I run Hope C2 brakes, 185mm front and 165mm rear 6 bolt rotors with the pro levers on my do everything bike. I’ve had them since the stone age.

I’ve never had to do anything except change the pads (and that seems to need doing infrequently) and occasionally give the adjuster a turn. I’ve bled them once I think.

Thing is they just work and keep working.

Is there any advantage in upgrading? Do more modern systems give better feel and more power?

The C2s “look” heavy – are they heavy in comparison?

What should I upgrade to (if I need to at all)?

I’ve got a similar dilema with two bikes worth of e4 brakes. I’d love some of the tech EVO stuff but mine do nothing wrong. The only real advantage you’d get would be moving to a self adjusting open system to no more twiddling the tops. If you’re sticking with hope, there’s not a massive amount of weight difference. A mate of mine just went from m4 to tech v2 and the weight saving was a hand full of grams.

C2 are good.I have X2 which are 3 years old and minis which are nearly 8 years old.X2 are better looking than the minis but dont work much better.lever action is great on X2s.
I may be wrong here but i dont think Hope do any spares for C2 anymore?

Had c2 and open ones in the past great.

I changed mine for avid juicys as I had problems with them pumping up occasionally, and they made two weeks in Morzine a real pain, however if you’re happy stick with em.

As JWT. I got a bit fed up with them pumping up on some of the descents. I get scared easily so I brake a lot- so they heat up etc. Blummin good brakes apart from that rare occurrance.

If it aint broke don’t fix it.

My mate does most of his biking down south and runs them and they are fine. Thing is when he comes up to Snowdonia to ride with me they pump up on big descents. If you head to big hills then the trick is to set them up so that you have the adjustment to slacken them off when they get hot. Obviously you loose the ability to tighten them up as the pads wear but you just top up the fluid level.

I have a theory that for a few quid and a bit of time with a dremmel, you could easily turn them into an open system and sold the heat pump issue.

Aye, the return spring stack in the caliper pistons can be disabled by removing the retaining clip, and the top cap/adjuster can be replaced with an O2 diaphragm and retaining ring.It’ll work like the very first system they made, the later O2 system had the caliper seals set at an angle to aid pad retraction, but I never found it a problem not having it on my first ones.

Keep ’em. Nowt wrong with a bit of retro…

If they work, keep ’em. They have their known issues but who cares, if you’ve never had them?

Two of my bikes have C2 Pros, the other two MTBs have Formula R1s.
Yes, the C2s are heavy, that’s why the two bikes I race have R1s. Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with them, if it ain’t broke don’t bugger about with it.
I have had ‘pump up’ twice in all my years of riding them (anyone know the track down from Bishops Hill to the golf course at near Scotlandwell, overlooking Loch leven?) They don’t like that but really had no other issues.
Am considering using them in wet 24hr races and maybe Keilder as the pad adjustment feature might make them last a bit longer, less rubbing!

I ride oop north, but thinking about it, there’s not that many really big (like Snowdon) descents.

If they pump up (they do very occasionally) I can back them off a little with the adjuster. As I run big discs for C2s (185 was a DH rotor back when I got these, most were on 155!) I’ve think thats helped avoided heat issues.

Thanks guys, looks like I’m not missing anything so I will stick with em.

I’m running the older silver M4s on 3 bikes – simple to service (strip + dishwasher the metal parts yearly), and still have enough power for how I use them.

If it ain’t broke…?

Early C2s here, I see no reason to change. Yes, you need to use the adjuster on descents, and remember to reset as the brake cools. For me the third tweak is a warning that fade time is near, and I should use the back brake more. That’s fine.