Squealing brakes

[DaveReading]

My Tektro cantilevers started squealing halfway through RideLondon (not that I was having to brake that much).

After I'd stopped and checked that everything was still where it should be and the pads were still hitting the rim squarely I just carried on - braking performance (black Koolstops, still with plenty of meat) seemed to be perfectly OK, so I just put up with the dirty looks.

What's likely to be causing it, and what should I do? More toe-in? Give the rims a good scrub and the pads a scrape? Any other suggestions?

 

[raleighnut]

Nope, they just need a good clean up (off the bike) and refitting although a bit of copaslip on the pivots may help but that means removing the arms and refitting them.

 

[Mobytek]

good clean and a re-fit. strip em off and start again, bit more toe in too. give rims a clean (disk brake cleaner or pad compatable solvent that evaporates)

flat hitting can cause the squeel.

 

[DaveReading]

Thanks for the responses. The rims looked clean, but going over them with a solvent left a fair amount of rubber on the cloth. That, and lightly sanding the surface of the blocks seems to have done the trick.

Adding that to my maintenance schedule seems a small price to pay in return for the extra stopping power that the Koolstops seem to give compared to the original Tektro blocks that came with the bike.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Bit more toe in too

This

The front of the pad should hit the rim fractionally earlier than the rest of it, (toe-in)