How can I tell if my brakes are seized?

read about this being fairly common so just want to ask a simple question then hide from embarrassment!

how do you tell if the brakes are seized? will they be snapped full on or jsut slightly?? and im guessing they wont work atall if they are seized??

[dizzyblonde]

when you move your bike around you'll be able to hear them grinding on your discs..kind of make a crrrrrrrrhhhhhh noise..and it can be pretty hard to move the bike...Mine were so ceased on Suzy last year I had to hit the calipers with a rubber mallet to free them up....I don't recommend it
However the brakes still worked when I was riding

what are the consequences of it not being sorted? just increased wear? and how easy is it to sort out?

[dizzyblonde]

you really need to have them serviced, there gets a build up of crap that stops the pistons working properly, your pads wear out quicker and you can warp your discs.
I've done it myself before, but its so long since I've done it, a man who can would have to point me in the right direction again. Its not a terribly hard job to do

fair enough, how much would i be looking at to get them serviced on average anyway?

just remove the calipers and clean them up with a brake cleaner, work the pistons in and out and re grease then fit back to bike, i did my old zzr6, bike was hard to push but did ride (very badly)

[dizzyblonde]

dunno, YC does mine..or should I say YC shoves a pair of calipers at me and then tells me what to do, then shows me how to bleed the system of air( if you do the fluid too) ....I don't go to a garage to have it done..too expensive.
It would be cheaper still if Im Indoors would do it

oh ok, the bike i went to look at made the noise you described so ill either have to bargain more or get them to sort it!! wasnt too bad but defiantly made enough noise for me to notice!

pads will rest on the disks and you will hear them when pushing the bike around.

[dizzyblonde]

TBH mine make a slight noise now, but they are due a bit of a clean up. Just ask em when the last time they had the brakes serviced