Front discbrake ringing noise

[merwe]

Hi All, I recently bought a new mountain bike. Now what happens is, when I go over rocks and bumps on the road I hear this ringing noise coming from the front wheel area. It used to be only when going quite fast, but it got worse recently. I think it might be the front brake disc banging against something there. It makes the same noise when I knock it with my finger. Has anybody had the same thing happening before? I should probably take it back to the bike shop to get it sorted out, but I just wanted to get some opinions here as well. Thanks.

[Mechanick]

Are you sure the disc is centred properly and that the disc brake housing connect to the fram is not loose?

[nigelhicks]

it will probably be (as pointed ou by Maggie) that the disc rotor is not centred properly and is rubbing against the pad or caliper housing. It wont be a major rub ... just the most delicate of touches as most disc rotors are never perfectly true and straight.

 

Also most brakes are designed to have one pad sit closer to the rotor than the other to provide better braking modulation when you pull the brakes so you dont just fly over the bars.

 

there are 2 options to fix it

 

1) turn the bike upside down - take a 5mm alenkey (found on most multitools) and loosen the bolts brake caliper bolts (these are the 2 that hold the caliper to the brake adaptor - not the 2 that hold the adaptor to the fork!). Dont take them out - just loosen them so you can wiggle your caliper a bit. Then pull your front brake lever with one hand and while holding the lever tight so the brake is locked ... nip up the bolts... this should centre your brake caliper.

 

2) if this doesnt work - loosen 1 of the caliper bolts at a time and manually push the caliper left or right looking through where the pads are to make sure there is space beteween the pads and the rotor on either side. This is not the best way to do it however and is a bush mechanic fix - so try option 1 first!!

[merwe]

Thanks for the quick responses, I'll try this advice tonight.

[travisza]

I bought a new Specialised....noticed a loud squeak from the front wheel which I initially thought was the brake until I took the hub apart and found that there were 9 bearings on one side and 10 on the other. Luckily not too much damage before I found the problem.

[The Drongo]

Hi All, I recently bought a new mountain bike. Now what happens is, when I go over rocks and bumps on the road I hear this ringing noise coming from the front wheel area. It used to be only when going quite fast, but it got worse recently. I think it might be the front brake disc banging against something there. It makes the same noise when I knock it with my finger. Has anybody had the same thing happening before? I should probably take it back to the bike shop to get it sorted out, but I just wanted to get some opinions here as well. Thanks.

 

Merwe.

 

(If you have checked all the above, and that the rotor bolts are tight)

 

What rotors and rotor size are you running?

 

I have found that with some makes of rotor, large (180/230) 'light' rotors at speed and cornering they must deflect slightly and just touch the pads. Enough to make the ringing sound. Beefier rotors like shimano don't,

[merwe]

Hi Drongo,

 

I am not exactly sure what size the rotor is, I'll have to go check, but I think it is a Shimano. The bike is a Silverback Saturn, and the spec says it has a Shimano M445 brake set, but no further details.

[Trackie]

I bought a new Specialised....noticed a loud squeak from the front wheel which I initially thought was the brake until I took the hub apart and found that there were 9 bearings on one side and 10 on the other. Luckily not too much damage before I found the problem.

 

 

I can attest to that - noisiest ride ever!!!

 

How are you Trav?

[traaidmark]

Have exactly the same issues. LBS also told me the brake was missaligned. Get it sorted out quick, it get's much much worse. In time you will get speedwobbles etc.

 

My LBS fixed it, and it was gone, but only for a while. it's now slowly coming back.

[travisza]

I bought a new Specialised....noticed a loud squeak from the front wheel which I initially thought was the brake until I took the hub apart and found that there were 9 bearings on one side and 10 on the other. Luckily not too much damage before I found the problem.

 

 

I can attest to that - noisiest ride ever!!!

 

How are you Trav?

Hey bud

 

Not to bad hey. One more week of work here and then I'm done.

 

Yeah that was possibly definitely the noisest ride I have ever been one.