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Shimano Mineral Oil alternatives?

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#21 ·
Um... shot in the dark here....

Mattlikestobike said:
wow! my LBS said to replace the oil every 4-6months. I did the bleed myself, because the LBS was charging $50 on 1 caliper/lever... $100 total before tax.. :eekster:

i really dont understand why the LBS is charging that much, for such a simple job..
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Discussion starter · #22 ·
Awesome, thanks guys.. I can't really tell the difference between spongy vs a good flush.. I might go to the LBS and see what the guy thinks, since i chat up with him commonly.

As for the liter of shimano, ill be buying that soon. :D
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
TwoTone said:
No way I'd open up my brakes that often to flush it. Every time you open the system, you take a chance of introducing some contamination. If the lever feels good I leave it alone.

It's mineral oil, not DOT brake fluid. My current bike is a 09, never flushed it either and it working fine.
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Wow, really? :eekster:

I would think you want to replace the brake fluid often, as much as the guy at the LBS said "4-6 months", because riding in such dusty enviroments, in my mind, would reduce performance of the oil, and cause tears in gaskets/o-rings.... but this is coming from a 1/8 buggy rc racer, this makes the most sense to me.
 
#25 ·
Mattlikestobike said:
Wow, really? :eekster:

I would think you want to replace the brake fluid often, as much as the guy at the LBS said "4-6 months", because riding in such dusty enviroments, in my mind, would reduce performance of the oil, and cause tears in gaskets/o-rings.... but this is coming from a 1/8 buggy rc racer, this makes the most sense to me.
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If you're getting dust into a sealed hydraulic brakes system, you've got other problems that a flush wont fix.

Think about, even cars, which DOT fluid is hygroscopic only recommend flushes every 2 years. Nothing about a mountain bike hydraulic system with mineral oil says to me it ever needs to be flushed unless you have problems.
 
#27 ·
In cars, you need to occasionally replace the brake oil and such because of condensation and water migration. Eventually your fluid becomes watered down per se. I suppose this wouldn't be much of an issue unless your bike sat outside all year long.

When I got in to wrenching Mustangs, I used to ask some of the more knowledgeable buddies, when should i clean and re-oil my K&N air filter? Like after how many miles... They would respond with "clean it when it's dirty". And end it like that - on purpose. The clue they wanted me to get of course was to not clean it unnecessarily, use common sense and do it when it's obvious. In this case, I would imagine, rather than just blindly replacing it every 4-6mo cuz the shop said to, replace it when it needs it (feels mushy). Who knows, maybe you'll get 6 years of it too. lol
 
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#28 ·
KVW said:
In cars, you need to occasionally replace the brake oil and such because of condensation and water migration. Eventually your fluid becomes watered down per se. I suppose this wouldn't be much of an issue unless your bike sat outside all year long.

When I got in to wrenching Mustangs, I used to ask some of the more knowledgeable buddies, when should i clean and re-oil my K&N air filter? Like after how many miles... They would respond with "clean it when it's dirty". And end it like that - on purpose. The clue they wanted me to get of course was to not clean it unnecessarily, use common sense and do it when it's obvious. In this case, I would imagine, rather than just blindly replacing it every 4-6mo cuz the shop said to, replace it when it needs it (feels mushy). Who knows, maybe you'll get 6 years of it too. lol
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That's why I'm being specific about Shimano brakes and why I like them. Some of the other brands use DOT fluid which is hygroscopic- absorbs water out of the air, which would probably need flushing every once in a while.
 
#29 ·
TwoTone said:
That's why I'm being specific about Shimano brakes and why I like them. Some of the other brands use DOT fluid which is hygroscopic- absorbs water out of the air, which would probably need flushing every once in a while.
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Exactly, mineral oil does not absorb water like DOT fluid does.
 
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#30 ·
Mineral oil doesn't absorb water but it still needs to be changed every once in a while. After enough time in the brake system, the anti-wear and anti-corrosion additives will deplete and the mineral oil will start to oxidize and break down from repeated exposure to high temperatures.

How long this takes depends on how much & how hard you ride your bike, I've gone up to 4 years between changes but I've also gone down to less than a year. If your brakes are getting hot enough to start fading on every ride and you're going through brakes pads like candy you'll want to replace the fluid every year at the minimum. If it takes you 3 years to wear out a set of pads you can get away with replacing the fluid every 3-5 years.
 
#31 ·
aerius said:
Mineral oil doesn't absorb water but it still needs to be changed every once in a while. After enough time in the brake system, the anti-wear and anti-corrosion additives will deplete and the mineral oil will start to oxidize and break down from repeated exposure to high temperatures.
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Good point and very true.
 
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#33 ·
shimano recommends against using anything but their mineral oil as it's specifically made for their brakes. I've seen magura fluid wreck seals in shimano brakes and vice versa. sure using generic mineral oil will probably work on a technical level but it won't be good for anything and will degrade performance, especially in heat handling. as infrequently as you should need to change the fluid in your brakes, it's not that big of an expense. even if you somehow manage to need frequent bleeds, you only need a tiny bit of oil to do that, not a full fluid change.
 
#35 ·
I'm new to the mtb scene..Riding and working on dirt bikes for years.We ride KTM's they use a hydraulic clutch. and yes KTM recomends the magura juice. I've used atf(automatic trans. fluid)and motorcycle fork oil(7 wt or 10wt)for years along with 1,0000's of other KTM owners. so i will probabls go this route when i flush/change my fluids
 
#37 ·
I just used some Belray 5wt fork oil. It's a light green. These are some new BR-9000 XTR Race brakes. The 5wt seems to be about the same as the Shimano pink stuff as far as rubbing it between my fingers. The brake lever feels the same as before.
 
#39 ·
egebhardt said:
I just used some Belray 5wt fork oil. It's a light green. These are some new BR-9000 XTR Race brakes. The 5wt seems to be about the same as the Shimano pink stuff as far as rubbing it between my fingers. The brake lever feels the same as before.
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eb1888 said:
Petroleum product may affect the seals. Keep us apprised.
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This- I've never understood cheaping out on something as important as brakes. Hopefully the seals don't fail when you need them the most.
 
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