Hello,

I'm new here to the forums, but not to cycling... just been lurking for awhile.

I have an older CycleOps Fluid Trainer and I've noticed that it has very little resistance, and it's not progressive the way it should be, (and I'm definitely not that strong).

I suspect it has maybe lost some fluid over time, I going to remove the drain plug and take a look, but does anyone know the proper fluid to put in these units?

Thanks

I don't know what kind of fluid is in there, but I'm pretty sure mine came with a lifetime warranty on the resistance unit. You may want to contact CycleOps before cracking it open.

The fluid is a silicone oil that gets more viscous as the shear on it increases and is similar to the fluid used in all-wheel drive automobile/SUV center differentials. You probably can't buy it and, even if you could, you won't know what grade to get.

As buzzwire mentioned, contact CycleOps about warranty coverage and replacement.

Guys thanks for the info, good advice. I'll get in touch with Saris/CycleOps to see what they think. I agree it's likely some type of silicone, mine has a large threaded plug on the side of the resistance unit and I've removed that to take a look. It exposes a small chamber with little hole in it that leads into the main housing, but the residual fluid in there looked like a silicone.

Yes, contact CycleOps. The fluid in mine leaked out in the first few months. I mailed the resistance unit in and they fixed it under warranty and mailed it back.

Thanks for replies and advice.

I called their Customer Service line and they indicated that the Fluid trainer I have was manufactured by CycleOps before Saris bought them out. They weren't willing to warranty the unit, but would send me a new complete Fluid2 for $150.00+shipping, if I send in the leaking resistance unit. Seems like a good deal to me given the age of the trainer.

They only want the resistance unit, and said to toss out the frame, but I'll definitely keep that as a bike stand, since I don't have a repair stand yet.

just wondering... do you ride the bike outdoors with the included skewer ?

key,

I've had the trainer for some time so I'm not sure I still have the included skewer. The rear wheel skewer on the bike that I put in the trainer is the same style as was included, I believe it's a JoyTech, not one of the external cam Shimano skewers. So, yes, I technically ride the bike outdoors with the same skewer that I use on the same bike in the trainer.

Why do you ask?

Thanks for your reply.

This Saris company must have air for brains. What do you buy a company for if not brand recognition and good will? Then you destroy most of the good will by telling your entire existing customer base that they're SOL?

That makes me want to buy another CycleOps trainer, that does!

Thread resurrection: same problem, old cheap CycleOps I.
Saris is no longer replacing these or offering the "discounted upgrade" option.
The Saris rep told me that they're filled with silicone, but he doesn't know what kind or how much.
A poster on another forum tried the silicone that's used for shocks in RC cars - he used 3,000cst and said it was more viscous than the original but it worked.
The RC car stuff is affordable on Amazon, but you can get more for cheaper if it's not RC-car specific, and there are a lot of options for viscosity. Search "silicone oil."

The next resurrection: Who knows how to fill a pre CycleOps Fluid2 roller? There is a hole that appears to be threaded and take some form of filler nozzle. Also anyone knowing more of alathIN's RC shock stuff or best non-RC equiv is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Ben

purduephil posted a great response in this thread:

https://forums.roadbikereview.com/gen...ed-300819.html

The MSDS that he got from Saris identified the fluid at Mobil DTE 746. You aren't going to find that in a consumer volume if you can find it at all. You can read more about it at the link below.

https://www.mobil.com/en/industrial/L.../Mobil-DTE-746

The ISO of that fluid is 46 and according to purduephil, there's approximately 80cc or 3 ounces of fluid in the Fluid2 body.

I am planning to change the fluid in mine tonight. I could not locate quality ISO 46 hydraulic oil in a small quantity so I settled on 1 quart of John Deere Low Viscosity Hy-Gard (ISO 33) and 1 gallon of John Deere Hy-Gard (ISO 59). Those are the smallest volumes that Deere sells and both were available at my local dealer. I'll blend the two to achieve ISO 46. I bought the lubes yesterday for $20 and after servicing, the Fluid2 should be good as new.

It looks like Mobil renamed DTE 46 to DTE 25 to avoid confusion over DIN viscosity vs SAE viscosity (DIN 46 is SAE 15).
DTE 25 is available from Grainger for $30, if you're near one, or $40 from Walmart.
It's for a gallon, which will let you refill your cycleops lots of times :-)

Or...sell refill quantities to BF members.

Just replaced oil in Fulid 2 trainer with Miles Lubricant (ISO 46). It's sold by Grainger in 16 oz bottles. Drained 105 ml and refilled the same amount. Reduced roller load on wheel by rotating yellow lever one counter-clockwise rotation and performed a TrainerRoad ramp test. FTP dropped by 10% so I'll assume the fix worked and extended the trainer's useful life.

Interesting thread! I ended up with a free Fluid 2 (old CycleOps, pre-Saris) and was thinking it was too easy compared to how I remembered fluid trainers in the past. I unscrewed the drain plug and maybe 3 mL came out - so it was pretty much bone dry. I purchased some ISO 46 Super Lube (53004 - 4 ounces for $6.50) and added about 3 ounces to the body. Resistance feels restored and the trainer is also much quieter now. I'm planning to do a FTP ramp test this week and will most definitely see a drop compared to my previous one on this trainer. Not sure how this trainer will hold up, but I'll be putting a towel under the unit until I'm confident the fluid isn't going to leak out...

that doesn't seem right to me, when Saris bought out CycleOps they agreed to honor their lifetime warranty. All you should have to pay for is shipping. Saris is NOT a good company, they will only warranty something for as long as they make that particular model, if they even as so much change the model number and that's it, you'll have no warranty on the previous model.
https://www.mtbr.com/threads/saris-n...ranty.1104515/

rekmeyata: you may not have noted the date on that post by gubawatts just over 14 yrs ago.......

Nope, didn't notice, all I noticed was the response before mine dated 12/29/20 so I thought the post was current, thanks for the heads up.

Hi Jeff... I need to change the oil in my 22+ year old CycleOps as well. Where did you purchase ISO 46 Super Lube?
Thanks, Travis.

The thread was started in 2006 and was zombied a couple times but the answers seem to be in thread so it would have made more sense to just read the thread then re-zombie a thread from 2006 or you could have just punched that stuff into the good and great god google and it would give you "About 791,000 results in 0.55 seconds"

Thank you your reply! I will now go and have a nice plant base meal with a side of filet mignon and some cheese! Maybe some milk and eggs while I'm at it!!!!!!!

You tried and failed but thanks for playing. You will at least get the home game.

The answers were all there and with Google you can find the answer, I still am not seeing the reason for the zombie on this thread? Post #12, #13, #15 had the answers right there with dating going back to 2018 (though the original thread started in 2006) The original posters are probably long gone and one of the fellow zombies is shown as banned and others have one post. If you really couldn't answer the question via google or your favorite search engine which is generally the best way to go then start a new thread if it is that crucial and cannot be found via searching or cannot be found easily. It is just good forum etiquette and helps clear out old stuff as sometimes other people won't look and respond to the dead.