I haven’t ridden much at all over Christmas, furthest I’ve gone is the local shops…

I was getting ready for a ride over AC and I noticed both my brakes were firmly on.. It was hard to push the bike! Squeezed one lever and some fluid came out.

Why has this happened? It’s been stored in the garage, on its wheels… I haven’t changed anything… Honest!

Confused.com..

Squeezed one lever and some fluid came out

OK – fluid came out of where?

1st question; Are the brake lines pressurised, therefore holding the pads against the disc and holding the bike firm

OR

Have the pads seized onto the disc due to corrosion and lack-of-use but there is no hydraulic pressure?

Fluid came out of bleed screw on the lever, bike was upside down when I squeezed the lever as hard as possible. This enabled me to remove the wheel and push the pistons back in, which made more fluid come out. Now there is too much travel..

Yup defo pressurised pads being pushed on to discs. They were fine a few months back, just become worse n worse.. Juicy 7’s, Yes I know, buy some Hopes for the easy option! 😉

Hmmm I don’t know about Hopes 😀

However I would not do any work on the brakes with the bike upside down!

What does

Now there is too much travel

mean? If the pistons don’t touch the back of the pads (I’m guessing that’s what you mean) then apply the brakes a few times (with the bike upright and the wheel/disc in place) and the pistons will/should adjust up automatically.

Juicy 7’s you say? They are notorious for leaking, especially from the seals/screws of the master cylinder, a common problem when left for long periods . Remove the pads and gently lever out the pistons but not so far as to pop them out and spill 5.1 everywhere. Then lever back in (with soft tyre lever or similar) and repeat several times. You can also use a disk brake cleaner on the piston edges before levering back in. This should free them up nicely and after that re-bleed the brakes/new seals/clean up where they leaked and you are good to go.

Pulling the brakes a few times does work, for a short time. It was a schoolboy error working on it upside down, I was trying to remove the rear wheel, pulled the brakes, fluid came out and so did a few words!

Do the seals and re-bleed you say… I only replaced the seals and pistons at the start of September, so they’ve only had a few weekends use and a week in the Alps..

I’ll push them out, use a cotton bud to re-oil them with 5.1 and then bleed.. God damn brakes! I’m going to have to change, they were bled 3 times last summer, and seals replaced.