Noisy juddery brakes

[OakLeaf]

I took my bike to the LBS for an overhaul, and now the brakes make a lot of noise and vibrate under light braking. They're fine under heavy braking. Does that mean the pads aren't properly toed in?

[ikkin]

i have the same problem with my juicy 7's on my mtn bike. any ideas?

[DebW]

I took my bike to the LBS for an overhaul, and now the brakes make a lot of noise and vibrate under light braking. They're fine under heavy braking. Does that mean the pads aren't properly toed in?

Probably. Are these V-brakes? Could also be a loose bolt holding the brake to the frame.

[OakLeaf]

No, they're dual-pivot. Shimano 105. Do those still need toed in?

[nod to the regionalism thread... it used to drive me crazy when people omitted "to be" after "need," and now I'm doing it]

I'll check the mounting bolts for sure... but where do I find a torque spec?

Thanks!

EDIT: found the torque spec on Shimano's site. 8-10 Nm (69-87 in-lbs)

EDIT AGAIN: I took a closer look at the pads, and what it is, he rotated them - not sure if that's the proper term, but turned them upside down, so where they were worn thinner at the top and thicker at the bottom to match the shape of the rim, now they're the opposite. Will they quickly wear back down to where they aren't vibrating, or is the increased life not worth it? Should I do this periodically - before the wear is so pronounced - like every 500 or so, to increase the life of the pads without them being so far off the shape of the rims?

[DebW]

A dual pivot brake works best with the pads flat on the rim, not toed in. Brake pads don't normally get rotated, because most are designed for one orientation. If one end of the metal part holding the shoe is open, that end must face the rear. Otherwise your pads could come flying out of the brake. Maybe the pads were previously mounted incorrectly, and the mechanic changed them for that reason. Yes, they will eventually wear flat again, but could take a few months. If the squealing bothers you, go buy new pads.

[Ana]

I took a closer look at the pads, and what it is, he rotated them - not sure if that's the proper term, but turned them upside down, so where they were worn thinner at the top and thicker at the bottom to match the shape of the rim, now they're the opposite.

Doesn't it make you wonder about the rest/more important aspects of your bike after the overhaul....? :p :(

You can also try and resurface and even out your brake pads with a big metal file :) (take the wheel out first, of course :p)

[OakLeaf]

Brakes are a pretty important part of my bikes... :p Anyway it's not the noise that bugs me so much as the vibration. I guess it's really not a problem since it doesn't do that under hard braking - i.e. it wouldn't interfere with handling in an emergency. I'll give it another couple of rides and see if it works itself out, if not I'll either file the pads down or replace them.

The shoes are oriented properly and I can't believe I wouldn't have noticed if they weren't before. Don't the pads come out of the shoes? (that would s**k if I have to throw away perfectly good shoes every time the pads need replaced...)