Hello all, I've had a Wisper since February and it's been a life-changing experience. I have swapped public transport for London traffic and may be one of the few people to welcome the closure of Hammersmith Bridge because local roads are much quieter. The bike is fantastic but I have had endless problems with squeaking brakes. The rear one had a problem from the off, and the work cycle scheme paid for the £20 servicing charge. Since then I've had to have them cleaned/sorted three times at further cost but the noise returns in short order. My local very good independent shop can't actually access Wisper pads, which is one problem, but the right brake also seems to lose pressure/grip and I'm worried it's a leaking caliper. I wonder - has anyone here had the same problem? Are wispers known for shrieking brakes? Do I just have to live with them?!
Love my Wisper...hate its squeaky brakes...
- Thread starter TopazA
- Start date
It's very common for brakes to squeal and make other noises, especially after it's rained and even worse in the winter when you get salty water on them. Some pads and discs are worse than others, so try different ones until the noise goes. Discs and pads don't cost much..
If your brake keep losing performance, it's probably because it's not adjusted right and binding or one of the cylinders is sticking.
When you say that you had the brakes cleaned, did they take the calipers off and clean out the crud around the cylinders or just spray the discs with brake cleaner? It's best to do it yourself, them you know it's done properly. It's only two screws. To adjust the brakes or reassemble the caliper, you loosen the two screws, hold the brake on, then tighten the screws.
One more important point. I've seen a few where the axle spacing wasn't right so the disc didn't line up properly with the caliper. This means that when you loosen the screws, the caliper is right up one side of the slots instead of in the middle. You can adjust that with the washers on the axle. It might be worth loosening the screws a few turns to see where they sit in the slots.
Another thing that makes brakes sing is when the mounting system isn't rigid enough. That's more a point of frame and mount design. The only thing you can do with that is change the disc size and the mount adapter to match. That will change its natural resonance frequency and stop the singing.
You haven't got a leak.
If your brake keep losing performance, it's probably because it's not adjusted right and binding or one of the cylinders is sticking.
When you say that you had the brakes cleaned, did they take the calipers off and clean out the crud around the cylinders or just spray the discs with brake cleaner? It's best to do it yourself, them you know it's done properly. It's only two screws. To adjust the brakes or reassemble the caliper, you loosen the two screws, hold the brake on, then tighten the screws.
One more important point. I've seen a few where the axle spacing wasn't right so the disc didn't line up properly with the caliper. This means that when you loosen the screws, the caliper is right up one side of the slots instead of in the middle. You can adjust that with the washers on the axle. It might be worth loosening the screws a few turns to see where they sit in the slots.
Another thing that makes brakes sing is when the mounting system isn't rigid enough. That's more a point of frame and mount design. The only thing you can do with that is change the disc size and the mount adapter to match. That will change its natural resonance frequency and stop the singing.
You haven't got a leak.
Try an elastic band round the lever and bar to keep the brake tightly on overnight for a few nights, this allows any air which may be present in the system to make it's way to the top and may firm up the brake.
Dave.
That's interesting. I found the same. I only had to feather the brake and it squealed like iI was doing an emergency stop. You should have seen all the pedestrians scatter! I sometimes wish I hadn't fixed it.
That reminds me, there's another fix OP can try. Loosen off the two screws so that they're just loose enough for the caliper to move side to side, then go and test it for a bit. Don't worry, the brake won't fall off while you test it. If that fixes the noise, get some Loktite and fix them in that position.
Is that because the Disc is warped & letting the calliper have free sideways movement allows the pistons to track the shape of the disc?
Clean your disc and pads with alcohol (or proprietry disc cleaner)
Cars suffer from same issue but they operate at higher temperatures and generally quickly burn off all the oil deposits they accumalate.
Be carefull not to get other cleaning sprays/lubricants anywhere near your discs.(seen loads of folk spray rear cassette and over spray goes straight on disc or spray forks, then the stuff runs down and onto discs)
If cleaning with good degreaser doesnot suffice change pads/ discs.
I have same problem with Haibike but often leave it to scream. Way more affective than bell. Walkers ignore ding dong but jump a mile with a squeel and cinder scraping.
Could some wiz make an electronic horn to recreate that noise?
Good luck.
Ps
Mine was squeeling yesterday but stopped after a long hard descent.. To be fair its pretty normal. They all do it sometime or other.
Cars suffer from same issue but they operate at higher temperatures and generally quickly burn off all the oil deposits they accumalate.
Be carefull not to get other cleaning sprays/lubricants anywhere near your discs.(seen loads of folk spray rear cassette and over spray goes straight on disc or spray forks, then the stuff runs down and onto discs)
If cleaning with good degreaser doesnot suffice change pads/ discs.
I have same problem with Haibike but often leave it to scream. Way more affective than bell. Walkers ignore ding dong but jump a mile with a squeel and cinder scraping.
Could some wiz make an electronic horn to recreate that noise?
Good luck.
Ps
Mine was squeeling yesterday but stopped after a long hard descent.. To be fair its pretty normal. They all do it sometime or other.
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