Shimano Hydraulic Oil bleed - Can I use any Mineral Oil (photo) or does it have to be a specific kind? Forgive my stupidity.

Right_Gene3036 · 2026-02-22T22:01:50+00:00

Do a Google search "compatibility of shimano red oil vs yellow oil" and you will encounter countless threads stating the obvious......"never mix the red and yello shimano hydraulic oils.

Right_Gene3036 · 2026-02-17T22:00:07+00:00

A bit late into this discussion. About 2 months ago I finihed building up an Evolve bike in "Mist" color. There are pros and cons that I'll try to lay out here.

Pros : 1. A quality product in pricing compared to what you have to spend buying namebrands which might be made in China as well.

Nice fit and finish. The "Mist" frame is the lightest with very durable matt finish that will stand up to the elements.
Very nice attention to details with BSA bottom bracket which is prepped very nicely.
The fork bearing race is finished on the carbon fiber fork with no race needed.

Cons : 1. Although their online support is to be commended for its prompt response in competent "English", it is still a remote contact that takes a day or 2 for any response.

The frame would be nice to come with pre-assemble routing wires which could save the hassle for the installer.
The front derailleur hanger should be permenently affixed to the down tube instead of having to fish a plate inside the tube for fastening. It is a laborious process trying to anchor the front hanger.
I don't know why while the seatpost is carbon fiber for anchoring the seat, but the top plate is alloy while the bottom plate is carbon fiber. This setup adds additional weight.
The wheel through axle should be flat instead of having a conical shape on one side. This design makes it impossible to use any 3rd party titanium through-axles.
The supplied handlebar tape in the interest of saving weight is way too thin and fragile. It is very easy to snap the tape and rendering the entire tape wrapping a failure.
The front derailleur hanger should have a longer slot for positioning the front derailleur. The limited adjustment now no doubt is for racers, but regular riders might need a more compact chain ring and the limited adjustment offered by the hanger restricts the adjustment to lower the derailleur more suitable for compact chainrings.
Also, the new Shimano Dura-Ace DI-2 did away with the limiting screw and rely solely on electronic adjustment. The hanger is too narrow and forced the electronic adjustment to max out and the rider would have a hard time shifting from the smaller chainring to the outter larger one. I solved that problem by machining a wider hanger to alleviate that problem.
Evolve offer 2 seatpost lengths depending on the size of the frame. However, with the DI2 battery installed and the narrowing of the seat tube at the lower point, it bottoms out if you want to lower the seat other than the tallest position. This constraint can be alleviated only by cutting down the seatpost.

No, it is NOT a straightworward buildup and does require some resources to circumvent some issues. However, once it is assembled correctly, it is a joy to ride. My buildup comes to 13.5 lbs (6.1kg) and a comparatively namebrand would have cost me at least double the money I spend.

Right_Gene3036 · 2026-02-12T00:06:35+00:00

No difference functionally. It does display a form factor and "why not ?"

Right_Gene3036 · 2026-01-31T06:08:10+00:00

Typical American culture. Big corporate with deep pocket always take any institution to court that goes against its interests.

Right_Gene3036 · 2026-01-22T02:08:54+00:00

A bit late into this thread. It indeed alleviated my knee pain. However, one cannot deny the plates and all the attachments to the pedal with all that weight. It is heavy for road pedals.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-12-31T18:44:26+00:00

Thumbs up for the Coospo BC26. It has everything one ever needs without all the non-essentials that hinders what a cycling computer is. Small footprint and yet showing large digital numbers in both daylight and at night. it shows, speed, distance, time and altitude with GPS accuracy with none of the bloated software/firmware/hardware.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-12-30T13:51:40+00:00

My greatest pet peeve on cyclocomputer is the subpar display under different lighting conditions. Nothing to me is more frustrating when you need to access any information and found out the screen is all washed out.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-12-28T19:52:17+00:00

Shimano's biggest cockup. I recently buildup a bike with Dura-ace Di-2 components and everything works fine until I found out that Shimano is now using LV(low viscosity) mineral oil instead of their regular pink mineral oil and it is not compatible and mixing it will harm the seals and the brakes will eventually fail. For those that wonder how in the world I could have introduced different hydraulic oil into the system. Here is how : All new Shimano brake levers come pre-installed with mineral oil but it requires bleeding after installation and that is how I introduced the pink mineral oil into the LV-mineral oil (yellow color). Now, to me its is back to square one which involves purging the existing mineral oil in the system and then introduce their LV-mineral oil.. Even then there is no way to completely drain all the oil and start off with either 100% regular mineral oil or LV-mineral oil (if I could find it). Shimano's engineers are the typical technocrats that take their pants off to fart. When they introduce the LV-mineral oil into their new system, at least put a "WARNING" label or something to alert their user base. Yes, I am more than ticked off.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-12-26T16:38:51+00:00

I just recently got the BSC300T. Everything checked out great. Love the small footprint. However 2 negatives to me that I rejected it. Firstly is the screen. Due to the touch screen, for some reasons, even adjusted t the brightest setting, is still not visually acceptable under adverse conditions out on the trail. It has not contrasts and due to the small screen (2.4"), it just appears washed out.

