Shimano mineral oil alternative?

[Phil]

The rear brake lever on my mountain bike isn't moving the pads, which I assume means that the hydraulics need bleeding (I've never messed with hydraulic brakes before).  I'm reluctant to splash out large amounts of money on 50ml of Shimano oil, as I'm pretty sure that's it's cheap mineral oil rebranded and hiked in price by a factor of 50. 

Is there a better priced alternative that I can get my hands on easily?

[robbo6]

Without seeing it I can't say what grade you need (probably 32) but 5 litres of  Castrol Hyspin hydraulic oil should be about £10-12 for 5 litres. (googles price of Shimano- **** hell!)
Try plant operators, you might get 50 ml for nothing. If my container was in England I'd post you some, the same stuff is used for lathe lubrication.

[Mr Larrington]

LHM - the mineral oil used in Proper Citroens.  You can get a lifetime's supply from Halfrauds for less than a bike shop would charge for a tiny driblet.

[Phil]

(googles price of Shimano- **** hell!)

Quite!

LHM - the mineral oil used in Proper Citroens.  You can get a lifetime's supply from Halfrauds for less than a bike shop would charge for a tiny driblet.

Thanks Mr. L.! That is a price reduction by a factor of 25.

Just out of interest, before I saw your reply I had settled on this, which is 10W motorbike fork oil.  Would that have been a foolish move?

[Jurek]

Would DOT4 hydraulic fluid such as is used in the brakes on my motorcycle not do the job

[Phil]

Nope, apparently it corrodes the seals. 

[Jurek]

Nope, apparently it corrodes the seals. 

Ah.

[gene hunt]

(googles price of Shimano- **** hell!)

Quite!

LHM - the mineral oil used in Proper Citroens.  You can get a lifetime's supply from Halfrauds for less than a bike shop would charge for a tiny driblet.

Thanks Mr. L.! That is a price reduction by a factor of 25.

Just out of interest, before I saw your reply I had settled on this, which is 10W motorbike fork oil.  Would that have been a foolish move?

I work with hydraulics, if it is mineral oil and you use something else the seals will melt and block the system.

Mineral oil should have a green cap, we sell castrol here and LHM fluid was used in Citroens and Rolls Royces so is easy enough to find.

That fork oil will be no good and will mess up your brakes in a very short space of time.

[Phil]

Thanks gene, it was just idle curiosity.  I'm doubly glad Mr. Larrington told me about the LHM now. 

[Polar Bear]

Is the mineral oil used in Shimano and Magura brake systems a similar viscosity to that of LHM?

[gene hunt]

Is the mineral oil used in Shimano and Magura brake systems a similar viscosity to that of LHM?

I am not sure, having seen both I would say maybe not,

Checked wiggle and found this.

Shimano 50ml:
   Shimano Mineral Oil Bleed Kit Only £11.44


Or 1ltr:
   Shimano Mineral Oil 1 Litre Bottle Only £17.60


Finish Line 250ml:
   Finish Line Mineral Oil Brake Fluid 8oz/240 ml Only £11.99


If it is red fluid then it is different to LHM which is a lot darker.

[Polar Bear]

Thinking about this, LHM or even SHimano mineral oil differs from the dot 5.1 used in Hope brakes and does not absorb moisture.    Could one use Shimano Mineral Oil in Hope systems?

[gene hunt]

Thinking about this, LHM or even SHimano mineral oil differs from the dot 5.1 used in Hope brakes and does not absorb moisture.    Could one use Shimano Mineral Oil in Hope systems?

No as a system with dot 5.1 or non mineral oil should not be filled with mineral oil, it rots the seals

[Polar Bear]

Ah, ta. 

For some reason I thought it was only Shimano seals that would rot with dot5.1 oil. 

[Mr Larrington]

Is the mineral oil used in Shimano and Magura brake systems a similar viscosity to that of LHM?

Yep - I've used LHM in Maggies since forever.  Apparently you can use water¹ in Maguras in a real emergency.

Hydraulic brakes use either automotive-stylee brake fluid or mineral oil, and putting the wrong juice in will wreck the system in very short order.

1 - and yes, I've read of one real emergency (10,000+ foot pass in the Rockies) where they didn't have any water, so had to get creative

[Polar Bear]

You're reminding me of why I think I'd prefer to rely on cable disks...     

[Mr Larrington]

You're reminding me of why I think I'd prefer to rely on cable disks...     

All mine are Hope now, so I don't need to worry.  OTOH I've still got a couple of surplus-to-requirements bottles of LHM left over from the time when I had both Maguras and a Citroen CX...

[finch]

The 1 litre bottle at CRC is ok value .  It only takes 10-15ml to do a brake so it should last forever , worth just doing it with the right stuff for peace of mind , shimano hydraulic discs are excellent, wouldn't want to mess them up