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Or more importantly, will my kids die?
All of their bikes have tektro brakes.
Bought some tektro mineral oil after reading this disclaimer: https://trpcycling.com/blogs/news/stop-don-t-use-that-oil-unless-it-says-trp-or-tektro
However didn't check the description and it turned up in a thimble 😡 One of the bikes was really ganky and i basically used the whole bottle in one go.
now i'm annoyed. Do i pay £25 for a decent sized bottle of tektro to do the others or do i use the big bottle of shimano i already have.
is the above just marketing/scare mongering or is it genuinely dodgy to use non-tektro oil?
For context, my offspring related anxiety won't allow me to use the shimano oil now i've read that! this is more a hypothetical question.
secondly, the main learning is i should have just bought the 1ltr bottle in the first place.
I've used Putoline hpx suspension fork oil instead of Shimano mineral oil in a few brakesets with no trouble whatsoever, originally tried it as a way of dealing with the old bite point issue but it was also cheaper than Shimano oil at the time. I'd use any brand of mineral oil personally although I've never owned TRP brakes
Yes...but very likely not due to this choice.
I thought baby oil was the fragrant/cheap way to go for bleeding mineral oil brakes?
I've never tried it myself as my brakes are dot4/5. But I would if I had mineral oil brakes.
I'm a bit skeptical that the Shimano fluid turned black because it 'burned'.
But who the hell knows what goes on with these propriety fluids. I'm going to stick with DOT fluid as long as I can but I guess it's inevitable that every manufacturer is going to end up with it's own pixie tears fluid that can't possibly be used with any other brakes.
It's what the public wants, apparently.
Looking through the manufacturers' data sheets for the two fluids there are similarities and differences. IANAchemist.
The problem is always knowing what the seal materials are, which is annoying because you can get seals that are resistant to a wider range of chemicals.
I get black crud in Shimano systems using only Shimano oil.
Bottom line, I'll always go with manufacturers' recommendations for brakes and accept the compromises
If its a mineral oil brake any mineral oil will do and will not damage the seals.
I used Shimano mineral oil in my Tektro brakes. As I type this, I'm still alive.
I've used non-branded, clearly bought in bulk and put into little bottles by the local bike shop, mineral oil in Shimano, Tektro and Clarks brakes. I'm not dead and neither is my wife.
My usual go to for brake bleeding is epicbleedsolutions and, if you filter by brand, they actually put Shimano mineral oil in the products for tektro
https://epicbleedsolutions.com/collections/tektro-trp
... although if you go to the kit, it just says 'high quality mineral oil'. Id be happy to use Shimano but maybe ask them?
The OP's linked article is normal business for any manufacturer.
They're always going to tell you that their oil is better because they developed their oil in their brake system (they probably did) and they know it works well. They will always then say we can't guarantee how our product will work with oil from another supplier/manufacturer. It's their "Get Out Of Jail Free" card for when you do a thing and it goes wrong and you try to blame them.
If it's a mineral oil (and your system uses Mineral oil!), designed for use in a brake system, then I'd be happy to use Shimano, Magura etc... If it goes wrong I'd accept that as a consequence of my choice.
I'd probably worry more about what colour it will be when it comes out. Shimano is Red, Magura is Blue Yuk!
I'm going to stick with DOT fluid as long as I can
I didn't choose SRAM brakes because they use DOT, but the fact that they do to me at least, is a more reliable bet than "proprietary mineral oil".
My gravel and CX bikes both have TRP brakes which are Tektro's 'posh' brand, so I guess fairly similar. I always use Shimano oil in them and they're fine
I've had some good luck with Putoline HPX recently, lower viscosity to try and help with wandering bite point, I have various brakes including TRP (posh Tektro innit), Shimano and Clarks (probably on par with Bogo Tektro)
I use shimano in all the brakes I’ve owned. Magura, Tektro, formula … and even Shimano.
And the black gunk is normal - you get the same with hydraulic brakes and clutches on cars.
Wrong post.
Isn't the answer LHM oil? Just buy a big bottle from Halfords and have at it.
I've used it in Shimano, TRP/Tektro, Magura (rim and disc) and others. Still alive!
I've used Putoline hpx suspension fork oil instead of Shimano mineral oil in a few brakesets with no trouble whatsoever, originally tried it as a way of dealing with the old bite point issue but it was also cheaper than Shimano oil at the time. I'd use any brand of mineral oil personally although I've never owned TRP brakes
I'm using this in my Shimano's as I couln't get a good bleed with shimano fluid. seems to be similar to the new low viscosity stuff Shimano have. Bite points and lever feel spot on.
Tried baby oil. waste of time
