Hydraulic brake system

[Off road all day]

For those with hydraulic brake systems this is my best advice, silicone dot 4 car brake fluid.
I swapped it in because my Dodge Dakota brakes had to be rebuilt or replaced every 4 years because of off road use. After the change no replacement even after i sold it 6 years later.
Silicone keeps rubber parts fresh unlike brake fluid or the mineral oil they use in bike brake systems which deteriorates rubber. Silicone fluid also is less effected by temps so in cold weather your brakes still have the same grip.
On new systems just put the silicon fluid in, for older bikes flush the system out with denatured alcohol then install the silicon fluid.
I drove high lifts in the 90's, the only fluid allowed on the braking system was dot 4 silicone.
Oil based fluids and silicone based are not compatible! MAKE SURE ALL OIL BASED FLUIDS ARE FLUSHED AND REMOVED!

 

[Nova Haibike]

For those with hydraulic brake systems this is my best advice, silicone dot 4 car brake fluid.

DOT 4 is glycol based, not silicone. DOT 5 is silicone.

I recommend using whichever fluid the manufacturer intended. If you have Avid/SRAM or Hope brakes, use DOT 5.1. If you have Magura, Shimano, or Tektro brakes, use the appropriate mineral oil.

 

[Off road all day]

In the 90's here it was dot 4
As a bonus silicone brake grease, about $7 a tube CDN is also die-electric, i coat all my electric connections with it and run in any weather. Manufactures are not going to tell you that, they wan't you to pay $$$ for their recommendations. The same with silicone fluids, regardless of dot.
Why trust me? i have run a cheap Chinese frame mounted motor on a $100 walmart bike for a year and it was a year old when i put the motor on it!
I live on a small pension so i have to find ways that work CHEAP! A $150 CDN welder is my god. I read a comment on one of my posts "i know just enough about welding to be dangerous" laughed my ass off. I'm in the same boat, shove the rod in, close your eyes and hope for the best, it's actually worked for me
The basket thing i cut and welded together for an SLA battery didn't work, the bike fell over and it twisted, the welds held though. Back to the dollar store and found heavy duty racks for mounting flower pots. Welded them to the back basket and they work like a charm, not bending these babies even in an accident.