Hi,

I'm considering a set of Hope Tech X2s for my new build, but am trying to keep the cost down. As far as I can tell braided hoses are almost entirely pointless, and floating rotors are there to look nice. Am I correct? Likely to be running 180/160.

Thanks,

Seb

Floating disks are lighter weight.

Braided hoses are stronger and dont kink easily, but heavier.

Your keeping costs downa nd buying hope brakes? Buy shimano for cheep but good stuff.

I think the floating rotors are more for style but they may increase performance a little bit

Its all style, but you can usually find some "rational" way to justify it.

floating rotors are less susceptible to warping, are lighter and most importantly make a ticking noise as they cool down.

Braided hoses give a firmer lever feel – if you never had them you mat never notice or care.

FWIW I have an X2 with both, and very nice it is too.

Floaters are lighter and don't they offer something in terms of if they heat up they are less likely to warp (but when was the last time you heated a rotor up to the point it warped!).

Braided hoses don't flex/expand whent eh fluid in them is under pressure, resulting in more brake feel.

Personally, can't see the point in either (used them both before). My old skool XTs don't have either feature and are far and away the best working brakes I've ever owned. That said, I did manage to heat them up in the Alps last year to the point where the rotor arms show signs of being singed! Wowsers…

See I've had Hopes in the past (old school C2 Pro), Deores and Juicy 7s. I've never warped a rotor. I've never felt the lever was too squishy and required a braided hose to make it firmer. I guess it's a case of "a little bit better if you can be bothered to spend the money" then.

Thanks all.

One slight note of caution – the braided hoses are a tad larger in diameter and don't always sit well in hose guides and some combinations of front hub and fork give insufficient clearance for the floating rotors…

I've used both types of hoses and rotors extensively.

Braided hoses do give better lever feel.

Floating rotors are lighter, cope with getting hot better and are more resistant to warping.

If you want to save money then fine, no problem, but don't try to justify it by making out there aren't performance benefits, because there are. Just accept that you're happy to save money and put up with perfectly adequate performance.

It's not a competition.

in the Alps last year to the point where the rotor arms show signs of being singed! Wowsers…

Done that to plenty of brakes, no need to to be in the Alps :-p

My shimano's have slightly blue'd arms and have mainly been out in the South East!

Of course over-heated rotors that could mean that you're dragging your brakes, going way too slowly and on the whole mincing your sorry-ass way down the hill 😉

Point taken re: improved performance. But I do think that (unless you have bottomless pockets) you have to draw the line somewhere, and I have to trade off various upgrades against each other. Although I had heard that the larger floating rotors were actually heavier than the stock ones?

Driller – totally agree!

Just buy some stock Saints or XTs, you’ll save a lot more cash that way, in fact XTs with Goodridge hoses probably come out a bit cheaper than the std Hopes (I think….)

But Hopes are pretty…

I think my 183mm floating rotor is about 5-6g lighter than the solid one I had before. So not a lot!

Floating rotors betray when you've been braking on your way down a mincer's trail…

On my m4s floating rotors were a lot quieter, they howled with solid ones

Floating rotors are not necessarily lighter. I replaced my standard Hope rotors last year with floaters and although the 180mm rotor was slightly lighter (10g or so) the 160mm rotor was actually heavier (again by not much at all)… So I wouldn't buy them for weight reasons.
They do however seem to squeal less than standard rotors and probably do have slightly better brake fade performance if you find that an issue… They also look lovely!

Paul

I agree on the looks. I don't think I've EVER had discs fade really, even when I raced downhill. I'm quite a smooth flowy rider – hence looking at X2s rather than M4s or V2s as some would have you believe big brakes are the only option for a serious rider!

i have them and basically no unless you are a bike tart. not any better feel that my Avids on deore rotors if I am honest. Would not bother again. The rivets have a tendency to rub/catch on non hope brake calipers as well due to width. Save money dont do it

V2 floating rotors have a deeper braking surface and don't foul calipers, m4 and mini rotors do foul as the braking surface is shallower, on my formulas anyway

Blued my hayes bedding pads in in sheffield, made a nice pattern on the back of the pads as well where the airflow cooled them and the anodising discoloured.

No idea where the shimano blued, probably similar circumstances.

I got hope floaters because I warp disks all the time, was costing me a small forture. Only hade them a month so will see if they are any better.

I have X2s with 183mm floating rotors F&R and braided hose. I went for the floating rotors because I hate the way (particularly avid) rotor arms go rusty so purely cosmetic. I went for braided because that's what they had in the shop! As for performance gains probably minimal and the braided hose a re a bugger to fit. Since fitting I have only bled once and that was because I had to re-fit new hoses on a new bike. Superb reliable performance, easy to work on, easy to get spares, tonnes of power, no problem on long (3000ft+ descents). Only changed rear pads once after they died (after 6 months hard use) on a long Cairngorm descent:
http://vimeo.com/12105187
and front pads still original with lots of riding in Scotland.

If you take the time to set them up properly they are fit and forget.

Performance gains are negligible and irrelevant.

Braided hoses and floater look good though which is why I have them on one bike (admittedly I never paid full price). However I don't have them on another bike (same brakes other than that) and they all perform the same.

"thisisnotaspoon – Member

Floating disks are lighter weight."

I replaced my fairly heavy Hope floating rotors with lighter steel ones that cost half as much to boot, and they've performed identically. Including an EPIC mince down the fort william downhill with the brakes on pretty much all the time I think most people who think they're light have never weighed them tbh.

Most standard hoses are kevlar braided now aren't they?

A lot of braided steel hose fans seem to be the same in the mtb world and the motorbike world. "I just replaced my old hoses and old fluid with new steel hoses and new fluid and they feel great. Oh and I changed the pads at the same time while I was at it. Braided hoses RULE!1!!!one