Levo Gen 2 Braking noise on new Turbo Levo Comp - looking for advise

[conceptmat]

I have a metal noise when braking, especially in the front. It doesn't always happen but sometimes, depending on the intensity of the braking. It sort of sounds like a train or big truck stopping. I could also describe it a squeaking.

I am thinking it may be just that breaks are new (only 50 miles on the bike).

If someone knows how to make brakes sound smoother, please let me know. May be I need to clean rotor with some chemical?

Thank you.

 

[wepn]

Try cleaning the rotor with isopropyl alcohol or brake cleaner like Muc-off and see if that helps.

If not your pad/s may be contaminated somehow and if so maybe best to replace them. You could try some fine sandpaper on them.

Or maybe they weren't bedded in properly? If not, ride to a slow cruise then apply gentle pressure until you almost come to a stop - say to walking speed then accelerate again. Repeat maybe 20 times.
That should help though -disclaimer- my brakes could be worse than yours and it's probable somebody could advise me lol

 

[conceptmat]

Try cleaning the rotor with isopropyl alcohol or brake cleaner like Muc-off and see if that helps.

If not your pad/s may be contaminated somehow and if so maybe best to replace them. You could try some fine sandpaper on them.

Or maybe they weren't bedded in properly? If not, ride to a slow cruise then apply gentle pressure until you almost come to a stop - say to walking speed then accelerate again. Repeat maybe 20 times.
That should help though -disclaimer- my brakes could be worse than yours and it's probable somebody could advise me lol

Will try cleaning and bedding in 20 times .. hope it gets better. Thank you!

 

[Bigtuna00]

No need to do the acoustic bike bedding process on a Levo. Put it in a low gear on Turbo mode and just pedal. I do 30 seconds pedaling with brakes on, couple minutes for cool down. I repeat 3-4 times. Much faster and easier with an ebike!

 

[conceptmat]

No need to do the acoustic bike bedding process on a Levo. Put it in a low gear on Turbo mode and just pedal. I do 30 seconds pedaling with brakes on, couple minutes for cool down. I repeat 3-4 times. Much faster and easier with an ebike!

Did not know this. Will try as well next time I ride.

 

[DreamensioN]

I don't know if this will help you, but I had a very similar problem on my normal MTB a couple of years ago. The front brakes made this horrible sound.

I tried cleaning the disk with pure alcohol, using sand paper to rough up the disc surface, using sand paper to rough up the pad surface, even rubbing the pads on cement to try to create a "fresh" surface that wouldn't squeal on contact with the disc.

The pads must have been contaminated beyond recovery or something because as a last ditch effort, I just bought new pads. They've been perfect ever since.

 

[EME]

I have a metal noise when braking, especially in the front. It doesn't always happen but sometimes, depending on the intensity of the braking. It sort of sounds like a train or big truck stopping. I could also describe it a squeaking.

I am thinking it may be just that breaks are new (only 50 miles on the bike).

If someone knows how to make brakes sound smoother, please let me know. May be I need to clean rotor with some chemical?

Thank you.

I had the same issue , same bike , and wouldn't go away. Embarrassing when riding up to and past walkers etc.

Took it back to the specialised dealer who told me that I hadn't bedded in / pumped the brakes. He's right I just slammed them on from the first time I rode it . He 'roughed up' the pad surface , I pumped gently for next few ( 20 kms ) 15 miles and problem now solved. Sounds like solutions above faster and better though !

 

[Bigtuna00]

Something worth mentioning; I didn't mention it before because you said the bike was low miles: if you cook the rotor, it will squeal no matter what you do. I never had this problem in the past (on lighter bikes) but with the ebike I've had it happen twice now. Once with SRAM Centerline and another with Shimano SM-RT66.

By "cook" I mean, essentially, overheating the rotor. They become discolored and super noisy. I went through all the "normal" decontamination steps, assuming my brakes were just contaminated, including replacing the pads. No amount of cleaning or bedding would fix it, nor replacing pads.

Unfortunately it's not necessarily super easy to diagnose. My current rotors are "discolored" but still working fine. But I have been focusing more on allowing the brakes to cool both via technology (i.e. Freeza rotors) and technique (e.g. letting off the brakes for short periods or alternating between front and back on straight sections).

 

[conceptmat]

I had the same issue , same bike , and wouldn't go away. Embarrassing when riding up to and past walkers etc.

Took it back to the specialised dealer who told me that I hadn't bedded in / pumped the brakes. He's right I just slammed them on from the first time I rode it . He 'roughed up' the pad surface , I pumped gently for next few ( 20 kms ) 15 miles and problem now solved. Sounds like solutions above faster and better though !

Thanks for the post. It could be the problem with mine. I got the bike already assembled, it was on display. Less then 10 miles on it when I picked it up but it was definitely test driven. It could have been bedding...

I tried alcohol and 20 times braking. So far the same. May be I need them to rough up the pads.. I noticed front rotor has some lines not sure if it's normal..

 

[conceptmat]

Something worth mentioning; I didn't mention it before because you said the bike was low miles: if you cook the rotor, it will squeal no matter what you do. I never had this problem in the past (on lighter bikes) but with the ebike I've had it happen twice now. Once with SRAM Centerline and another with Shimano SM-RT66.

