I’ve just been telling my friend that I need to service my M4’s.

He said hope look beautiful but aren’t reliable. this is based on the Hope brakes he had around 10years ago and the time spent in the alps. He said the french bike shops would laugh at Hope and say “lets hope they don’t break again”

lETS NOT GET INTO A SLANGING MATCH ABOUT FRENCH ENGINEERING (which is obviously beyond terrible)

Are they the best of are we simply blinded by the shiny billet Aluminium?????

In my experience the hubs, HTII Bottom Brackets and brake (M4’s) are the only things that really work / last in UK grinding paste conditions.

The engineering is a bit agricultural but the kit works and it lasts in these conditions. And when it stops working / starts creaking / gets graunchy it is relatively easy cheap to sort yourself (brake bleed / hub bearings) / send back to Hope (brake service) / get LBS to sort out (hub bearings).

I am amazed by the BB (not ceramic). I used to get through a pair of Shimano HTII bearings in a couple of months (and trashed a set in a week in the Alps but assume that was because most of the time I was stood up descending rather than pedalling). My current Hope BB has been on over a year and still running fine.

is Hope gear all that?

It’s British!

this is based on the Hope brakes he had around 10years

10 year ago, seriously? 🙄

I’m still running hope brakes that old and they’re fine. Best thing about them is that if they’re not fine, you can strip and rebuild them. Try doing that with shimano brakes – great while they work, but when they don’t you might as well bin them and buy new,

Exactly as Freester says, it’s all a bit agricultural but it’s functional, simple, and serviceable. I love my shimano brakes, but next time I have a problem with them I’m going for Hopes. You just can’t seem to get hold of parts for shimano stuff.

(the fact that it looks **** cool is merely incidental, you understand)

All the Hope kit I’ve used has worked well, this inculdes QR skewers (old and new design), Seat clamp QR, Hubs (XC and Pro3 AM4) Headsets (old and new design), Lights, Brakes (Tech and M4), Stems and BB (steel).
It’s not the cheapest, it’s not the prettiest, I’ve never needed the legendary after sales support but the tech info and spares availibity is great.

Fanboi, not me – just a satisfied cutomer of many years standing 😀

The engineering is a bit agricultural

I think this is one of those phrases that has lost it’s meaning through overuse. Seen many tractors that have been CNC milled have you? Although having said that, it would make for an awesome looking tractor.

I can only go on personal experience, 3 different Hope items bought, 3 different issues so no I don’t think Hope gear is all that

Not the best, no. Especially not the brakes, some of them are very good but they’re plain uncompetitive on price, and not the most reliable. OTOH the warranty support is excellent and parts are easy to find, in the UK at least so it’s easier to keep them going or fix them when they go wrong. The Tech X2 is a remarkably poor brake for the money frinstance.

The machined finish looks nice to some I’m sure… Never been sure if they do that because it’s a USP, or they just can’t afford/justify modern casting techniques but it’s not a performance benefit.

People talk about Hope customer service but IMO there’s 2 ways to look at this. OK, if you stick a 12mm axle in a rear pro 2, when it snaps they’ll replace it quickly and easily, their warranty is superb. But it took them years to redesign the hub so that it would stop snapping in the first place.

Still I’m very pleased with the Hope kit I own, and I just avoid the Hope kit that’s not good enough. It’s not one of those brands that’s a total badge of quality, basically. Some of it’s just too expensive, some of it’s really not very good (quick release skewers, some of the lights)

5 sets of hope brakes. All bought second hand, owned for 5 years by me, 3 seals replaced, all work perfectly well.

Best thing about them is that if they’re not fine,you can strip and rebuild them.

Yeah. And if that somehow fails, you can simply send them off to Hope – who’ll do it for you regardless of age

I think this is one of those phrases that has lost it’s meaning through overuse. Seen many tractors that have been CNC milled have you? Although having said that, it would make for an awesome looking tractor.

That’s exactly what I am trying to say, built and looks more like a tractor / combine than a sports car. Built heavy and does what it says on the tin. Never seen a CNC milled tractor but sure a lot of the parts have been. 😉

I had mono minis which were problematic to say the least. But Hope did fix them for free, when they were well outside the warranty.

My XC hubs were fautlessly reliable. Pro 2s and b/b too new to tell.

So, swings and roundabouts I suppose.

I like their stuff. Started with their first coil disk years ago, then C2s then M4s, then Mono M4s, then tech Mono M4s and V2s…had a few sets over the years. Any trouble easily sorted. I have run their hubs for ages too. Some small problems but easily sorted. As said above its the availability of spares and serviceability that makes it attractive. A lot of other peoples stuff like shimano is use and throw away when it goes wrong or wears out. Repairable stuff is better for the environment too…repairing is better than recycling.

