Noisy brakes & rough front rim
Being a newbie, I generally do not know if something is working right on my bike or if something needs to be fixed. But my front brakes are driving me bonkers! I don't know if this is something I can fix or if I need to take my bike to the shop. Here's my theory:
When I first got my bike, I think sand or grit got on the brakes pads right away. My brakes were very noisy on my very first ride, but I didn't know this was not normal, so I kept riding. Then fianlly someone told me this was not normal, so I looked at the brake pads and noticed tiny pieces of grit embedded in the pads. I picked it all out and the sound went away. But wouldn't you know it, a couple rides later, here come the noisy brakes again. Same thing...cleaned the pads. Then I noticed the rims are not very smooth on the front wheel. So I used some steel wool and gently rubbed them smooth again. Now I seem to be able to go about 50 miles before my brakes get noisy and I have to go through this whole picking out the grit/rubbing the rims routine again. Today I was examining the grit more closely and realized it is teeny tiny pieces of metal. Are my rims actually losing little pieces of metal which then get embedded in the brake pads? If so, how do I stop this from happening? I can't figure out what is going on here. It only happens on my front wheel. If anyone can help me out, I'll be very grateful! :)