Life got in the way the past couple of months and I left my anthem 27.5 2 in the cellar without riding. Got her out yesterday and the rear brake had seized onto the disc, making the wheel stop when spun by hand, and the lever feels spongy.

Sounds like it needs bleeding, but can you tell me a) if there’s anything else that needs doing (adjusting callipers?) and b) why this happened? It was fine last time I rode…

Cheers.

So the pads are contacting the disc, putting the brake on?
Or, has the calliper actually seized/rusted onto the disc?

This happened to my avid’s recently. Hadn’t ridden the mtb for a while and it was the same as soon as I put the brake on. Rode all the way round Dalby like that. It’s the second rear avid that has done that to me now so have just made the move to a shimano brake to see if that’s better

Edit: it was the calliper that has stuck so always remains ‘half on’

Dot fluid slowly absorbs moisture past the seals, the overall volume of fluid in the system therefore increases and the pistons no longer fully retract.
Pistons can also seize in the caliper if left long enough.

Sorry, to clarify – the pads are pressed onto the disc all the time. Not actually seized/rusted on..

So – it needs bleeding and the pistons re-aligning?

+1 Druid
If they are Avids, they don’t like being stood still. If you know you’re not going to use it, give them a squeeze every know and again.

Wheel out, screwdriver the pads apart, wheel back in and pump lever. If it does it again or lever still feels funny after riding, then bleed them.

Dot fluid is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from the atmosphere over time, when this happens the Dot fluid expands and pushes the pistons out of the caliper against the disc
They need a bleed to fix properly or the bleed nipple cracking open and the pistons pushed back for a quick fix..