As the title says really, looking at some new brakes, either hope x2's or shimano xt m775's. Pro's and cons of each?
I've always been a hope man myself but i am tempted by the xt's but keep seeing mixed reviews!

Hope for bling.

Shimano for plain working well and no fuss.

shimano, it just works

Shimano.

Easy to set up
Easy to adjust (no shims needed)
Easy to replace pads
Easy to bleed
Powerful
Great feel
Never go wrong
Mineral oil for blood

It is absolutely inconceivable that anyone will disagree with any of that.

i have hope mono mins and shimano xtrs. Hope work well although the lever pivot can get notchy. I prefer the feel of the xtrs but they do tend to pump up more on long downills.

i love my shimano brakes… I have no other makes… Whereas the hope m4's and minis ive had in the past have allways seemed a bit weak on the power side of things, and then just stopped working altogether.

I second shimano being easy to bleed. I had one where i just had to tap the hose, and the air bubbled up to the top. It went from pulling to the bar to feeling perfect again, just from that. It was also my fault, as id forgot to re-tighten the hose at the caliper end after adjusting the angle…

0hope are the easiest brake to bleed.

In the woords of stuartie c

hope are;

Easy to set up
Easy to adjust (no shims needed)
Easy to replace pads
Easy to bleed
Powerful
Great feel
Never go wrong

Hope if you want a good spares back-up. Shimano if you don't want to need spares.

Hope if you want them to last for ever – shimano – don't rely on being able to get spares now let alone in five years.

Feel is a part of it as well IMO – hopes have a softer lever feel = more modulation = less initial bite. Shimano harder lever feel = less modulation = more inital bite. Thats a matter of preference. Hope pads last thousands of miles as well.

so you guys like shimano then?? 😆

I am tempted as the shimano's are fairly cheap and i have a big bottle of shimano mineral oil sitting there! Do they benefit from floating rotors?

EDIT: Tandem jeremy…thats always how i have found hopes too! I've only ever had to change pads because of accidental contamination, never through wear!

Hugh

Hope pads last thousands of miles as well.

Even the Superstar ones?

Oh almost forgot the main reason I'm switching all my brakes from Hope to Shimano.

Shimano brakes have never attempted to kill me in Verbier…….

just ordered some saints.
hopes are underpowered.

Shimano, just for the lever shape

shimano for me, although I think magura are non to shabby.

bombadillo – even the tech v2s…. I beg to differ

I had the 775's on my old bike & they never caused me any trouble. Plus the modualtion was excellent.

I now have tech m4's on my newer bike and love them too so I would say it comes down to looks/cost.

Oh almost forgot the main reason I'm switching all my brakes from Hope to Shimano.

Shimano brakes have never attempted to kill me in Verbier…….

what happened?

Ok guy's, i can get the hopes for a really good price but it still works out a fair chunk more than the shimanos, how is the pad life on the shimano's?

oxnop – i think most of the people oin this thread have not tried the new tech hopes

Total brake loss one time too many. 😯

ianpinder – Member

oxnop – i think most of the people oin this thread have not tried the new tech hopes

I have.

hugh b

if your rubbish at braking then some hopes can over heat, shimano are less rpone to over heating. TBH i have over heated both my m4s and a pair of the servo wave xts so niether are better. the only brake i can't 'cook' is the tech v2 vented

stuartie_c – Member

"Hope pads last thousands of miles as well."

Even the Superstar ones?

Nope – HOPE pads – wouldn't touch cheap pads

In fairness I borrowed RHS's bike with vented V2's on and they were fine.

Wouldn't want to cart all that weight round for everyday riding though.

Ian. All the guides at BV must be rubbish at braking then. 😉

agree with tj, so far my hope pads are under 1/2 worn, and i have done 3 weeks in the alps on them 3 cwm carn uplift days and various push up days. where as my friend went through 2 sets of pads in 3 weeks in the alps. I weigh 26st my friend weighs 14 st so its not like i was lighter on the pads

I weigh 26st my friend weighs 14 st so its not like i was lighter on the pads

😯 seriously.

I will never move away from Hope, great brakes, absolutely fantastic backup, I've just got my rear mini back from Hope as I couldn't bleed the bugger for love nor money after an accident.

