Northwest Recreation

You pull your bike out one day, climb on and start riding, only to find out at the first hill that your brakes are squeaky.  That’s not a whole lot of fun when you are trying to mountain bike out in nature and your bike is ruining the moment.  I remember a few months ago, I went down 1500 of vertical trail with squeaky brakes.  Although the trail was awesome, the loud noise coming from my front brakes wasn’t fun to listen to and detracted from the whole experience.

Usually the front brake is infamous brake to start squeaking.  Although it usually doesn’t affect your braking system or power significantly, it can make an otherwise enjoyable ride a headache—literally.  The easiest way to fix a squeaky brake is to check your rim and pads for an excess of debris and buildup.  Although not always visible, it’s often the main culprit in the mystery of the squeaky brake.  To fix it, use rubbing alcohol on your rim to take off all the buildup, then use extremely fine sandpaper and rub your pads to remove the buildup on them, too.

Most likely, your problem will be solved, but if not, you need to start checking for more mechanical problems (focused on later).