My brakes squeak on my mountain bike and its nearly new, they are disc brakes?

Question

my brakes squeak on my mountain bike and its nearly new, they are disc brakes, i thought given a little time they might bed in, but it seems to be getting worse, its like a vibrating rubbing sound thats quite loud. the bike is a CLAUD BUTLER PAGEN T2, thanx jim

Answer 1

DO NOT OIL YOUR BRAKES! If you get any kind of lubricant on the disc rotors, they will be useless to you and, even worse, dangerous because the calipers won't be able to grip the rotor. In other words, you won't be able to brake properly.

That said, there may be a few problems here, most with easy solutions:

(1) the rotor is not centered in the caliper housing, so one of the brake pads is rubbing and causing the noise you hear. Either the mechanic who assembled your bike didn't do that job well, or it has since become misaligned through trial rides, etc. Take the bike to your local shop if you're not comfortable toying with the adjustment screws. Most reputable places will take care of that on the spot without any charge, particularly if they sold it to you.

(2) you pulled down on the brake lever while the wheel was off and now the calipers are pushed too close together with the wheel (and rotor) back in the housing. Take the wheel off and insert a flat head s***w driver into the space between the two calipers (brake pads), also called the housing, and pry them apart with firm, but gentle pressure so as to get them apart, but not destroy the pad. Now try putting the wheel back in.

(3) the rotor is untrue and needs to be trued to replaced - this can happen from bad crashes, bad storage, problems in shipping, and even over use of the brakes (the heat caused by the friction of the pads gripping the rotor causes the metallic rotor to warp)

(4) the rotor is wet or lubricated - either use a degreaser and dry thoroughly or completely replace

(5) the break in period is quite long and you're just going to be the noisy guy on the trail for another month - ride often and get a few good, hard brakes in

I'd also check out troubleshooting guides in Zen and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintainence. Park Tool also has a good website for repairs.

Answer 2

Oil them