Crikey, I agree with TJ! It’s damn good stuff, reliable, servicable and you can get spares if you need them.

The thing is with hope apart from the A1 customer service the likes of which I have never experienced before or since is the serviceability of them. The brakes are easily serviceable as are the hubs and headsets.

I serviced my brakes earlier this year after six years of abuse and they are like new. Never touched my headset, BB or hubs even after several years of Cannock chase winters.

I like stuff you can service when they stop working properly instead of throwing them away.

lETS NOT GET INTO A SLANGING MATCH ABOUT FRENCH ENGINEERING

Yeah, bloody Concorde…and that Charles De Gaulle nuclear carrier and those Mirage jets that have been sold all around the world 😉

TBH I’ve had mixed experiences with Hope kit. I had a Hope Bulb that ate it’s own bearings every three months and brakes that have failed before. On the other hand I’ve got a set of Mono M4s that are seven years old and are doing just fine. Both my bikes now run Pro II hubs without issue too.

The major selling point for me is the customer support and the fact that you can get hold of spares easily. That and the fact that all my Hope kit is blue.

I love the hubs and headsets. Seatclamps are not great (salsa are way better) and brakes seem good, but a bit pricey (would rather have shimano).

Not sure. I like the made-in-UK ethos and they’re beautifully made, but I’ve been slightly disappointed by how quickly the bearings in my Pro IIs get knackered, and my QRs were pretty much unuseable.
But I’ve kept the faith for now and just got a new Hope Hoops rear for my road bike.

It’s not the best, but it’s pretty damn good for the money. The spares and service back up makes up for the performance shortfall.

The hubs are a bit of a no-brainer. Yes, they’re technically flawed, but practically they work well enough (unless you have a Maxle Lite rear end – although that is now solved). The adaptability is the big winner.

Brakes – the only ones I’ve found where the pads last in UK wet winter conditions more than a couple of hours. My Tech M4s suffered a bit in the Alps this summer, but they’re fine for UK trail and DH. Might get some V2 calipers for next year.

The wheelsets are great value.

The lights work pretty well.

Headsets are good. Although King are back on top in my book now they’ve ditched the stupid O-ring.

All the finishing kit and bling does what it says on the tin and is available in lots of pretty colours if you’re that way inclined.

Just a quick word on Shimano since someone inevitably mentioned it… It’s crap that you can’t buy Shimano seal kits, but, that doesn’t mean you have to throw it away if it goes wrong. When my old XTs got a sticky caliper, I bought a cheap caliper, and swapped the seals. It came with a set of pads too. So in the end it worked out only about £5 more expensive than buying a set of Hope seals!

And the difference in price between those XTs and a set of equivalent performing Hopes would pay for that many times over.

Hope C2’s must be a good 12-14 years old? just fitted them to my son’s bike having been sat in the cupboard for 5 years, one needed bleeding. I think I have fitted a seal kit to these at some point
M4’s no problems
Still running the original mono M4’s on my main bike, at least 6 years old no problems including trips to the Alps
2002 XC hubs, rear has had an axle, 1 set of bearings and a worn out Ti free hub. Front still on original bearings. Had at least three sets of rims fitted though
1 old and 1 new style headset, each fitted to several frames. Original one has had one set of bearings
Stainless BB now three years old, been on 3 frames still perfect.
Old anew seat clamps – great
Prefer Shimano QR’s though

I buy Hope for the same reason I buy Fox forks: It might seem a steep up front cost, but I can service them with ease and keep them going for ever and a day.

I can vouch for the brilliant Hope customer service too! If I lived in the States I dares say I’d buy Chris King hubs, headsets and bottom brackets for the same reasons.

2 sets of shimano brakes (slightly more statistically irrelevant than 5! 😉 ) no servicing whatsover in 8/6 years, both working perfectly.

Hope stuff is excellent, you just get the occasional idiot that for whatever reason doesn’t like them complaining.

The finishing kit is decent and well machined

The wheelsets are excellent value for money

The hubs are trouble free apart from that maxle issue

Headsets and bottom brackets are excellent

The only questionable bit of kit is the Tech X2 brake, a bit under powered but other than that fine.

some of them are very good but they’re plain uncompetitive on price, and not the most reliable.

Actually they are pretty comparable on price, and in my experience very reliable.

I can’t think of a single reason to buy anything but Hope where available, me. Even if you just like things to look good, Hope win on that score. Their service levels must be the best available and all their kit is user serviceable. Plus ……… they are based in Barnoldswick (which should be enough anyway). 8)

is Hope gear all that?

All what?

I like the ability to take Hope kit to pieces and fix it, even after it’s been abused to within an inch of it’s life.
Their wheel and brakes [admittedly not tried the newer ones] are fine in my book & they always amoungst my first choice of kit.

