I finally figured out how to stop my front brake from squealing after it got wet, a trick I learned last Tuesday in my garage.

2 comments

2 Comments

That trick you learned in your garage is a lifesaver. I had the same squeal after riding in the rain last month and it drove me nuts. What worked for me was cleaning the rotor with isopropyl alcohol and then doing a few hard stops from a decent speed to re-bed the pads. It really seems to burn off any leftover moisture or gunk. Do you use a specific cleaner or just go straight for the sandpaper method?

elizabethpalmer3d ago

Glad that worked for you. I usually skip the sandpaper unless there's deep scoring. My go-to is brake cleaner spray, the non-chlorinated kind, followed by a good wipe down with a clean rag. Then I do exactly what you said, those hard stops to get the pads seated again. The noise usually comes from a thin layer of transfer or contamination, and that process cooks it right off. Found that method works better than just alcohol for the greasy film you sometimes get from road spray.