[Toshi]

The disc brakes on my commuter creak insanely loudly when coming to a stop. Braking before those last few mph is fine +/- not having much leverage unless one grabs low on the drop-bar brake levers, but the last bit is quite impressively loud. Always the same pitch, too.

Setup is:

- Soma Wolverine frame and fork
- Tektro generic wave rotors carried forward from a few bikes back, 160 mm I think
- Shimano XT 2 piston calipers
- Shimano 105 hydraulic road bike brake levers (with the shifters not connected to anything--belt drive)

Should I just bring it into my LBS? Do I need new rotors or pads? TIA.

 

[Jm_]

Check for hairline cracks on the frame around fixtures, junctions, tubes, etc. That is always a possibility with this.

Sometimes it's just a resonant frequency and the only way to fix it is to change "something" to eliminate it, but there's no way of knowing for sure what will do it. Usually it's simpler stuff like the angle, sometimes brakes are at weird angles and no amount of squeezing the lever and tightening the bolts work, because the brake goes to where the posts are "keyed" into the brake mounts.

Also, loss of power with the creak? No loss of power? Turkey-warble level?

 

[Toshi]

Thanks for the reply. I think it might be resonance. Nearly pure tone, same pitch every time, no variation, no warbling. Happens consistently and only when the rotors are very slow. Braking power remains fine during it. It’s just embarrassing.

 

[rideit]

You can always try removing the pads and 'deglazing' them with sandpaper, a file, or even on the concrete.
Part of the process of elimination, perhaps.

 

[maxyedor]

Have this issue from time to time, if it just recently started I would suspect either glazed rotors/pads, or potentially a cracked rotor. Chased a squeel forever a while ago and finally found 2 cracked "spokes" on the rotor.

If it's been doing it from day 1, just switch a part out, probably start with the rotor since they're cheap. Some rotor and pad combos just don't get along. My general rule of thumb is that the fewer holes there are in a rotor and the more round the shape, the quieter it'll be. I have zero science to back that up, but it seems to always work out that way.

 

[Toshi]

Thanks, all. I'll just dump it at Golden Bike Shop and have them swap/clean parts until it stops. My suspicion is that the ancient Tektro wave rotors may be to blame.