They returned it to me after having them for only two days, fully bled with new seals, a brand new set of pads, a brand new length of braided hose and connectors all for £46 inc return postage.

Try getting that kind of service from Shimano or Magura.

Explosion In a Spaghetti Factory – totally rubbish lol.

To be honest, I would never use m4s or x2s in the alps, but then niether would I use saints, 'the ones', or any magura brake. the only brake i would use is the tech moto with the vented disc which is what I have.

However my friend used m4s in the alps and never had a problem.

TBH my friend has slx brakes and I really like them. you can't go wrong with either the hope or the xt. It really does come down to price/looks, however like other people have said you won't be able to rebuild a shimano brake in 2 years time, but you will a hope brake.

however like other people have said you won't be able to rebuild a shimano brake in 2 years time

you won't need to. 😈

i haven't tried the new hopes but shimano are outstanding, infact with todays disc brakes your hard pushed to find a real dud.

They returned it to me after having them for only two days, fully bled with new seals, a brand new set of pads, a brand new length of braided hose and connectors all for £46 inc return postage.

Probably get a new Shimano caliper for that.

Shimano,my XT's are great____ they don't look great___ but they just keep working

had problems with hope like lazy pistons, leaky pistons

my mate even cooked a brand new set of 08 m4s on the first descent

ok guy's, thanks for the help. I have had a good look at both and stuck with what i have always known and liked, gone for the hope x2's with floating rotors!
I have never had a problem with any of my hopes (touch wood) so i figured that was the logical thing to go for, i was being tight really and thought i might be able to save a bit of ££ by going for xt but seeing as the pads are twice as much and may not last like hope pads i figured i might as well pay the money, fit and forget!

What's total rubbish?

Or should I not argue with you cause you is a big bloke. 😉

Excellent choice!

Don't listen to these Shimano fan-boys.

No, wait…

I just bought some Hope Tech V2s. I wouldn't buy them again, I'd buy the shimanos that I borrowed off a mate while waiting for the Hopes.

Hope that helps – I'm not a fanboy of either, I've genuinely used both and can say I'd prefer the Shimanos both as regards fitting and usability

stuartue c – really a whole caliper for 46 pounds. i dont think so, a deore lever and caliper were 90 in freeborn

tails – you will need to if you crash

hugh b if you still have chance go with m4 front and x2 rear

Love my '08 Mono Minis, pads have lasted 12 – 18 months so far. 2 years old and they've never needed rebleeding or gone wrong since coming from the Orange factory. I've never even had to realign the caliper.

Got some entry level Shimanos on my Genesis and they're frankly gash. Everytime I remove a wheel the caliper needs realigning and even then they start dragging and squeeking mid ride. Hated them from new. I guess they stop ok but they're a bit "nothing, nothing, nothing ON!!!!"

I appreciate they're cheap ones but still, you'd expect better from Shimano… Everything I have from Hope felt like indulgence and bling at the time but has been really good to me requiring next to no servicing.

stuartie_c – Member

They returned it to me after having them for only two days, fully bled with new seals, a brand new set of pads, a brand new length of braided hose and connectors all for £46 inc return postage.

Probably get a new Shimano caliper for that.

Which won't have new pads, braided hose and fully bled..

Shimano are great, until they go wrong. And spares are non existant. Its either a new lever or a new caliper, assuming of course its available still.

I have a set of old style Saints that are 4 years old, have been used, abused, raced, uplifted and done whole seasons in the Alps which now reside on my girlfriends DH bike. Only now are they feeling a bit tired and in need of retirement. Looks like they will be demoted to her trail bike for the rest of their life. Other than braided hoses, and replacement pads, they have never been touched. Can't argue with that!

Considered the new Saints but they are seriously hefty brakes, (were at the time) very expensive & spare pads are hilariously expensive so were swiftly discounted.

I've been running the new Tech M4's on my DH bike, and the difference in power over the old Saints is huge. I also like the fact that you can actually buy spares for them should something go wrong. She will probably end up with a set of these also, for convenience and pad stocks. Considered the V2's but they are somewhat OTT, unless you have some extra padding to carry around, or can't ride/brake properly…

Shimano.

Hope gave up the ghost on me in Alps years back. And this year my old Saints got to the bottom of a long rocky Alp descent working fine. Three others had boiled brakes. All Hope. Nuff said for me.