building up another bike at the moment and looking at brakes for it. Always used hope X2 brakes and currently have these on another bike and really like the feel and look etc of them.
So, shopping around and it appears i can get a new set of SLX/XT brakes for roughly the same price as a set of second hand X2’s
im looking at using one set of wheels and rotars ect for both bikes for a while so need the rotars to be compatable with each other.
so is this a no brainer…

wallet says new xt/SLX
heart says 2nd hand Hopes
STW says….

New XTs or SLXs. Far superior.

will the rotars be compatable…?
just got the basic hope 160mm saw rotor on mty wheelset and need it to work with both brakes

SLX for sure. Streets ahead of Hope.

the rotor sizes make no difference to the brakes, its all about the calliper mounts to determine the size.

Shimano fail and bin.

Hope can be serviced not sure of the 2pot but the 4pot have much more feel than Shimano power is a small part of braking it’s what happens in the rest of the lever pull.

Shimano! Hope do have a great spares back up which is good cos you’ll need it.

SLX. No brainer

why?

XT or SLX. I’ve got XTs and they are the best brake set I’ve used. Not used Hopes mind.

Shimano all the way.

New SLX. Just bought some and they are amazing. Spectacularly easy to fit, look good and work amazingly. Can’t see why anyone pays more.

will the rotars (sic) be compatable

Hope rotors are slightly thicker than shimano rotors, so setting up can be a teesny bit faffier to ensure no rubbing if mixing them up. But no reason not to.

New shimano, 2nd hand for a reason

hope evos are worth it IMHO

not tried the very latest shimanos though, how do they compare with evo m4s? Ive got them with the race lever and they are awesome

hopes will last you 10 years+

New shimano, 2nd hand for a reason

nobody sells shimano 2nd hand as they just bin them? Hope work well and can be fixed where as shimano need to be binned?
Hope fit easily, work well and have feel compared to SLX/XT’s immediate power(overly grabby)

I recently sold a newish set of M666 SLX to buy a second hand set of X2 Evo Race.

…I now brake much earlier.

Keeping for 2 years, 2nd hand hope as you’d lose nothing on them.
Keeping for 6 years, shimano, eventualy something will break, my piston seals went.
Keeping to let your kids inherit them (or at least relegate to the commuter in 6 years when padless magnetic levitation regenerative lazer brakes are released), Hope, my only problem with their brakes was a blown seal on some 8 year old C2’s, cost about a fiver to fix!

the rotor sizes make no difference to the brakes, its all about the calliper mounts to determine the size.

Kinda true, I’ve had a few recently that wouldn’t play nicely together for some reason, probably that some specify 180, others 183, others 185mm. If you keep hope rotors then best to buy hope adapters as they’d be more likely to work (IME).

dc11 – Member
I recently sold a newish set of M666 SLX to buy a second hand set of X2 Evo Race.

…I now brake much earlier.

send em to hope for a rebuild if they are giving you grief a rebuild did wonders for my old minis

kimbers – re-read

ooohh i seeeee

i thought you meant you have to start braking much earlier

Was looking at this myself recently and decided to steer clear of Shimano. Everyone was saying they were much better despite leaky seals, seals that freeze in the winter, discs that melt etc. Didn’t quite entice me to buy them despite their attractive pricing. Was going to take the plunge on Hopes, but I ended up getting a great deal on ebay for a set of new Formula RX’s with discs. Got a couple of mates with Formula brakes and they love them and for them have been perfectly reliable for a good number of years now with no bleeding needed and no leaky seals that have lasted a number of winters.

I’m sure the Shimano issues reported are in the minority, but they don’t look particularly sexy (not at all in fact – back to the head and heart discussion), and the price I got on the Formulas for was not much more than SLX.

I’ve currently got a set of Formula The Ones and Hope Tech M4. Also looking to pick up some SLX so that I can have a brake-off to see which ones I prefer and then sell the other two.

Took the Ones and M4s up to Nevis Range to try them out on the DH last weekend. The Ones were up first…I haven’t taken them off yet, fantastic!

That said, I used the M4s for yonks and loved them too.

Keen to try SLX and see what all the fuss is about.

its worth noting that the Evo hopes are ime much better than the no evo ones

Shimano fail and bin.

My old 2008 ones are still going strong, worst case scenario, your brakes explode. You’re down £30 for a new caliper or lever.

http://www.singletrackbikes.co.uk/m7b131s397p18726/SHIMANO_SLX_M675_Post_Mount_Brake_Caliper/RS_GB

You can spend some of the £150 you’ve saved getting £100 SLX instead of £250 Hopes.

Latest Shimano feel great as well!

ooohh i seeeee

i thought you meant you have to start braking much earlier

That is what I mean. The Hopes just don’t seem to have the same ‘bite’ and instant stopping power of the SLX, i’ve heard people describe them as ‘grabby’ which I think is what I miss.

munrobiker – Member
New XTs or SLXs. Far superior.

Far better value, maybe, but my X2 Evos are every bit as powerful as the XTs, with better feel and more adjustment.

Earlier Hopes I can’;t speak for, but the newer ones are great

By “more adjustment”, do you actually just mean they’ve got bite point dial, which the XT calls Free Stroke adjustment? They do look like they’re from space, but to be honest there’s not a huge amount of adjustment is there?

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/fitness/article/how-we-test-hydraulic-disc-brakes-24345/

Random link, can’t recall a grouptest actually saying the Evos are as powerful or “feel better” than new Shimanos.

well in that link toasty the evo race x2s are more powerful than all shimano except xtr trail and slx, yet all are more powerful than saints??

I’ve never had shimano hydraulic brakes so i cant comment on how good they are but I’ve had HOPE M4’s for 10 years and only ever changed the pads and oil ?

I’ve just bought some new Tech 4 Evo’s so I’m hoping to see these last another 10 years ?

Shimano end of story. Yes Formulas are good but mine took an awful lot of tlc to keep going after stunts like seizing bang solid in the middle of the Cheviots. I now have SLX on both bikes which work beautifully and without any drama.

well in that link toasty the evo race x2s are more powerful than all shimano except xtr trail and slx, yet all are more powerful than saints??

Could well be true

I had hope X2’s and new XT’s, the XT’s feel more powerfull, but in the “dicking about behind my house on a 1in3 hill” test, the mini’s would hold the bike stationary on the back brake, the shimano’s wouldn’t.

The shimano’s have a lot of force for not much input, but it doesn’t seem to go up linearly like the hopes which at some point overtake them (as quasi-scientificaly proved by making them hold the bike still on a steep slope)