Looking at getting some new brakes. Don’t want SRAM and run shimano shifters

Currently running a set of XT M785 which are getting a bit glichy now

What are peoples views on thees in terms of power and modulation

Cheers guys

Oli

Hi
Not tried th latest Hopes but I run a few sets of the XT and had one bike with XTR trail and I thought the XT were better.
More powerful and immediate but that’s how I like my brakes.
Never had any problems with any of my XTs and doubt I would bother with XTR again especially bearing in mind the price difference.
XTR look blingy like which is always good!
Cheers
Steve

Recently swicthed from xt 785’s to hope e4’s.

The hopes are about the same power as the xt’s but offer more modulation,but the hopes are substantially more sensitive to correct installation

My Hope’s so far haven’t leaked oil onto my rotors. I like this feature.

Just had my XTR 9020s warrantied for the second time so looking to sell them (new not put on bike with warranty paper-work) and have opted for the Hope Tech 3 E4s which hopefully will be put on today. It’s a shame as when they were working my XTRs were great but each brake has now been sent back twice so don’t want to risk more off the bike time again. In reality Shimano have probably sorted them out now so they’ll be faultless, but I’d be kicking myself if I kept them and it happened again. Looking forward to trying out the Hopes, the rumoured extra modulation should be a bonus on steep loose slopes. Sp keep the comparisons coming and hopefully I can add my own in the not too distant future

Keep em coming guys. Still split on this one

Loads on time on XTR lever
broke 4 in total, inconsistent feel as with new xt.
Carbon lever blades are weak
The lever internals don’t stay internal for much time at all with heavy use.

E4

Had a set when I was a squid and felt they lacked power and performance in wet.
Had a set on the new bike as we get a good deal with hope through the team and also felt similar.
They feel amazing but rather drastically stop working when it gets wet and muddy. Loads of me mates (Fast n Slow alike) have found very similar.

and felt they lacked power and performance in wet.

I’d agree with this, I wouldnt go as far as to say they dont work in the wet, but their power does drop off more in the wet than the old shimano Xt 785’s I was using. And it only happens when its very very wet, ie total downpour, soaking trails, riding through rivers kind of wet.

Thinking the magura MT5s may be the go. Seem to be getting some love, good price and mineral oil rather than DOT

Isn’t brakes not working well in the wet more a pad issue than the whole brake?

Had a set when I was a squid and felt they lacked power and performance in wet.
Had a set on the new bike as we get a good deal with hope through the team and also felt similar.
They feel amazing but rather drastically stop working when it gets wet and muddy. Loads of me mates (Fast n Slow alike) have found very similar.

I bet that you and the other guy were using the stock organic pads instead of sintered.

Rookie mistake, with sintered pads they are no worse than any other brake.

Not only that, there are dozens of manufacturers of pads that fit Hopes – all with slightly different compounds, be it Organic, Semi-Metallic or Sintered – so anyone who has sold their Hopes because of wet weather performance has pissed a lot of money up the wall needlessly – as the above poster says – brake systems don’t affect wet weather performance, pads do.

Hopes every time. I think in the 5years I’ve used this set I’ve bleed the rear once, as it was a bit soggy…err that’s it.

Wet weather performance i agree, is pad choice

Having just swapped my x2 for e4’s I’d say buy some x2. They both have the hope progressive feel(spongy) and work almost the same but the x2 are easier to fit and setup. They just don’t look as cool 🙂

E4 Tech 3s here – on both bikes.

I am a big chap, and I tend to descend at a reasonable rate of knots (not due to skill, just gravitational effect). I have never had an issue with the Hopes lacking power! Love the feel of them, much more progressive than the Shimano brakes I have had (and I did like them, but these are just “better” in that I prefer the feel).

They do seem to be incredibly set-up dependent though. I had the first set fitted for me to the Whyte and they were brilliant, put them on a Stache recently and lucked out 😉 Fitted the set to my Fuel EX and never had them perfect! It’s just been in the shop for some fettling however and they seem spot on now 🙂 Going to take it for a proper test ride tomorrow (perhaps)!

I think the moral of this story is… unless you are really, really meticulous with set up (and good at it) get someone good to put them on for you 😀 I think I lack the necessary patience 😉

I bet that you and the other guy were using the stock organic pads instead of sintered.

Yes Jack is for sure. I saw him this morning at Spokes bikeshop and I mentioned exactly this to him.

Hope every time.

I’ve got a set of e4’s in ginger (orange).

Feel solid, look the business, easy to maintain/bleed/look after.

I came from a pair of XTR’s, fantastic bit of kit when new, but soon turn to mush.

Few of my riding buddies have got XTR’s and have had a number of issues with them too.

Got e4s on my bike and test rode a Hightower with xtr. Was not impressed with the xtr. Didn’t like the longer lever throw or the oversensitive feel, they were noisier and modulation wasn’t as good. I’m sure you’d get used to them over time and they’d be fine, but I’ll be sticking with my e4’s for the foreseeable.

