How to Stop Squealing Bicycle Brakes

Squeaking bicycle brakes can drive you crazy. They can annoy you and any people around you. Braking power is diminished when your brakes squeal. If your brakes squeak, it means the break pads are glazed over; it doesn't mean they are worn out. When brake pads wear out, they make a scraping sound from metal-to-metal contact. Squealing pads indicate the pads have hardened, and are gliding along the rim instead of gripping it.

Things You'll Need

  • Sandpaper strips, 3/4-by-10 inches
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Instructions

    • 1

      Open the brake calipers on your wheels. For road bikes; push the small lever up on the left side of the caliper, where the cable enters the top of the caliper arm. The calipers are the arms that hold the pads on both sides of the wheel. For mountain bikes, squeeze both calipers together with your fingers. When the cable goes slack, pop the bullet-shaped end of the cable free from the wire cage between the caliper arms.

    • 2

      Thread a strip of sandpaper over the extended brake pad, perpendicular to the pad. Grab one end of the sandpaper between your thumb and index finger on both hands. Scrub the sandpaper over the brake pad by pulling the ends of the sandpaper strip up and down across the pad.

    • 3

      Sand the pads until you see a black residue coming from the pad, and collecting on the sandpaper.

    • 4

      Turn the sandpaper parallel to the pads and pull the sandpaper back and forth over the pads from this position.

    • 5

      Touch the pads with your fingers. They should have a slightly tacky feel to them -- like an eraser on a pencil. If they still feel slick to the touch, keep sanding until they feel rough and tacky.

    • 6

      Push the brake lever shut on road bikes. Squeeze the calipers together on mountain bikes, and hook the bullet-shaped cable end back into the wire cage.