Fake hydraulic hoses

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trickytree1984
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2018 1:31 pm

by trickytree1984

Hi all. I'm in the process of rebuilding by bike and needed new hoses. I ordered one from Amazon and I'm concerned it's fake. Can anyone confirm from the pictures?

See attached images. Original has silver wiring. New has brown writing
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ms6073
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Location: Houston, Texas

by ms6073

I ordered the same hydraulic hoses from Amazon and received two packages with the same dark/subdued print, which I installed on my C64 without issue this past Monday but have only done a couple quick rollouts/brake checks around the neighborhood and will not get a longer ride until this weekend. If it is any consolation, the shop roll that I exhausted last year which had been ordered at the beginnig of 2020 had logo's printed in a more pronounced gold color as compared to the retail packaged hose.
- Michael
"People should stop expecting normal from me... seriously, we all know it's never going to happen"

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apolloFER
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Location: Croatia

by apolloFER

FWIW, I think my brand new R8100 groupset arrived with hoses that look like that (brownish print). But don't have the bike nearby to verify and it's full internal routing so can't see anything unless I find the text close to calipers.

CyclingGiraffe
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Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2020 10:04 pm

by CyclingGiraffe

I cannot verify whether the particular hoses you bought are authentic or not, but my recently purchased Shimano BH 90 hose directly from Performance Bike had similar brownish gold printing on it. I don't recall it saying "High Power Brake Hose" on the hose itself, but as it's running mostly internal, I cannot confirm whether that exists or not on my set.

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wheelbuilder
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by wheelbuilder

Have not seen the "high power" text before.

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TobinHatesYou
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by TobinHatesYou

Even if it turns out to be genuine, stop buying bike shit from Amazon especially if Prime or Fulfilled by Amazon. The only listings you can trust from Amazon now are the ones where trusted sellers ship products out themselves (365 Cycles, Planet Cyclery, etc.)

The way Amazon fulfillment works is anything with the correct UPC gets binned together, genuine or not…from all sellers, reputable or not. So even if something is “sold by Amazon” or “sold by Competitive Cyclist” via Prime, there is a chance it will be counterfeit.
Last edited by TobinHatesYou on Thu Mar 16, 2023 2:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

kode54
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by kode54

Yes. Even if they claim it’s Shimano. All lumped together and packers don’t know the difference. Skip Amazon, buy direct from reputable online bike shops even if you have to pay extra for shipping. It’s worth the peace of mind.
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clu
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2011 4:48 pm

by clu

I've just taken delivery of a brand new pair of LH and RH Ultegra R8170 shifters with calipers and the BH90 hoses for a new bike build I'll be doing soon. I purchased the parts as I always do from an approved shimano bike shop/retailer that I've used many times previously and also a retailer that I trust.

Looking at the pictures that you posted and comparing it to what is printed on the hoses I have, it does have similar brown/gold coloured markings "SHIMANO SM-BH90-JK". Interestingly there is a small QR code printed on the end of each hose that will be attach to each shifter. There wasn't a "HIGH POWER BRAKE HOSE" marking printed on my hoses.

I did a quick search in google with "Shimano SM-BH90-SS high power" and clicked on the images tab and there are different pictures showing hoses with the high power marking that you have on your hose. I'd say you're probably ok with your hose, although as always it's hard to be completely 100% sure.

As has been mentioned already by others, it's probably best to source your parts from officially licenced shimano retailers. Instead of trying to find the cheapest supplier that may or may not be legit. It may cost a bit more, but atleast you should have peace of mind that you have the real thing.

trickytree1984
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2018 1:31 pm

by trickytree1984

Thank you all so much for the replies. To me the writing is not at all gold, its brown. I couldnt find any referene to the "high power" on any images or any of my bikes with factory fitted hoses. All of those have silver writing, i know there is also gold, but ive never seen brown. The size is also a fraction of a mm smaller that the one on my bike. That said, the olives and inserts look genuine to me vs others you can buy.

I have decided to return this to Amazon and told them i suspect its fake. I ordered one from BikeTart, which was actually cheaper.

On the local bike shop point. I have nothing against them, i just like/enjoy doing these things myself. Also they are not immune to buying fakes and them selling them to you, as was found with bearings over the last few years. I'm not suggesting that is deliberate, more that then can be victims of this too.

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ms6073
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Location: Houston, Texas

by ms6073

This is the listing SHIMANO CN-M9100 Chain from which I ordered on Amazon (US) and was shipped by Amazon but the seller is listed as BikeAddiction from whom I think I have ordered from a number of times over the last several years without issue. Like the others, my installation is all internal so I am not going to worry about it until such time as it becomes a problem. In my case, the only reason I needed new hydraulic hose was I installed a 1 cm shorter stem and did not feel I could reuse the existing hoses.
- Michael
"People should stop expecting normal from me... seriously, we all know it's never going to happen"

Karvalo
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by Karvalo

I do not think that is the listing from which you ordered a hose.

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ms6073
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Location: Houston, Texas

by ms6073

Karvalo wrote:
Fri Mar 17, 2023 6:04 pm
I do not think that is the listing from which you ordered a hose.
:oops: Doh, thorry, you are correct. Shimano BH90-JK-SSR Disc Brake Hose Kit for Dura-Ace R9170 Road Disc Caliper Black 1700mm is the correct link. Seller is Wheel & Sprocket who is another who has a presence on Ebay as well as there own e-commerce site. One thing to note is that they posted the item to Amazon with an image of a mountain bike hose set which has been noted in the question section as well as some of the reviews.
- Michael
"People should stop expecting normal from me... seriously, we all know it's never going to happen"

trickytree1984
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2018 1:31 pm

by trickytree1984

Update. New hose delivery from bike shop. Same product so it was genuine

BigBoyND
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Location: Berlin, DE

by BigBoyND

ms6073 wrote:
Fri Mar 17, 2023 8:12 pm
Karvalo wrote:
Fri Mar 17, 2023 6:04 pm
I do not think that is the listing from which you ordered a hose.
:oops: Doh, thorry, you are correct. Shimano BH90-JK-SSR Disc Brake Hose Kit for Dura-Ace R9170 Road Disc Caliper Black 1700mm is the correct link. Seller is Wheel & Sprocket who is another who has a presence on Ebay as well as there own e-commerce site. One thing to note is that they posted the item to Amazon with an image of a mountain bike hose set which has been noted in the question section as well as some of the reviews.
The point is that the seller doesn't matter if Amazon fulfill it. They throw all the sellers, real and fake, in the same bin. So if the seller is legit, the Amazon worker can grab a fake one from the bin.

You might be fine in this case, but buying safety critical parts on Amazon is not a good idea.

Sock3t
Posts: 448
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2018 2:20 am

by Sock3t

Do not buy shimano parts from ebay or from Amazon. The chances of it being fake are fairly high.

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