Again I have experienced there legendary customer service and believe most companies should take note and learn from them on this front (and others fronts too).

pypdjl – Member

Actually they are pretty comparable on price

Comparable with what exactly 😕

Compared to what else is out there yes hope is one of the best up there..

Had there brakes, stems in various models.. raced, alps, peaks, lakes, yorkshire dales, wales, scotland and have been excellent… and when they need a fettle very easy to service and replace…

as for the tech x2. bought some a while back off merlin 190quid a set.. incredible for the money considering how much I paid for my new xtr on my other bike!!!

For any high quality part, you should always be able to get spares. You can argue that Shimano are a big multi-national with a vast product range, and they can never supply all spares, but even the most basic of spares such as caliper piston seals are unavailable. And with Hope you can always get the spares, so for this they get my vote. They don’t always get it quite right BUT in many other ways they get it 100% right, and the back-up is fantastic.

And another thing – does no-one just buy things because they’re made in Britain anymore? If there’s a British alternative I would always buy it, assuming it does the job. I suppose that’s because I’ve worked for 30-odd years in British industry (with the odd exception)and think that we can’t survive on banks and insurance companies alone. There are very few British-made products in cycling so perhaps we should support those that still exist. And yes, I’ve got an Orange 5 too …………

Comparable with what exactly

To a pint of beer? A solid gold toilet seat? Or, just possibly, to other mountain bike brakes.

does no-one just buy things because they’re made in Britain anymore?

No I don’t, I want to buy decent kit & when a UK supplier makes/provides it, I will buy it. Otherwise I happily buy from oversea’s sources in order to get the best kit.
I’m not going to buy compromised kit for the sake of buying British.

flow – Member
Hope stuff is excellent, you just get the occasional idiot that for whatever reason doesn’t like them complaining.

I won’t buy Hope kit after knackered quick releases and seat clamps, squealing brakes and after snapping the flange of a hub spoiled too many rides.

Seems a perfectly reasonable thing to decide and not at all being an idiot?

I have Hope hubs and a Hope light – good performance, very good customer service. recently sold my 3yr old mono mini’s which worked fine and were easy to bleed and replaced with 2011 xt’s which perform much better and are easy to bled.

My view is that Hope make good solid stuff and have a great way of dealing with customers through aftercare. Shimano make better brakes IMO and lots of people make better/more affordable lights.

I also have a Salsa seat post QR !

What Northwind said. Some of it good, some of it less so, not the most reliable kit (in general), but legendary back up and after sales.

I’ve owned plenty of Hope Kit in the past, particular highlights for me were some BULB hubs, and probably a set of C2 brakes. Had a set of the original Mini’s briefly, utter guff! Some original M4’s that just wouldn’t shut up no matter what. Some mono M4’s and Mini’s (first gen black and gold) that again wouldn’t stop squealing. Oh, and all the brake levers were horribly rattly compared to anything Shimano I’ve owned.

Their QR’s aren’t any cop IMO, not compared to a Shimano.

Pro2 hubs aren’t bad for the money, but that’s as good as it gets. Their whole wheelsets though, especially built onto Stans rims, represent excellent value for money as you can buy a whole wheel for only about £30 more than the price of the hub alone!

Their lights are a good generation or two behind the current technology, but I quite like the design. Maybe when they update they’ll be worth buying?

Possibly biggest indicator of my thoughts overall though are now I have 2 MTB’s and neither of them has a single Hope component on any more. Last bits to go were Pro2 hubs, as I managed to get some DT’s for a bargain price. Though oddly, been looking at lightweight XC race brakes recently and been considering buying some of the old Mono Mini pro’s! Haha. Doubt I will though, probably just stick with the XT’s and live with the extra 50g or so… 😉

these:

are rubbish.

the brakes are machined for the sake of it, and expensive as a result (pretty though).

the hubs are ok, you may or may not like the noise, i don’t.

IME, when Hope stuff is working, it’s fine. But it just breaks too much.

We’ve had:
(on XC hubs)
2 broken axles

(On Pro 2)
Broken Pawl springs
More bearings than I can remember
A snapped spoke flange
The flage that holds the circlip on the front hub crack off
Hub seal deformed

(other)
Broken seat QR
Boiled brakes x 2 (Mono Mini)

I sold ther Mono Minis and bought Magura, which wipe the floor with Hope

It has to be said that Hope customer service and back-up is great, but I just get sick and fed up of using it.

Ah yes i totally forgot about wheels.. wouldn’t ride on anything else at the moment.. been using hope hoops for over must be 10years now..

hope sport
hope pro2
hope pro3
and road pro3

faultless!