Is a strange squealing noise drawing the wrong kind of attention to your e-bike? Do your electric bike brakes sound like a loud flushing toilet? Fear not, because the solution is quite simple and can be repeated as often as you need. The most common solution for contaminated brake pads is to simply wear off the top layer of your brake pads, which should stop the sound at its source by removing any contamination. 

Why Are My Rize Bike Brake Pads Making This Noise?

As you use your electric bike, by design, the brake rotor and brake pads will touch each other. Normally, when everything is operating as it should, the noise will be minimal or non-existent. However, if there is grease or a build up of dust, dirt or grime on the brake pad, the friction of those two components touching will cause an unpleasant squealing noise. An unpleasant sound can also develop after riding your e-bike off-road or in the rain.

To resolve the squealing of rear contaminated brake pads, do this: 

1. Disconnect the motor inhibitor (the connection point is typically located under the right/rear brake lever).

2. Tilt your e-bike onto its kickstand, making sure the back tire isn’t touching the ground. We will turn on the bike in a moment, and if the wheel is on the ground, your ebike will shoot off like a rocket, so be very careful not to let your back tire touch the ground).

3. Engage the throttle. While pushing on the throttle, intermittently apply pressure to the brake pads in 3-second intervals.

4. Repeat for approximately 15 seconds. During this process, you should smell the odor of worn brake pads, signaling that the brake pads are being worn down. This is a sign that all of the build-up and gunk causing the squealing sound is wearing away. The friction removes contaminants from the brake pads.

5. Reattach the motor inhibitor.

6. Take your e-bike for a quick ride and use the brakes. If you can no longer hear the original noise, you are good to go!

If you still hear a terrible squealing noise or having the same problem with the front brake pads, do this:

1. Remove the front brake caliper from the front wheel.

2. Remove the brake pads from the front brake calliper, paying careful attention to the order in which you removed it, as you will need to reattach it when these steps are complete. One handy tip is to keep a bowl next to you to collect bolts and screws that might come off the electric bike as you resolve this issue.

3. While removing the calliper to get at the brake pads, use an Allen wrench to gently unscrew the bolts on the center of the calliper.

4. Once you have the front brake pad in hand, use sandpaper to sand the brake pads for approximately 30 seconds. This will get the first layer of grit off the brake pad and remove the contaminated layer.

5. After the brake pad is sanded, reinstall the front brake calliper to the Ebike.

6. Start your electric bike and listen for noise. If you no longer hear the noise, you are good to go!

Please note:

● You may need to ride your e-bike for a few hours before the benefits of removing contaminants from your brake pads kick in.

● Repeat the step-by-step process outlined in this post if you ever experience a build up of dust or grime on your brake pads.

● Your e-bike is a heavy machine, and disc brakes can exert a normal amount of application noise.

● Your brake pad noise may have nothing to do with contaminated brake pads and could be caused by worn-out brake pads. If that’s your issue, new brake pads can be purchased on the Rize Bikes website.

● Some e-bike owners have resolved their brake noise issues simply by cranking up their speed and then heavily slamming on their brakes. Doing this might be the simplest fix and if you try this, be sure to not do it on gravel or slippery surfaces. Also, be sure to engage both brakes at the exact same time. Be safe!