and pads.

Below are some elements from where the noise could come from.

Disc brake pads compound

Take a look at your disc brake pads. If less than a millimeter of a compound is left on your pads, you need to replace them for the annoying noise and safety.

If youre not sure which pads to buy, contact your local store, and they should be able to point you to something on the shelf.

Ive been told that organic pads are quieter than other pads. But I couldnt find any statistics on this. However, you should know that they tend to have a shorter lifespan than other pads.

Bolts

Check that the bolts are tight: Tighten the bolt holding the disc, then spin it, then check that it spins straight and without resistance or noise.

If the disc is slightly bent, you can work it out by trying to bend it a little with a wrench.

The disc is centered in the caliper.

Sometimes the disc moves and is not centered anymore. This can cause noise, but more importantly, it becomes dangerous because the braking becomes less effective.

Make sure the disc is centered in the caliper. This will allow you to slide the caliper and ensure it rotates freely inside.

The rotor is well attached.

Make sure the rotor is securely fastened to the hub.

A little bit of play can result in a horrible screech or howl, as can a slight bend or warp in the rotor as it passes through the caliper and you lock the brakes.

This is something to keep an eye on.

Brake pads are too worn.

Sometimes the noise can be caused by pads that are too worn.

If youve been using them for a long time, the noise results from friction between the disc and a metal spring between the pads.

So check visually that the brake pads are not too worn. If they are not, you will have to change them.

If you need to change the brake pads, I published an article listing the best disc brakes:

Mountain Bike Disc Brakes: Best Set for your MTB Ride

The brake disc system is contaminated.

Brake pad contamination is the main reason disc brakes squeal and makes noise.

And usually, its due to excessive spray during chain movement.

So, avoid getting oil on the disc brake or brake pads, as this will prevent the brakes from working correctly and thus make that noise.

Dirt on your disc brake pads

This problem can be solved by wetting the brake pads; the oil will come off after several uses.

If you ride an MTB or ride on boggy trails, this will also help because the mud will be sprayed on the brake pads and remove the oil.

Of course, if you are doing this with a pair of disc brake pads, I recommend removing them from your caliper. That way you can clean them properly.

Dirt on the rotor

Use hot soapy water or a disc brake cleaner.

The most important thing here is not to touch the rotor with your bare skin, as the natural oils in your skin can contaminate these rotors, giving you that horrible, shrill sound and poor braking.

Glazed brake pads

Another reason that could cause noise is glazed brake pads. This happens when they get too hot.

To check if this is the case: remove the disc brake pads and see if their surface is shiny.

Use a file to remove some of that surface so they work correctly and carefully.

CONCLUSION

So  very simply :), Make a quick visual inspection now and then to check, for example, that :

• Your braking system clean: clean your brake pads, your rims, or rotor
• The pads got some millimeters of compound left,
• For rim brakes :
  • Check that the brake system itself is not moving.
  • Check that the brake pads are towed incorrectly.
  • If necessary, rough up the surface of the brake pads
• For disc brakes :

• • The disc is centered in the caliper
  • The rotor is well attached
  • The brake pads arent too worn out

And then, if, unfortunately, this hasnt still resolved your squeaky brake situation, it may be a case of actually investing in new brake pads themselves.

I hope some of these solutions will help you out, and please leave a comment with your experience with your bike brakes squeaking fix.