i have Hope mini #3 caliper brakes, and very happy with them i am too. They have decent stopping power withouot making me feel like im going to end up face first on the front wheel

Problem is they squeak. A lot

Ive read that theyre prone to this, is this true does anybody know?

Does anybody have a magic fix?

Ive been using Muc Off disc brake cleaner recently, and its pretty pointless. First time i used it the rag was black after. Result!? No. After using it the brakes are useless for the first 10 miles or so, then theyre pretty darn goo, for about 5 then back to squeaky again – whats the point?

One thing i did notice is that my rear disc isnt completely centralised in my caliper. This brake has been to Hope for a service in the last 2 months (it came back with new pads as you woudl expect but they had pulled the lever with no spacers, so i had to remove pads and prize the pistone back into place manually!) Anyway its been to Hope so i know its all new and shiney good

WOuld the disc not sitting completely central cause it to squeak a lot?, As surely when i brake, 1 pad hits teh disc first making a squeak noise rather than a “bite” although i dont notice any performance issues with this

Every time new pads have been fitted ive spent the time to bed in the new pads. Ive roughed the surface of the pads (only a temporary fix) and then tried roughing up the surface of the rotor on the front one – did litle to nothing

Ill try get some photos on here

Any help greatly appreciated

organic or sintered pads? I find sintered tend to squeal more. deglaze the pads and disc with fine sandpaper. I only use hope original pads I find them much better.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5hnoh1uk7t9lqz3/2015-03-13%2017.23.58.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/nqdoic999klcvhh/AABLw-yohR8Vss_waT1td2ida/1

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/nqdoic999klcvhh/AADCKc-e3Z-vBg1mjgGEMqQ2a/2

I’ve found that genuine hope pads squeal until they’ve been baked on a good long descent, then they’re fine until they wear out, with only a little squeal after being washed (a very rare occurrence for me 😎 )

However the Aztec pads I bought, good god. The moment the brake gets warmed up, everybody within several miles knows they’re squealing.
I’m too cheap to change them until they’re worn out, but they just don’t seem to wear!

Anyway, suggestions are make sure the caliper is parallel to the disk. One piston will always move before the other, but when initially pumping out the pistons, push the disk across and hold the one that moves first so the slower piston gets pumped out so the disk is sitting central between the pads/pistons.
Failing that, try some new pads. A bit oil contamination can cause squealing issues.
I usually find a good long descent working the brakes hard and getting properly toasty sorts things out, ideally mixed with some water/mud to help things along.

im currently using sintered pads but ive had organic in the past which had the same issue

the rear ones are official Hope and from are AZ$(*&^% i don’t know without looking 🙂 but they both suffer the same issue, one isn’t better than the other

That Youtube Video is pretty good ill have to give that a go – although its ok when u watch that on this nice brand new, clean setup, compared to my 10 year old brakes!

Im wondering if the shims, washers have something to do with it. There are 3 on each bolt, all different sizes. ive tried them in every combination and this seems to be the best but its not great still – my back wheel doesnt spin amazingly either

My Minis used to squeal horrendously (people in work knew it was me stopping outside), and I always suspected it to be something to do with the wavey rotors they came with. A year or so back, when putting a Hope order together, I thought i’d get a set of C2 rotors to try instead, seeing as they’re the same diameter, but round. Result- much quieter, the odd squeal occasionally, but nothing like before. Considering squeal is universally accepted in the braking world as being caused by pads vibrating, it’s not a total surprise that a rotor that goes up & down, pulling the pads that are trying to grip it up & down too, would squeal.