# CycleOps fluid trainer - all my fluid disappeared.



## F45 (Nov 25, 2010)

Hadn't used it in a few years and this week I found it had no resistance. I put some Castrol Syntrax limited slip 75W-90 synthetic gear oil in it ($5 worth or half a bottle) and it seems to be restored to original functionality.


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## locustfist (Feb 21, 2009)

yeah but it as laterally stiff as it used to be?


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## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

Did you have a puddle under it?


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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

The problem with putting the gear lube in Cyclops is, the fluid will heat up as your ride. It may get thinner as it heats up. Then it may leak. The existing seals may be designed to work with the original fluid's properties.

You can ride it and see what happens, but beware in case it leaks onto carpet or other valuable surface.


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## F45 (Nov 25, 2010)

The data sheet lists the viscosity as 15 cSt at 100[SUP]0[SUP]C so I'm not concerned. I rode it hard yesterday and saw no leakage.


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## PBike (Jul 6, 2007)

F45 said:


> The data sheet lists the viscosity as 15 cSt at 100[SUP]0[SUP]C so I'm not concerned. I rode it hard yesterday and saw no leakage.


The original fluid had to go somewhere, it won't just disappear. If the first fluid disappeared, so will what you replaced it with. Gear oil doesn't look good on carpet. Cycleops has been good in the past at taking care of leaky units.


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## Love Commander (Aug 20, 2009)

I blame the Soviets. They have a thing for precious fluids, bodily or otherwise.


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## marcgabrysiak (Feb 20, 2007)

F45-CycleOps lists a lifetime warranty for the original owner. I'm a shop employee, and had the same issue as you. I called them up, and they were easy to work with. Sent the old resistance unit back, and they sent me a brand new one. Now, I don't know if they'll care that you've opened it, but worth a shot. Good luck.


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## F45 (Nov 25, 2010)

PBike said:


> The original fluid had to go somewhere, it won't just disappear. If the first fluid disappeared, so will what you replaced it with. Gear oil doesn't look good on carpet. Cycleops has been good in the past at taking care of leaky units.


It's 15 years old and has been in the possession of relatives for half that time. Who knows what was done to it. It sits on my porch and I can't find any evidence of leaking.


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## PBike (Jul 6, 2007)

F45 said:


> It's 15 years old and has been in the possession of relatives for half that time. Who knows what was done to it. It sits on my porch and I can't find any evidence of leaking.


With luck, someone simply drained it. :thumbsup:


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## purduephil (Jun 29, 2017)

*Cycleops fluid replacement fluid*



PBike said:


> With luck, someone simply drained it. :thumbsup:



First post for me, Hi. 

I know this thread is archaic, but it may become more relevant as time passes. I'll get to the point to start, and then explain how I arrived there.

The Skinny: Cyclops fluid, fluid 2, and probably other fluid trainers use Mobile DTE 746 as the fluid media, and the original cyclops uses about 80cc's, give or take some from my experience. Use a large syringe to fill, and NAPA Hydraulic Jack Oil has very close properties to the MOBILE DTE 746, which can be hard to find.

The Story: About a week ago, I started to notice the resistance was nearly gone on my fluid 1 at start up. It would gradually come back however after the unit warmed up, and as the days went by, the "warm up" time increased by a few minutes each day. On the fifth day of this non sense (15 minutes with no resistance), I decided to take some action. I noticed an oil slick below the roller, on the plastic frame piece, as well as a silver dollar sized red spot under the trainer... uh oh. 
:idea:
So i immediately took the trainer out to the garage, emptied the units fluid, and loaded it up with 10w-30 (roughly 60% full). This worked fairly well, but resistance was a bit harder than I had ever remembered, but I was prepared to live with it for a while. 

In the process of emptying the fluid, and cleaning up the floor, I got a bit of the original fluid on my hands. 
So, later that day, :idea:I sent Saris a message about needing the MSDS for the fluid in the unit, as I had gotten it all over the place. Lucky me, there is the fluids trade name, Mobile DTE 746, right there on the MSDS (coincidence???). This fluid is a bit hard to find, but it is a light hydraulic oil, with a viscosity ISO 46, anti foaming, anti corrosion, yada, yada, yada. After some research, I was able to determine that 10w-30 is ISO 71 (give or take), so it is roughly twice the viscosity rating of an ISO 46 hydraulic oil, not to mention does not have the other characteristics that would be of benefit in this application. After even more research, I was able to find a small quantity of light hydraulic oil (usually sold in 5 gallon pails) at NAPA. The ISO rating equivalent of about 38, and also had anti foaming, anti corrosion, yada yada yada. I swapped out the 10w-30 for this new fluid, and the result is a resuscitated Cycleops Fluid trainer, just as I remembered it. 

I hope someone finds this useful.


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## No Time Toulouse (Sep 7, 2016)

purduephil said:


> ..... After some research, I was able to determine that 10w-30 is ISO 71 (give or take), so it is roughly twice the viscosity rating of an ISO 46 hydraulic oil, not to mention does not have the other characteristics that would be of benefit in this application. ...


Yikes! The guy who put 75w90 gear oil in his must have thighs like tree trunks by now!


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## loxx0050 (Jul 26, 2013)

So what did you do about the gasket to reseal the unit? Curious as I have an Fluid2 Gen 1 resistance unit (smaller flywheel) somewhere (I might have thrown it out...probably should check) that I wanted to mess around with to fill up again but didn't know yet how to get another gasket. But I haven't taken it apart yet. 

Cool beans as I didn't think to ask for the MSDS. Good thinking as they have to provide that legally since the fluid that is used isn't exactly safe stuff to be handling.


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## StCheval (11 mo ago)

purduephil said:


> *Cycleops fluid replacement fluid*
> 
> 
> 
> ...



This oil on Amazon fits the requirements
*Sta-Lube Hydraulic & Jack Oil SL2552*









Amazon.com: Sta-Lube Hydraulic & Jack Oil SL2552-32 Fl. Oz, Anti-Foam, Anti-Rust 20W Non-Detergent Oil : Everything Else


Amazon.com: Sta-Lube Hydraulic & Jack Oil SL2552-32 Fl. Oz, Anti-Foam, Anti-Rust 20W Non-Detergent Oil : Everything Else



www.amazon.com


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## Rob Millington (11 mo ago)

Dang... I used one of those for years and it just kept on going until I got a powered turbo. Unlucky!


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