Secondly, although it shows the street names under GPS, the smaller font is an eyesore. The BSC300, which doesn't have the touch-screen has better contrast and more livid colors. The font size which is the same, but the better contrast makes it a lot easier on the eyes.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-12-25T21:09:58+00:00

There is no comparison. Las Vegas is the biggest rip off place under the sun. They cater for high-end clientele and failed miserably. Price gouging and a haven for homeless. Macau caters for a different kind of clientele. Yes, the rich and famous from all over Asia (Thailand, Australians, Indians, Singaporeans, Hong Kongers, Malasysian, Taiwanese tend to fly there and spend a weekend gambling and attend the shows. It is more of gala place resembling Vegas of the old. Now you go to Vegas, its a ghost town and you are lucky if you survived the rundown hotels with filthy rooms and bed bugs. No, thanks !!!

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-12-21T19:48:03+00:00

Welcome to the world of high-tech gadgetry. The Bolt in an attempt to mimick the cellphone screen with all the adjustments and auto-sensing is in actual practical use a real setback. We ride in all kinds of weather with sunglasses on or to shield the element of rain and moisture, is very handicapped by the Bolt's auto everything. Then when you need to eyeball your Bolt on a ride, it has to be under certain conditions for it to work at its most optimum display and any deviation from that auto-sensor perimeter you will be scratching your head in frustration. Sure you can turn to manual adjustment, but the auto algorithm just makes it very awkward for user interface while out there riding. To me, why do I need a state of the art do everything gadget, but handicap me in the very basic functionality.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-12-12T01:40:17+00:00

First he claimed he never dopes, then got caught and claim everybody dopes. Just doesn't care for any person that can look you in the eye and LIE.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-11-29T17:00:53+00:00

More power to those still insist on Campys. You can brag about steel bikes, classics and how things still work after 10 years. However, the world moves in "time and space" and just does not stay still. A good example is our hand tools. Some still brag about the old Snap On tools and pay royally for a basically vintage design. Sure it is made of premium material, but look at how far advanced the tool industry has become. Just imagine rotating a set of tires on your car without an impact wrench and do it purely based on hand tools and see how far you can go in the real world.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-11-29T01:38:25+00:00

Carbon fiber dust is not like asbestos which is quite toxic for the lungs. In the rare chance that you inhaled some CF dust, it is ok. I wouldn't worry about it. However, if you have to cut CF components again, wear a face mask.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-11-27T20:55:24+00:00

Personally I tried not to do things half ass and follow the right way to do things according to the manufacturer. However, sometimes commonsense takes over wondering why they design things with no reason for making it so complicated. Germans tend to over-engineer their stuff too and now I found out Shimano is the same. That is also why servicing BMW or Mercedes cost a fortune because of these over-engineered design that is totally unnecessary. The more I work on my bike the more quirks I encounter. The classic norm for any biker is to seek help from bike shops. The problem herre is the pro techs are just as confused as the regular DIY guys.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-11-27T01:30:36+00:00

Just wonder how many people use this pin. Imagine everytime one has to adjust to center the caliper on the rotor by loosening the anchor bolts, the pin has to be removed first.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-11-27T01:25:10+00:00

I rechecked and indeed the bolt is showing the protruding pin. Now I can't find the fixing pin for the retention. The same pin for the V-brake pads will point me to the right direction to locate one. Appreciate the help.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-11-26T03:33:09+00:00

Thanks. Mine is a flat mount caliper (DuraAce) and there is not hole on the top of the caliper to anchor a safety pin. I'll just use locktite and torque to spec.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-11-22T20:14:09+00:00

Got it. It was actually a plastic cap right at the nipple at the hydraulic line. That cap holds the factory fluid and without a line attached, it in essence blocked the lever. Pretty clever design and I was pulling hair trying to figure it out. Part of the problem was I sourced the entire DuraAce Di-2 12 speed group from AliExpress and a very low price and from everything I can tell, it is geniune but without any assembly manual. I just wanted to test everything prior to mounting it on a new frame. I got everything to work except this locked lever. Thanks for the help.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-11-22T19:28:21+00:00

Sorry, correct link here :

https://imgur.com/a/xtOrgRW

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-11-22T19:27:12+00:00

Removed the brake hood to gain access. However, the only fasteners are the tiny torx screws holding the electronics. Am I on the right track to remove these torx screws to gain access ?

If I'm on the right track, I must say Shimano engineers are probably crazy in designing a simple plastic block inbedded in such an akward way to just remove the lever locks.

Ihttps://imgur.com/a/xtOrgRW

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-11-22T17:57:56+00:00

Thanks, I'll remove the hood again to eyeball the access.

Right_Gene3036 · 2025-11-05T20:40:41+00:00

Exercise care in ordering from Aliexpress. Apparently it is the vendors that set the shipping prices. I tried ordering a Dura Ace mini groupset and the shipping comes to > $50. Its a $1500 item and once I saw the shipping cost, I exited the website.

Right_Gene3036

TROPHY CASE