Noisy brakes & rough front rim

[RolliePollie]

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!

[DebW]

New bike and wheels? Are the rims old? What kind of rims (size, brand, model)? Silver or anodized black or gray? Machined sidewalls?

A good procedure is to pick the grit out of your brake pads, then rub them with sandpaper. If the rims feel rough, smooth them down with steel wool and then clean them with rubbing alcohol. Or just use the rubbing alcohol to clean them. How often you have to do that depends on the roads you ride on. Losing bits of metal from the rims constantly isn't a good thing. Rims do wear thin from braking with gritty pads. Eden had a rim explode after it had worn too thin. If this is an old rim, you might think about replacing it soon. If it's a fairly new rim, then I'm not sure what to tell you, except to clean the pads and rims as soon as there is any indication of grit in them, and watch your rims carefully.

[RolliePollie]

Thanks, DebW. Sounds like I'm on the right track with the cleaning but I'll try the rubbing alcohol. I forgot to mention I've also been rubbing the brake pads with an emery board to try and smoothe them out a little. Then I wipe them off with a damp rag to get the emery board grit off. I'll try rubbing alcohol next time.

My bike and rims are new...just bought the bike in February. The rims say AT450 Axelrims SSE on them...I don't know what they are made of. It's an entry level road bike so I'm sure they're lower end. Size is 700 x 25. The trails I ride are very clean, the roads are a little sandy here and there, but improving as we get farther into spring.

I was reading the thread about the exploding rims and that's what spurred me on to post my question. I am quite good at falling on my own...the last thing I need is an exploding wheel to help me out!

THANKS for the advice!

[Zen]

Hmmm......i have a new bike and had the same problem. It sounded as though the brake pads had been replaced by sandpaper pads.
LBS dude said this was normal for a new bike and it seems to have gone away. I have enough to get used to with this bike, I sure don't need any exploding rims!

[silver]

I have this problem on my Trek 1000. It's an entry level bike. Ithink it has the same rims that you are talking about. I did some research on it and found that it's common on entry level rims and the brake pads that are used. some info recommended a softer brake pad but I never did find the ones that were recommended and eventually gave up and just dig the metal bits out occasionally.

Do some searches on the internet on it. I was surprised by how many people had the same problem but the guys at the shop acted like they never heard of it.

Honestly I think that the best solution is eventually upgrading your wheels and brake pads.

[RolliePollie]

Ahhhh...so perhaps this is a Trek 1000 problem...that's what I'm riding! I guess I'll just keep cleaning the brake pads and make sure I always have my Leatherman with me on rides just in case I need to pick out some metal.

I'm really glad I bought an entry level bike to start out. It's giving me the opportunity to learn about different things I'll want to change when I'm ready to upgrade. I guess as long as the brakes keep working (knock on wood!), I can tolerate a little brake pad/rim maintenance!