@Brian I had a similar experience with my Dia-Compe 980 cantilever front brake with the KOOL-STOP E-BIKE brake pads. I cleaned the sidewall of my Alex DM 18? rim with lacquer thinner and sanded my brake pads. I even readjusted my brake pads. All this to no avail in solving my squealing pads.
I remember from a long time ago when I had Tektro cantilever brakes on my 2008 Surly Long Haul Trucker with the same issue. I took my Dremel tool with a narrow rounded sanding bit and went in and ground down the upper stirrups of the cantilever brakes with the brake pads removed at different angles. Reinstalling the pads, I discovered that this solved the problem after riding the bike again. Taking that resolution, I applied it again to the front wheel brake of my Clem with great success. The squealing sound has not returned whatsoever. Kim Hetzel. On Wed, May 20, 2026, 7:06 AM Brian Turner <[email protected]> wrote: > Everyone, I am at my wit's end this morning trying to eliminate the squeal > on my front Motolite that is on my new Sam. I'm usually pretty good at > this, but for some reason nothing I am doing seems to work. For starters, > this is a newly built Sam, with less than 30 miles on it. Pads are brand > new Kool Stop thinline salmons. > > I've set the toe-in like I normally do, using a dime or a penny on the > back end of the pad when tightening them in order to get the front of the > pads to touch just slightly before the back of the pad. Squeals like crazy. > > I've tried adjusting the pad holders just slightly inward (same as > toeing). Squeals just as bad. > > I've adjusted everything parallel to the rim (no toe-in). Squeals like > crazy. > > I've cleaned the rims with alcohol. I've sanded the KoolStop pads. Nothing > is working. > > This isn't my first bike with Motolites. I've always been able to get rid > of it, but for some reason nothing I'm trying is working today. Any advice? > I'm truly feeling like an idiot. > > Brian > Lexington KY > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e5bb4b08-8ae7-45cb-be94-c2fbcda71dcdn%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e5bb4b08-8ae7-45cb-be94-c2fbcda71dcdn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CANRt_xmQwprW1V0GgL47x1aLtB4_ByhGv2Yi%3DZQ0NmS0buKXZw%40mail.gmail.com.
