For some weird reason i simply cannot get my pads to stop a *ting* on the brakes.

If i look carefully it looks to me like the bottom part of the pad isn’t quite touching the piston, but the part of the pad nearest the split pin is..

I’ve been trying to think of a way to resolve this and the only thing i can come up with is it’s cause by the spring clip on the pads, which is pushing the ends out as it’s more triangular at the point where the hole is, rather than being fully rounded, which i guess would give the pads better alignment ?

Can you get ‘better’ spring clips ? anyone else had this ?

They’re Shimano M615s if that helps, with the little arms down the side of the pads.

I’ve tweaked springs before, just bending the bottom out a touch to resolve this.

if you can hear that when you’re riding along, ride faster so the wind fills your ears.

My road brakes OTOH – after a summer of glazing, they didn’t like the wet on Sunday.  HOOOOOWWWWWLLLLLLLL!

If it’s a regular, but not constant, noise it sounds more like a bent rotor.

Tried 3 of them. I’ve a new pair coming in post though.

New rotors are no guarantee of them being straight, most will require at least a small amount of tweaking, some will take a lot more. On the subject of the pads not sitting flat, it’s not something i’ve ever come across on M615s (and i’m probably into thousands of them), so i’d make sure you have the correct springs in there (aftermarket pads have been known to be supplied with the wrong ones, sometimes a completely different shape to the pads).

If you haven’t tried it, it’s worth zip-tying your levers back to the bars overnight. It did the trick for me recently when I had the same issue.

Just bend your rotor away from the pad at the point its ‘tinging’ (special tools are available, but using a screwdriver as a lever will do). It’s like truing a wheel but easier.

I’ve got one mate, Park Tools. But it’s honestly not visible that it’s actually touching at that point… Which is the confusing bit. I’ve trued rotors over the years more than once… but i’m really struggling with this current setup.

If you look down at the top of the caliper and turn the wheel it should be fairly obvious if there’s a wobble in the rotor, or if the caliper is not straight (although, again, this would rub constantly).

What sort of rotor is it? Some of the floating ones have issues with the bolts touching the caliper / mount.

Standard static non-floating Shimano type.

Even if the rotor’s almost completely true, it will have *some* side to side movement in it, nothing you can realistically do to resolve that.

If you’re using aftermarket pads, try shimano ones. If not, you could try bending the little spring, or is the pad almost fully worn? Sometimes the spring can start touching the rotor when you’re almost down to the metal (when the spring gets fired out of the caliper, it’s a sign you might need to change your pads soon).

Mine does it on the rear but only when i’m cornering.  Its a new bike and curiously my previous ten year old bike did it as well.  I assume i’m just too heavy for it.