Ok, so already planning next years CX race bike and after resisting disc brakes I’m going to take the plunge next year looking at either the Hope V Twin or the new Shimano RS685 Hydraulic.

I know the Shimano set up is quite new (not looking at Di2 version)I’m just wondering what peoples real world experiences are.

At the minute I’m drawn to the Hope set up.

Shimano if you’re not in a rush. I’ve heard it’s now December before the 1st batch of aftermarket ones will arrive. OEM has started to trickle through slowly & what I’m waiting for..
There’s very little real world experience of the Shimano as yet, but hopefully I can give you some feedback in the next couple of weeks!

That’s great goldenwonder if you can post back a review or experience’s that would be appreciated.

I’ve got 785 calipers with 685 shifters. Running finned pads and Icetech rotors (Saint/XTR type, Centrelock)

Shifting is Ultegra, which is exactly as it should be. The brakes feel like XT, which is exactly as it should be. At the moment, I’d say XT brakes are pretty much the benchmark for MTB use, and using smaller rotors and lighter action through a drop lever, the ability to scrub speed is superb so far. HAve also coped pretty well with mud and grime on the grrravel. Hood shape is a little different and has taken a bit of getting used to though.

I’ve ridden Shimano hydros as part of a Di2 setup. They’re leagues ahead of vtwins.

Yes, its a little bit more of a faff out the box to set the Shimano ones up (the hopes come ready bled with hoses a decent length, the shimanos come as seperate components) but once set up they’re fit and forget. More modulation than the vtwins and whilst the Hopes are miles better than cables (in my opinion), they can’t touch the shimano ones.

The bikes I used belong to a friend and he’s warped a number of rotors on the hopes, hasn’t had to touch the shimano ones. They just seem to handle the heat better.

Also, the cables out the front of the hope unit I find a little intrusive. Fine if you’re using them for cross but a pain if you want to use a bar bag. Shimano is no issue obviously

CFH – not fitted to a Specialized by chance? 😉

I’m keen to try the Shimano brakes but my only reservation is whether or not the master cylinder is replaceable. XT brakes are cheap enough to replace when the master cylinder dies after two years but I don’t fancy having to throw out an Ultegra shifter because the brake master cylinder has become sticky.

Can the Shimano brakes be used with 6 bolt rotors?

Yep

Yes though Shimano wheels designed for the road/CX will be centerlock.

Flange, let me go and check that for you….

😉

Won’t be using centre lock hubs got 6 bolt hubs

Won’t be using centre lock hubs got 6 bolt hubs

Shimano RT86

Pretty sure you could use other rotors than Shimano, as long as they were the right size.

Cheers, they look nice (for rotors)

From left field, TRP Spyres. Cable but very good indeed. I would genuinely struggle to justify the added expense and complexity of hydraulics on a cross bike. 😀

I’ve been running Avid ultimate canti’s for the past few years without any issue. Just feels like I need to future proof my next setup. Also want to do 3 peaks next year if I can get in so the extra braking power would be welcome

I’ve got the V-Twin setup on my CX bike. I built the bike last November/December so the only options available to me then were:
Shimano Di2/hydro (too expensive)
SRAM hydro (nice but I wanted to stick with Shimano)
Hope V-Twin

I went for V-Twin as I was setting the bike up specifically for the Three Peaks and it’s the only way I can run STIs and bar-top levers. A full hydro setup would restrict me to STI braking only. YMMV but I really like the bar-tops and personally I feel they’re essential for non-racey off-roading.

However – the brakes feel awful. Really wooden. They work brilliantly but the feel is shocking, quite spongy and the bar-top levers add a lot of cable drag into the system.

I was quite lucky with what I went for because about 2 weeks after I’d built the bike, SRAM recalled all their hydro levers…

For a road bike or a racing CX, I’d go Shimano full hydro. For anything else, I’d like the versatility of the bar-top brake levers.

I’ve been using CX1 for a couple of months. It’s absolutely brilliant. Brakes are fantastic and the gears are genius – the clutch mech works just like on a mountain bike. I use my Warbird for everything from road riding to mountain biking and running 42 x 11-32 I’ve never been short of gears.

I’d echo the above comments about V-Twins, which I had before as they were the only option available then.