Brake hoses do go bad after a period of time. The last ones to burst were on my Tribby about 2 years ago. They lasted 13 years or so, and the brake fluid was changed. Stainless steel hoses can also burst. they are also rubber hoses inside, they have only the steel braid on the outside.
Some hoses can start flaking inside, and you wonder why the wheel don't brakes....the flaking piles up inside and cuts the flow.

Best is to replace them after 10 years or so, and at that time service the brake calipers too (new rubber seals, new guide bolts, clean the piston - sometime it's pitted from rust, or change it if bad enough). It's no fun to loose brakes suddenly. But this is how it happens.

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Stable: e92is, e46 M54B25, e83 N52, e53 N62 - sold, e39 M54B30 R.I.P.