What does this sound mean on my brake?

Michael Love

Pedelecer
Aug 26, 2018
155
35
58
Hi,

New Carerra Ebike.
I noticed this sound yesterday coming from my front brake.
Already tried brake cleaner.
Sounds like the sound from a bad TV Freeview signal.

I cannot attach MP4 videos so here are the bids in my Google drive.

 
Last edited:

JPGiant

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 3, 2017
364
167
West Yorkshire
Is the noise still there when you lift the front wheel from ground and spin it by hand, also is it there when the brake pads are removed?
If yes, then the caliper may need realigning - slacken caliper bolts, squeeze brake lever, re-tighten bolts - test.
 
D

Deleted member 25121

Guest
Also check that the pads aren’t down to the metal, it sounds like metal to metal contact to me.
 

Andy-Mat

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 26, 2018
2,214
562
77
As JPGiant said, the disk may be warped or as I am guessing it has IMHO developed, tiny "waves" of warping, that may even give quite loud sounds!
You need special tools to allow this to be measured exactly. They generally cost far more than a few new disks!
In a worse case scenario, you may need to replace the disk completely, but some quite good quality ones are available for IMHO, very little money on the web.
As someone else pointed out, a very careful alignment and adjustment is needed at regular intervals of pads and sometimes the disks, depending upon your mileage and where you ride. Steep and long downhills where brakes are needed often will bring such things earlier of course.
On my bike, the mounting point for the front Caliper was positioned about 0.5 m, too far to the left, which meant after a bit of wear, I had to place a new pad on the LH side, to allow braking! (Of course, with Scottish blood, I re-used it in the RH side!) I eventually shimmed the Caliper to get the disk running true in the middle between the pads!
I myself use really quite cheap brake parts, simply bought on ebay, and I am VERY happy with the braking performance, where in comparison to V-brakes on my previous e-bike, which I thought were good till I got disks!
I am sure that there are even "better" disk brakes around, but at a price that I will not ever pay (that Scottish blood again!), but many bikers apparently "compete" with others as to how much they have "invested" in bikes....
Its what we used to call in the RN "A pissing Contest!"
One question, do you have any idea how many miles the disk and the pads have done before the squeaking started?
Do you need your brakes a lot when you go out riding, in your own opinion?
I assue that the front wheel bearings are correctly adjusted, and the wheel moves freely, but no "looseness" of the wheel and axle.
Then make a simple test, which is to raise the front of the bike, allowing the wheel to be free of all constraints, back off the pads or simply remove the caliper for a moment, then mount a screwdriver or similar, so that it JUST touches the disk braking surface, towards the middle to outer edge of the "used part" of the disk, and slowly rotate the wheel and see if the touching is consistent or not.
"NOT" meaning warped.
Rotate the wheel through 360° and see just how many times contact is made.
Minor readjustment of the screwdriver position may be needed....
What you may see, is for each of the "spokes" on the disk, contact may change, more or less....
Replacement is the best fix as flattening, is probably most difficult, with a "skim" of both sides needed, and simply not worth the time and trouble....
A thicker new disk may be a better bet in the end....but slightly heavier!
Regards
Andy
 
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Deleted member 25121

Guest
I was lucky that I found some washers exactly the right thickness. Problem solved!
A typical Chinese Bike manufacturer error, luckily for me, the only one up to now!
Regards
Andy
It must have needed a lot of washers to pack out 0.5m!!
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,292
6,333
It's a brand new bike.
I don't even have it a week.
Bad brake is doing the same :(
take it back and get the dealer to fix it any bike out the box will need a pre sale service just most dont bother.
 
D

Deleted member 25121

Guest
Please let us know what the dealer who sold it to you has to say about this...
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,292
6,333
and ask them to index the gears as well and torque all the bolts to spec and check everything else as well ;)


Take the hassle out of getting your bike ready to ride, we will assemble, check and fine tune your bike to ensure it is perfect straight from the box. To ensure this the following checks will be made:
  • The frame is in perfect condition free from chips, scratches and aligned correctly
  • All components are free from damage including cosmetic
  • All components containing bearings are free from play and turning smoothly
  • All components are fitted correctly and torqued to the manufacturer's specification
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You will receive your bike fully built and ready to ride. The only thing you will need to do is fit the pedals and turn the handlebars. It would be important to ensure that you have the correct tools required in order to fit these parts.
 

Michael Love

Pedelecer
Aug 26, 2018
155
35
58
Guys, the bike was delivered to me direct.
The brakes were fine from Last Tuesday night on my first ride until Saturday and then both started making this noise. It's as if they got contaminated with oil or something.
Any videos on how to take the pads out and I'll give them a bit of a sanding.
And I already had to re-index the gears and tighten a bolt or two. :)
Thank you.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
16,292
6,333
you can try to clean the pads but it is best to just replace them and clean the disc rotors b4 you install new pads.

it is worth a try i guess

 
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Andy-Mat

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 26, 2018
2,214
562
77
you can try to clean the pads but it is best to just replace them and clean the disc rotors b4 you install new pads.

it is worth a try i guess

That just leaves the question open as to why the pads and rotor are contaminated.....Are they Hydraulic and oil is leaking out?
Andy
 
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Deleted member 25121

Guest
If cleaning/replacing the pads and cleaning the discs doesn't fix the problem then lift the front wheel up and rotate it by hand:
1. Do you still hear the strange noise?
2. Check that the wheel rotates centrally between the forks and doesn't wander from side to side.
3. Look carefully at how the disc rotates inside the brake caliper when your rotate the wheel by looking at the edge (not the face) of the disc, is it central to the caliper, does it waver from side to side and are both pads close or just touching the disc.
It would help us to know what you've done and checked. I presume you've checked the wheel nuts ;)
 

BazP

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 8, 2017
358
174
74
Sheffield
Hi,

New Carerra Ebike.
I noticed this sound yesterday coming from my front brake.
Already tried brake cleaner.
Sounds like the sound from a bad TV Freeview signal.

I cannot attach MP4 videos so here are the bids in my Google drive.

There are a lot of assumptions on here. You didn’t say whether the noise happened only when you applied the brake or continuously.
I sometimes get loud squeals from the brakes when they get wet. Some pads are worse than others. As it’s a new bike it could just be a coating on the rotor.
 
D

Deleted member 25121

Guest
There are a lot of assumptions on here. You didn’t say whether the noise happened only when you applied the brake or continuously.
I sometimes get loud squeals from the brakes when they get wet. Some pads are worse than others. As it’s a new bike it could just be a coating on the rotor.
Watch his video.