Im currently running Avid Juicy 3's but im not very fond of them, i've been thinking of getting a set of Hope Mono Minis to replace them.

Was hoping to get some feedback off anyone who has the Mono's to see what you think..

Had mono minis and the older minis before, bought a built on-one inbred last year which came with Juicys 3s and I think they are just as good.

Sorry to sit on the fence!!

Mono M4's here. They stop me. Again sorry to sit on the fence.

On a plus point is Hope's customer service. Makes a man feel warm inside.

They have a soft lever feel – gives loads of modulation but perhaps lacking a bit in initial bite. Myself I like this – others do not.

Fully rebuildable with all spares available. Mine get an annual service which is simple to do and require no other fiddling at all. Pad life seems to be greater than other brakes.

I would have another set in preference to any other brakes

like my Magura Louises more than minis

I like me deores more than me minis but you can't get deores in pink 😳

Plum

If you like stopping on a six-pence, don't get them. I found them seriously lacking in the power department. I've stuck by Avids having run 7's, Carbons and Ultimates and think they are very good. Can't comment on any others although I tried some Oro's a while back and they had oodles of power.

Avid 3s are more powerful than Hope Minis as i had both at the same time. If you are a heavy user on the brakes they are not for you

mono mini pros here 160/140 rotors. Not as powerful as the Tech 2s on my susser but plenty of modulation. Hoisy when wet.

great fit & forget brakes and I've had minimal problems with them in the 3 years I've had them. Would I buy some more? Yes definitely 😀

Great brakes.Have had 3 generations of Hope Mini's.No problems,easy to service,well made and British! The Tech 2, 183/160 combo is the best so far,better power and great control! Recommended!
Thanx Max

From the response so far it seems as though the customer care is a big bonus to the Hopes.

Is there a huge difference in stopping power between the two? Im 75kg and find the avid's reasonable but have had issues with reliability which steers me away from them as a brand

Mono Minis here for 18 months on my BLT2. Only very occasionally wish for a little more power on long steep descents but probably just need to squeeze a bit harder. As TJ said they feel a little soft but they give great modulation. I am 75kg as well

I had Juicy 5s and didn't get on with them. Very wooden feel and always binding. I know a few others who've had the binding problem.

I have 2 pairs of mono minis and love them. Much better feel at the lever and more power too. I use 180/160 rotors on both bikes. Hope sintered pads last ages and are very consistent. I think they're fantastic.

As for reliability, MrsF and I have had 1 pair each for about 4 years and we each have a 2 years old pair. we've had no problems with them at all.

Brilliant customer Service, advice on tap, widely available spares and totally re-buildable.

And they work very well.

By the way, I found my Hopes' power to be a bit variable until I stopped trying to save money by buying cheaper pads. I now only use Hope sintered and they're much more consistent as well as lasting ages.

been running mono minis on Yeti 575 for 18 months and never a hitch. Had minis on superlight for 5 years and no real isues (only needed bleeding). Found reliable and good enough for lakes, Peaks and trail centres uk wide…

I just put some used Mono Mini's on my singlespeed, and they are noticeably more powerful and generally feel better than Shimano (LX equivalent).

Bleeding was a peace of cake, as well as rebuilding the whole caliper (even I could do that myself). Spares are cheap and easy to find.

Would recommend.

If all the Mini lovers above had tried Formula brakes their comments would not be in favour 😀

If the people who say minis are lacking in power had them set up properly with decent pads they wouldn't say that.

Tandem have you tried other brakes as i had 3 different sets set up by a proper bike mechanic who knows them inside out and can set up them far better than you. They lack the power of many other brakes out there – enough said…

My dad's bigger than TandemJeremy's dad.
Monos are fantastic brakes, they stop me just fine. Never found them lacking in power, bite point and modulation etc depends more on the state of your pads and rotors in my experience, I had a good few years of reasonable braking performance, but after sticking a 183 on the front with fresh pads, real bite appeared.
I get the impression you could set them up the same way each time, and end up with different braking performance though. A bit counterintuative I know, but just seems the way they behave to me.
It means they never get boring.

I have hayes carbon nines, avid juicys, minis and mono minis. By far my faves are the minis. Ample power, great modulation and easy to maintain.

Moda – I have tried one or two but not many. I do like the progressive lever feel. However single finger braking can lock the front on dry tarmac at 30 mph on a 160mm disc. thats plenty of power for me and I don't see how any more could be useful.

How do you know your mechanic can set them up better than me?

Another vote for Hope, I run Minis on two of mine and M4s on the other and collectively they are much less trouble than the Juicy 7s on my wifes bike.

I've got some black and gold ones from a few years back with floating rotors and new original pads if you're interested.

Just had my headset serviced and the chap behind the till commented that my 2006 Mono-mini's with Goodrich braided hosing & organic pads were amazing powerful.

These are the first and only hydraulic brakes I've ever had [180mm disc F&R, floating rotor on front] and they managed to stop the bike dead even from 15mph [which hurt!].

Maybe it's down to how the brakes are set up and maybe his brake's need to be sorted?

Dasha – could you pm me with some pictures of the brakes your selling and let me know how much your looking for them?
Cheers

Mono minis rock, only 70kg running 180/160 though. Pad life is unmatched (Hope Organics). Went downhilling at CwmCarn on my mono mini equipped five and they were fine, maybe I could have done with a bit more power at times but I was DHing on an xc bike ffs! Talking of Formulas, my mate was on a Zesty with oro K18s and they were cooked and groaning after one run… ❓

You might say maybe he was dragging them, but so was I some of the time!

Great brakes, but get the new Hope X2s, all the great Mono Mini feel, reliability and pad life but have that extra bite.

You definitely need 180/160 F/R and as someone above said, only use decent pads. Personally I found EBS sintered the best – and I think they make the pads for Hope.

Dead easy to bleed, and seem to get less piston stick than other makes – certainly less than the XT's on my old bike

X2's are indeed awesome. I'd say they have the power of the black/gold monos and the modulation of the last mono's.

The X2' on my new Orange 5 are more than powerful enough, for me at least.

Lets see how they perform for a week in the Alps next week 😀

I had Magura Louise, went to Hope M4's and then back to Magura Marta's. I prefer the Magura's, never got Hope's to be silent or completely straight (I think the mini's with 2 pistons would be easier). I do think I would take Hope's over Avid's though, Magura just happen to make the best brakes. 🙂