Probably have to shorten the brake hoses on a new build and then bleed refill. Can the Shimano oil be mixed with the cheaper Citroen LHM and the brakes still work?

Sorry, not an answer but am wondering the same myself. About to bleed a brake that I assume has shimano oil in it. (Merlin cheap deal, no idea what they would put in tbh).

LHM oil will work for a while but the shimano oil is kinder to the seals.

dont mix them.

I should read the posts in one go. What brakes do you have Tracker?

Any reason to avoid mixing? (or do I mean what is the reason to avoid mixing, probably).

They have different thickness and will seperate in you hoses. You shouldnt really mix any oil really for the same reason.

You should flush the the brake out using the lhm so no shimano oil is left, just bleed the brake loads.

Daft question but it is mineral oil you need?

All shitamano brakes have mineral oil in them do they not? Are you sure it is incompatible with LMH? I thought it was made to the same spec. Certainly citroen LMH is used where there are hydraulic seals.

All shimano brakes use mineral oil, lhm is fine but the shimano oil has a few extra bits in it to help with the life of the seals. not sure but think it has ia higher boiling point too.

Right, SR, the brakes I have are old XTR with old XT levers (but new to me if that makes sense).
Still not yet checked what is in them so could be academic.
If they separated would it really be a problem?

Not massively, there’s only really a tiny amount of oil in there anyway. Been using Citroen for ages now with no ill effects.

Only thing crossing my mind is that they will still be under warranty, using non-Shimano oil may/will be an arguing point if there was a problem?
Got Citroen oil in Tektro brake without bother though…

What abou halfords bike mineral oil is this any good cheaper than shimano and available in smaller amounts than lhm?

Any mineral oil will work but different brands do have different consistencies so will not mix.
In general terms all the ‘bikey’ mineral oils have a thinner consistency than the automobile ones. I’ve used Halfords ‘car’ mineral oil in my Shimano brakes and I did notice that the brakes felt a bit more sluggish at the lever, the oil was also noticeably thicker when filling the brakes up.
Stendec sell a mineral oil that although not cheap does seem to work incredibly well in Shimano brakes.

I’ve used LHM in mineral systems (Shimano and Magura) for years and it works fine.

St John Street cycles even sells car LHM fluid for use with Shimano / Magura brakes. About to give it a try:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/1000ml-1litre-lhm-mineral-brake-fluid-for-magura-shimano-disc-brakes-prod12646/
1 litre unipart LHM+ fluid for 9 quid

shimano stuff 15 quid (rec retail 20quid)
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-mineral-oil-1-litre-bottle/

so I guess not that much in it.

As a long time owner of various hydropneumatic citroens I’ve used LHM with all my Shimano brakes no problems. LHM is used in a much higher pressure system and has a high boiling point, so unless you are going to the Alps I’d add it. I wouldn’t mix them. For the cost of some LHM I’d just drain the shimano stuff.

Get your LHM mail order from Vantage Citroen, Merton S.London. Cheapest in the UK.

Been using Total/Citroen oil in mine for a while with no ill effects.

i been using LHM as have all my friends for the past 10-11 years. First with HS33s and now with XT/XTR discs. Have had LHM in mine for 3 years no problems and my mate has had LHM in his XT disc brakes for the past 6 years again with no problems.

about 3 years ago i noticed the level was low in my rear (shimano LX)
brake,
having no money, i topped it up with 3in1 oil.
still working perfectly.

When I had Shimano Xt’s always used the citroen lhm oil.

Citroen LHM is MUCH thicker than Shimano Mineral oil… It will separate out if you mix the two, and in use it causes a lot more drag in the brake lever feel, and generally you can just tell it’s like thick goop (imagine putting treacle in your suspension forks instead of 7.5W oil for a comparison!).

But if you’re REALLY dead set on buying LHM, don’t pay any more than £6 per litre for it… Don’t say I didn’t warn you though, the Shimano stuff really is a lot thinner and makes the brakes feel and work a lot better!

5 sets of Shimano brakes. Some have Shimano fluid, some have Citroen fluid, some have a mixture (and have had for several years). All work fine and no difference between them.

I have used this and the halfrauds equivilent in my xt brakes, with no noticable difference, begrudge paying for the shimano mini pot.

Was told about the citroen LHM stuff from the guy in the LBS, so have a litre of that in the workshop for the next bleed, which cost me about 6 quid.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=29899

Unless you are a shop or have a vast fleet of bikes it’s going to take ages to use a litre of fluid.

I filled my front and back brakes from empty and only used half of one of those little 50ml Shimano bottles. I’d just buy the proper stuff.

Used Halfords mineral oil for the last 2 years. no problems so far. It may be slightly thicker but I can’t tell the difference at the lever and the pistons still retract perfectly.

I used tap water in a set of HS33s for a couple of years. Worked amazingly well. Until one cold winter when the hose kinda exploded.