I never much cared for the look of Hope Brakes, but what a difference it makes seeing them in the flesh, gorgeous. Just tried some type of Mini (I think) on a test bike and was reasonably impressed. As I was thinking of a disc change these are now on the list, but I think I'd want to go for the Tech models. Can anyone break down what the differences are? Like the looks of the M4 for ultimate power, but these would just be trail brakes. I also heard that there were some problems with lever placement against shifters?

I've also tried Shimano SLX and been rather impressed, has anyone tried Hope Tech and SLX? Opinions/comparison?

Ta.

hey,

i've never used or seen slx brakes, but I personally own a pair of Hope Tech X2's, with 180mm rotors. Can tell you now, they are incredibly powerfull, and the looks are of course great.

In terms of the lever and shifter positions, i find that my shimano shifters are a little further inside under the brake than i'd like but it's not so much that it causes problems. I know there are some adapters that can be fitted to allow the brakes and shifters to fit perfectly but don't know the price.

Hope that helps mate!

I have Tech M4's and they are absolutely gorgeous – and stop you like hitting a brick wall.

However, to get them in the right position for 1 finger braking, I had to take the windows off my XT shifters and move them outboard from the levers.

i tried the tech m4 for about a week, how can hope make a brake lever that dosent sit well at all with shimano shifters
i could not get them i the correct position, so ended up swapping them for formula the one, which have been great

My shimano levers fit perfectly well with my tech m4s.
Don't listen to em.
BTW, there's absolutely no comparison between hopes and formulas, nor avids for that matter. The Hopes are far far superior; why buy weak plasticky brakes?
The tech models have the reach and bite point adjust, for one finger braking is awesome as you do not have to "make do".

backhander – as good as the Hope's are, there's no way on earth you have them in the right position for 1 finger braking with Shimano shifters in-board of them.

always run mine inboard of the shifter, with windows removed and one finger brake and never had any issues. Your idea of "the right position for one finger braking" and mine, and backhanders could all be vastly different, you can't generalise on ergonomic preference.

I have no idea why you would ever run a shifter window anyway, you never actually look at it.

It's worth getting the adapters (£20 ish) for a clean build. Mine are with sram x0 pods but there are Shimano specific ones too. I went from old '04 XT 160s to Tech M4 203/180 and whilst the power obviously increased I would say the modulation is not as good. That's more of a car park rolling around test ride thing though where they feel very on/off – as soon as I up to speed out on the trail, I can't say I've ever lacked modulation. And the finish is fantastic.

i cannot see how you can say the levers fit perfectly with shimano shifters, they just dont, at all.

why not go for the XT brakes? They are brilliant, tons of power, loads of modulation, reliable, and definitely wont have any problems witht the shifters. I cant comment on what they are like compared to the slx though.

any pics of these hope clamp adaptors in use? with shimano or sram, just to get an idea of what they're like.

will do.