Front brake starts rubbing in rain

[Nonlinear]

Hi all, I live in Vancouver and commute to work year-round, including our very rainy winters. I just got my Vado 5.0 IGH three months ago, and we've had an abnormally dry autumn, but the rains have started in the last week or so, and I've noticed that my front brake starts to rub quite loudly when it gets wet. I've never noticed this in dry conditions, only when it is raining and the brakes get wet.

The brakes are also extremely loud and squeaky when wet. This is my first bike with disc brakes, and I just assumed this noise is normal, but I am not sure if it's related to the rubbing I hear (both are on the front wheel only, as far as I can tell).

Does anyone else have any issues with brakes rubbing when wet? Is this something I should report to the LBS? I am not sure if this is normal, or if something needs to be adjusted. Thanks!

 

[fooferdoggie]

noise when they get wet is pretty normal. but when ti rubs is it always now or only for a short time then stops? my tandems rotor warps for a bit when braking and it is worse in winter. then it straightens out.

 

[Nonlinear]

noise when they get wet is pretty normal. but when ti rubs is it always now or only for a short time then stops? my tandems rotor warps for a bit when braking and it is worse in winter. then it straightens out.

Thanks! So far I've only noticed the rubbing after a commute in the rain. So far, it's stopped once the bike dries and/or warms up. I'm going to keep an eye on it though

 

[fooferdoggie]

Thanks! So far I've only noticed the rubbing after a commute in the rain. So far, it's stopped once the bike dries and/or warms up. I'm going to keep an eye on it though

try tapping the brakes it may straighten out. but it sounds like it just warps on a temp basis. our tandem is really bad about it almost every time I brake it does it. part of it is the shimano calipers the pads are really close to the disc so it takes very little for the two to touch.

 

[rich c]

Thanks! So far I've only noticed the rubbing after a commute in the rain. So far, it's stopped once the bike dries and/or warms up. I'm going to keep an eye on it though

Nothing swells from the rain and drags just when it's wet. The brakes will wear a little bit more and noise will likely stop. You could try a different compound pad, or hand sand off a little friction material, but it will change just with age. At least you have good brake action when it get's wet, way better than rim brakes.

 

[kahn]

That's very interesting, fellow pacific northWET citizen. Just last week I got caught in my first heavy rain here in Seattle. ONLY the front brake screeched like hell whenever it was applied even on flats as I approached intersections. It would stop if I kept it applied for a bit but start up the next time I braked. I was concerned enough that I avoided a steep downhill and opted to go out of my way to find a less dramatic drop. Still squealed but worked. Next two dry rides, no sounds whatsoever. Oh, Creo, here. I admit that I don't ride in the rain often but do get caught. I know that I've been out on a few wet days but don't recall this racket. But both rotors and pads were replaced on the last tuneup.

 

[Allan47.7339]

The NW rainy weather commuting is accompanied by gritty roads. Brake pads need to be checked much more much frequently in winter due to the grit that is kicked up by the rain. I wore through a rear rim before I switched to disc brakes when winter commuting from Seattle to Everett. I did my own maintenance to keep commuting streak going and I always kept a couple of sets of disc pads to fix those grinding noises when they got a little too thin. Cleaning or rinsing the bike off after the daily ride in rainy weather is the best preventative maintenance.

 

[fooferdoggie]

it always seems the front make more noise when wet on all my bikes. but I dont see any undue wear on the discs with rain commuting. I got something like 12k on my discs on my commuter. If the pads wear faster its not a huge amount. downhill i don't worry about not stopping as the discs dry off fast but emergency stops is where you have the most loss. I worry more about tire grip in the rain.