• This topic has 16 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by euain.
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  • Light, powerful brakes – anyone got the Hope E4?
  • honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    THinking of swapping my well-used M800 saints for something newer/lighter.

    Considering XTR Trails, which woul dbe about 100g an end lighter – also looking at Hope E4s, but hard to know what weight they are – Hope say “from 400g” but no idea if that’s caliper and lever (mega heavy), caliper and lever and rotor (heavyish) or front and rear callipers and levers (pretty damn light)

    Anyone know?

    Also – Race levers versus the Tech 3 – know they’re lighter, but aside form adjustment, are you losing much power?

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    Can’t help with the weights but I can tell you that you used to get more power from the race lever than you did from the tech EVO lever. I don’t know if that still applies to the tech 3 lever though.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    In the finest STW tradition- considered a Formula R1? Or The One for that matter, bit heavier but you could fit it to a downhill bike or a 20lb rigid xc bike

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    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    Not had good experiences with Formulas, and mates that have them tend to dislike them.

    Shimano have been trouble free for me, so they’re the default choice, but the tart in me likes Hope, and have a set of X2s on the Soul that I’m impressed with.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Fair enough, I’m a Formula fanboi. They’ve done some rotters mind but the good ones are bloomin awesome.

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    Suppose it can’t hurt to look. R1 are the light XC ones, T1 the light DH ones?

    squirrelking
    Free Member

    I just about wet myself laughing at the ‘light’ comment there till I realised I was so far behind the times, now I just feel like an out of touch dad who still thinks he “gets it”. Thanks for that.

    FWIW, THIS is an e4:

    And I still have one on my Trailstar with the same pads that were in it when I got it 10 years ago!

    New e4 – needs lightning rotors.

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    The pic above might be an E4 but E4 is also the new name for what was the M4 (slightly different piston sizes) and is now matched to the tech 3 lever rather than the tech EVO.

    grum
    Free Member

    Formula The Ones are the nuts – YOU ARE WRONG.

    sq225917
    Free Member

    My formula’s pissed like a scared child. Oil out of the back of the clamps.

    glasgowdan
    Free Member

    Have you weighed up deores? Superb serious brakes with tonnes of power.

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    My formula’s pissed like a scared child. Oil out of the back of the clamps.

    That’s not oil, that’s water from the weep hole, forced out by diaphragm when you pull the lever. It even smells like oil, but it’s not.

    lornholio
    Free Member

    SLX. Very light, very powerful for what they are, but not much modulation.

    creamegg
    Free Member

    I’ve got the v4’s with braided hoses which are similar to the e3’s. Loads of power but if your after light brakes id look at something different. Maybe xt / slx. The hopes are very nice though

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    I should probably hold my hands up and admit that the tart in me has ruled out XT, SLX and Deore. And yes, I know how good they are.

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    I have Tech 3 E4 on my Spitfire. The power and feel is pretty much identical to the Race Evo M4 on my Soul – lots of power but it ramps up from subtle control to brick wall stopping as you squeeze harder. About as far from off/on as it’s possible to be. Prefer the Tech 3 levers because they have a good bite point control and it’s nice to be able to adjust the reach without an allen key when you’re tweaking them in at first. Hope pads last ages! Running 183/160 discs, would put bigger ones on for the alps but probably not in the UK at 12 stone odd.

    euain
    Full Member

    I’ve just fitted E4s and so far, very impressed. Replaced my old Elixirs – kept the rotor sizes about the same 180/160 (might have been 185 -> 183, but no major changes). I’ve no idea about weight of the things. I’m not exactly light myself and I’m looking for function more than a few grammes weight saving.

    I was slightly worried that they weren’t going to be as powerful as my old brakes having read the reviews but no fears there. Plenty of stopping power. Lovely modulation too. I’m 15 stone or so and the hills around here are plenty steep.

    I shortened the hoses and had to bleed one of them and that was very easy too. Very happy with them. The fact I can get spares for them was a big attraction for me over the Shimano options. They also look fantastic :).

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