Got some Hope brakes, compared to my Avids they don’t seem to be that good. When holding the brake lever fairly tight the front wheel isn’t held still and I can still get the wheel to roll.

They are about 3 years old and haven’t been bled since I’ve had them so wonder if that is the problem.

I noticed last time I rode them that they dind’t seem to stop as well as I remembered or as well as my other brakes.

Any ideas?

Bleed first and possibly new pads.

err…an incessant Avid/Hope/Shimano brake fiddler here 😉

Depends on the model of Hope brake, obviously an old Mini is going to feel a bit weak compared to one of the latest generation of ‘monster stoppers’. Having said that tho’, if the performance has gone off recently and you happy with the power before, a bit of TLC should improve ’em a lot.

If I were you I’d give the disc rotor a really good clean with Meths or Isopropyl Alcohol, then check your pads – give ’em a wipe over with the meths, but be aware that if oil or brake fluid has got on ’em and soaked in, bin ’em and stick some new ones in. While the pads are out of the caliper, check for brake fluid leaks around the pistons, lever and hose junctions. Stick the pads back in and give the brake a try, see if there’s any difference – if none, get some brand new fluid and do the rebleed (just follow Hope’s video).

TBH, at 3 years old, it’s probably time they had new fluid anyway, so it’s not gonna do any harm.

HTH, Good Luck!

Wot fattatlasses said, new fluid, new pads OR figure of 8 on course sandpaper to refresh surface of old pads if they haven’t got fluid/oil on them, clean the disc.

Bleed as per hope video, especially the top rubber seal.

Important they are bedded in properly otherwise they will always under perform. I have some old mini’s and they are fine for normal use, easy enough to endo stop with them with a bit of 2 finger lever action

If the pads are contaminated, put them pad-side-up in a frying pan, and burn the excess oil off. Works a treat.

if they feel fine, a bleed won’t help improve the braking ‘oomph’.

a bleed will help them deal with high temperatures without going a bit ‘odd’.

you have oily muck on your discs/pads.

clean them.

stop using spray-lube.

(i clean my discs with hot water and a little washing up liquid, i clean my pads by rubbing them on cardboard – the inside of a cereal packet is perfect)

What is the lever reach like? I find that with older worn Mini/Mono levers they retract over time as the grub screw vibrates in the brass barrel, this reduces the amount of mechanical advantage. Check the reach and wind the blades out a bit if you can.

A bleed wil often work wonders, or even just top up the fluid level.

Lever reach is fine. Just seeems they don’t stop as well as they used to.

Pads could be contaminated.

Will bleed the brakes first and see if that helps (haven’t done it as mentioned so time to do it).

Putting pads in frying pan – pad side up? is that the metal bit on the sufrace of the pan?? or the other way?

Metal bit on the pan surface. You can literally see the oil burning off in front of you.

http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/features/maintenance/hope-tech-brake-bleed.htm

Great link Foxyrider!

So I’ve bled the brakes, changed the pads, cleaned the rotor and serviced the lever (was a bit sticky) and still the brakes don’t seem to brake as well as they used to. Pulling the lever till it pulls no more (about an inch from the bars) the wheel can still rotate – seems there is no grip.

Are we talking new rotor? or could it be something else?

Whether the pads you’ve put in are old ones or brand new, you’re going to have to wait until they bed into the rotor before they work properly.

Yup – new pads will require bedding in as they would on a new car – Try taking it down a long but non-technical descent and have you brake on to get the hot?

You can bed a brake in on your own street. Try this: head outside with a bottle or pint glass of fresh, clean tap water. Get up a head of steam and brake hard. Pour water liberally over the caliper. Pedal off again, this time with the brake applied lightly. As you pedal you’re going to feel the pads bedding in to the rotor. Keep going, pulling the brake gradually harder as you have to pedal harder. Do this for 20-30 meters and then pour water over the caliper again. Repeat a mix of hard stops, water; brake/pedal, water until your brakes are how you like them. I can get two brakes bedded in under 10mins using this method. They’ll improve further after a little trail time, but at least you’ll have decent braking to begin with.

THis is good news as the brakes feel loads better since servicing them, just they weren’t stopping that well.

Will wait and while and see what happens. 🙂

Cheers

A couple of other possibilities are that the discs are worn below max wear. I’ve no idea what minimum disc thickness for Hope but I’m sure someone will know.

Also you could have seized calliper pistons – it might be worth servicing the calliper and fitting new piston seals and checking for corrosion on the pistons.