By "cook" I mean, essentially, overheating the rotor. They become discolored and super noisy. I went through all the "normal" decontamination steps, assuming my brakes were just contaminated, including replacing the pads. No amount of cleaning or bedding would fix it, nor replacing pads.

Unfortunately it's not necessarily super easy to diagnose. My current rotors are "discolored" but still working fine. But I have been focusing more on allowing the brakes to cool both via technology (i.e. Freeza rotors) and technique (e.g. letting off the brakes for short periods or alternating between front and back on straight sections).

I am attaching a picture of my current rotor in the front. It's night time ,sorry for the quality.

Do you see the lines? Is it normal, or is it considered "cooked"?

Thank you,

 

[Bigtuna00]

Looks normal. EDIT: this looks like normal wear. It does NOT look like a rotor with 50 miles on it, more like 500.

A "cooked" rotor will look more like this:

https://forums.mtbr.com/attachments/tandem-mountain-bikes/1035266d1449995299-tandem-disc-brake-thread-full-rotor-color.jpg

But to be clear, my current rear rotor looks like that and doesn't squeal at all. Like I said it's not easy to diagnose, other than if it looks like that AND it squeals, it's probably time to replace.

 

[Patchinko]

I don't know if this will help you, but I had a very similar problem on my normal MTB a couple of years ago. The front brakes made this horrible sound.

I tried cleaning the disk with pure alcohol, using sand paper to rough up the disc surface, using sand paper to rough up the pad surface, even rubbing the pads on cement to try to create a "fresh" surface that wouldn't squeal on contact with the disc.

The pads must have been contaminated beyond recovery or something because as a last ditch effort, I just bought new pads. They've been perfect ever since.

I had the same thing with the wife's Cube, nothing I did would cure the howling brakes until I swapped the O.E pads for Lifeline replacements. An instant cure.

 

[wepn]

Less then 10 miles on it when I picked it up but it was definitely test driven.

To my amateur-ish eye that looks like 10 miles of Test driving without brake pads. I'd replace the rotor and the pads.

 

[KennyB]

To my amateur-ish eye that looks like 10 miles of Test driving without brake pads. I'd replace the rotor and the pads.

That disc looks fine to me, all of mine are like that. If it has been ridden for 10 miles without pads you're going to need new pistons, assuming they haven't popped out.

 

[wepn]

That disc looks fine to me, all of mine are like that. If it has been ridden for 10 miles without pads you're going to need new pistons, assuming they haven't popped out.

Just checked the rotors on mine and yes a couple are at least as chewed up and they’re still ok though the Vernier caliper might say otherwise.

 

[conceptmat]

Thank you all for your input. I wiped my rotors with Alchogol, re-bedded the brakes both traditional way and also on "turbo mode" with first gear. They still made noise at the end off the bedding.Seemed like noise was stronger at the end off the bedding possibly due to stress.

I let them cool down, wiped with alchogol again, and rode gently. So far so good no noise. Crossing fingers it will stay this way. Otherwise I will be looking at resurfacing/or replacing pads, etc.

 

[paquo]

. Otherwise I will be looking at resurfacing/or replacing pads, etc.

it's just a matter of time before pads are toast, i get about 6 or 700 miles more in front less in rear. OEM pads are really expensive and definitely not necessarily better

 

[RodC]

Thank you all for your input. I wiped my rotors with Alchogol, re-bedded the brakes both traditional way and also on "turbo mode" with first gear. They still made noise at the end off the bedding.Seemed like noise was stronger at the end off the bedding possibly due to stress.

I let them cool down, wiped with alchogol again, and rode gently. So far so good no noise. Crossing fingers it will stay this way. Otherwise I will be looking at resurfacing/or replacing pads, etc.

shouldn’t that problem be covered under warranty?

 

[KeithR]

shouldn’t that problem be covered under warranty?

Noisy brakes aren't a "fault".

 

[RodC]

Noisy brakes aren't a "fault".

crystallized pads?
He mentioned the bike is only 50kms

 

[KeithR]

crystallized pads?
He mentioned the bike is only 50kms

Context, Rod. The post you replied to talked about the brakes going quiet after a clean, so all we know is that the brakes were noisy because the rotors were - at worst - somewhat contaminated.

Because on the face of it the noise wasn't due to a faulty component, there's nothing a warranty claim would help with.

 

[McInner1]

I recommend to use organic pads - not metallic.
Organic ones (resin) are more silent.
I use them and are happy with them.

 

[Bigtuna00]

I already have problems with rotors overheating, so I think organics are a no-go. I'm curious if you're aggressive on them @McInner1 ?

 

[#lazy]

shouldn’t that problem be covered under warranty?

Could try . A mate had his cassette replacing after 3 months and wheel bearings after 6 , he’s a cheeky fxxker but got away with it ? Don’t ask don’t get !

 

[RodC]

Context, Rod. The post you replied to talked about the brakes going quiet after a clean, so all we know is that the brakes were noisy because the rotors were - at worst - somewhat contaminated.

Because on the face of it the noise wasn't due to a faulty component, there's nothing a warranty claim would help with.

Well, my comment was directed to the OP which mentioned that even after cleaning And needing the noise persist.
the bike is new. Why keep trying and instead call assistance from the guys he bought an expensive bike from.