Why Do My Disc Brakes Squeak When It rains?

By Michelle Kirsch, Member at Large

I hear this being mentioned every year when it rains and all during the rainy season. Yes, I do know it’s annoying for everyone, especially for the rider. On the bright side, when you apply your breaks and your coming up on someone this will get them to move real fast!

You may be asking well do I need to replace my brakes or even my rotor? Before you go replacing those items, hear me out. Short of the long answer is that it’s due to moisture, surface rust, and road grim causing the friction between your brake pads and the rotor, which in turn is causing vibration that causes the squeaking sound. The good news is that, if you keep applying your brakes to build some warmth on your pads, the water could evaporate and the squeaking stops.

You can switch out your brake pads during the rainy season for organic pads and that could help with the annoying squeaking noise. Now, this is not a guarantee either, but if the horrible squeaking noise really bothers you, this could be worth a try.

This could be why your disc brakes squeak during the rainy season.