Can you fit shimano shifters to sram brakes ?

The Hopes have a completely different feel.

Whereas the Shimanos are typically light and OK-powerful the E4s have a proper manly lever pull with considerable resistance. Although this feels great 95% of the time it can get a bit tiresome on long descents. Personally I would go for the Hopes every time they have a proper tactile feel or alternatively Zees which are just as powerful but have a lighter action.

Moved from XTs to XTRs to E4s last year. XT & XTR were both used in successive year’s alps trips. Had too many “oh shit” moments with the lever pulling back to the bar and moved to Hope, having got a refund for the XTRs under warranty.

Have only used Hopes in the UK so far, but like that they’re more progressive and the power just keeps on coming the more you pull the lever. My local stuff isn’t a patch on alpine runs so can’t compare, but no reason to believe they won’t match up. I’m about 73kg.

I have the v 4s on my downhill bike and dont really like them. Plenty of power but I prefer the feel of the xt and slx brakes on my other bikes.

I realise that this probably goes against common opinion!

Not tried XTR but had 785 XTs which were good but on/off. Then had some of the early crap m8000s. Now got E4 Race which I really like, have to say I prefer them to the E4 with Tech levers I had previously that always felt mushy and lacking in power

Spongy a good way to describe hopes. They always stopped me though so they were set up correctly.

I had the same quandry a while ago and ended up with some Zees from Merlin at a good price.

Not missed a beat yet

Moved to hopes, don’t find them spongy. Just turn the adjuster until the amount of travel on the lever suits you

If you like the feel of Hopes, buy Hopes. If you like the feel of Shimano, buy Shimano.

Some say “spongy”, but so long as you have hope brakes bled properly there should be no sponge, just lots of progressive braking power.

Hope brakes aren’t grabby, but having had various levers & calipers with air in the lines, the ‘spongy’ feel of the brake lever moving but braking force not increasing isn’t what one should expect from hope brakes in proper working order.

However, as with any disk brake, you just don’t want oil in the pads, a lack of fluid, or air in the lines.

Just turn the adjuster until the amount of travel on the lever suits you

So…just like Shimano then… 🙄

Hopes, the shimanos WILL stop working after a few months the hopes won’t.

I had XT M8000 in my T130 and replaced them with E4/X2 combo, the bite point was all over the place dispute multiple bleeds, I also hated the short lever and I spec shifter mount as I like my shifter inboard out the way and brake with my index finger.

Shimano M785’s on one bike and M8000 levers on M785 calipers on the other. First 3 years old, second 18 months old both have goodridge hoses fitted. Pretty much maintenance free, mini lever bleed once in a while and new pads when required. No leaks, no variable bite point and no loss of power in the wet.

3 sets of XTRs.- all leaked over a two year period.
4 sets of E4/X2 replaced them. Never a jot of bother.

3 sets of XTRs.- all leaked over a two year period.
4 sets of E4/X2 replaced them. Never a jot of bother.

The bike that has two brakes front and rear must be a monster 😆

I’ve had issues with current gen XT’s. They’ve been warrantied (due to leaky calipers), bled countless times. The levers still occasionally pull to the bars and still occasionally pump up. They’re garbage in truth.

The E4’s on my other bike are perfect though. I’ve run various hope brakes over the years and have never had a problem, bar the C2’s I had back in the day 😀

My / our shimanos have never leaked on multiple bikes over many years, not sure about modulation as it sounds like old cobblers tbh just pull the lever appropriately

not sure about modulation as it sounds like old cobblers tbh just pull the lever appropriately

That is rubbish, they have a completely different feel, I pissed about with XT’s for far too long and the modulation is lacking compared to a hope no matter how you pull the lever it’s not as good.
But the feel is very different, perhaps some people call it spongy, that is just the ramp up – with shimano there is the bit where you pull and nothing happens – I used to find I was always holding them slightly in to get away from the gap and wary that it was way too easy to lock the back.

I’ve had Sram guides on both my recent bikes and they’ve been awesome.

If I had to go for something different I think I’d be looking at Shimano Zees or some 4 pot caliper brakes from Magura.

Hope are a bit spendy and look too bling for my liking.

Also look at the bleed process. Hopes are the easiest I have ever done by a mile. It’s hard not to get it right all the time.

Just ditched my xt’s after yet another lever shit the bed, popped some guide re brakes on instead.

Hope are a bit spendy and look too bling for my liking.

They’re certainly quite an outlay but they just keep working so well for so long. My older set are now over six years old and my younger set coming round to four years. Performance still outstanding with just a few bleeds in total. And the Hope pads last ages.

Also the adjustment on the Tech 3 lever is a cut above everything else, with a bite point adjust that actually works.