Screeching breaks

Jose Capco said:

Its getting spring, but the weather is still cold and sometimes cold.
Something has happened to my bike though. Since the beginning of the
cold season, the breaks keep on making loud (and I mean really loud..
you can hear me breaking within 1km radius) screeching noise. And Im
not sure what is causing all this.

The standard fix for this is to adjust the toe-in. Make sure the angle
is adjusted so the trailing end of the brake pad (the part pointing
fowrard) touches the rim before the leading end.

Quoted message said:

stand. The backwheels are not very good looking and the rubber is
almost eaten away so I thought maybe its because the front break is
doing all the break when I break + the moisture. Any ideas? Thanks

It shouldn't matter if the front brake does all the work.

Suggestion: Don't use your rear brake. It is useful only in certain
cases, such as:

1) on long descents to help prevent the front brake from overheating;
2) On slippery or loose surfaces where skidding is a possibility,
3) When you are likely to be airborne, such as when off-roading
4) As an emergency brake if your front brake fails.

Otherwise, the front brake is all you need. Over-reliance on the rear
brake when it isn't needed causes bad habits that could compromise your
safety if you need to make a panic stop.

--
K.

Lang may your lum reek.

Jose Capco said:

Its getting spring, but the weather is still cold and sometimes cold.
Something has happened to my bike though. Since the beginning of the
cold season, the breaks keep on making loud (and I mean really loud..
you can hear me breaking within 1km radius) screeching noise. And Im
not sure what is causing all this.

I find that my brakes squeal more in cold weather. It may be due to
moisture condensation.

Quoted message said:

One lucky day it was quite sunny and there was no rain.. I noticed at
once that the noise was gone. But then the next week the fog came and
the weather was moist and the ground was wet and the screeching was as
loud as ever.

Ah, that goes along with my moisture theory.

There may be nothing you can do, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure the
rims are free of dirt, grease, or other substances.

Art Harris

(Király) said:

It shouldn't matter if the front brake does all the work.

Suggestion: Don't use your rear brake. It is useful only in certain
cases, such as:

1) on long descents to help prevent the front brake from overheating;
2) On slippery or loose surfaces where skidding is a possibility,
3) When you are likely to be airborne, such as when off-roading
4) As an emergency brake if your front brake fails.

Otherwise, the front brake is all you need. Over-reliance on the rear
brake when it isn't needed causes bad habits that could compromise your
safety if you need to make a panic stop.

Could you enlighten me and please explain why it would be dangerous to
use the front break on a panic stop? 🙂 Thanks.. I havent adjusted the
pads yet, cause now the weather is drier and theres no noise, but Ill
do it soon. Thanks for the advise

Sincerely,
Jose Capco

Jose Capco said:

Could you enlighten me and please explain why it would be dangerous to
use the front break on a panic stop? 🙂 Thanks..

It's the _rear_ brake that can get you in trouble in a panic stop.
When you stop hard , your weight transfers mostly to the front wheel.
That makes the lightly loaded rear wheel easy to skid. If at the same
time you are turning even a little bit, the rear wheel can slip
sideways from underneath you and cause a "low side" crash.

Chalo