hugh b if you still have chance go with m4 front and x2 rear
Bike Forum
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Shimano or hope brakes?
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Posted 2 years ago #
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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.
Posted 2 years ago # -
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..
Posted 2 years ago # -
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...
Posted 2 years ago # -
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.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Which won't have new pads, braided hose and fully bled..
No but you can easily reuse all the parts from the old caliper; pads, hoses, banjos, seals. OK you'll have to shell out for a new barb and olive (£2).
stuartue c (sic) - really a whole caliper for 46 pounds.
Have a search on ebay for "shimano xt caliper" - M765 caliper £33 + £12 postage from USA. Functionally identical to M775 caliper but silver rather than black. And the prices of these will likely come down whereas a Hope rebuild will likely go up (speculating here).
Posted 2 years ago # -
would have said shimano last week but my xt's have a leaky piston after 1 year but not an awful lot of use.
new calliper it is then!
Posted 2 years ago # -
No but you can easily reuse all the parts from the old caliper; pads, hoses, banjos, seals. OK you'll have to shell out for a new barb and olive (£2)
So your old tat bolted to a new caliper that still needs to be bled through.
Not to mention that this caliper has to be scourced from the USA.
Bonus.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Good choice. Just gone for the same myself.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I accept hopes seem to be more susceptible to heat ( perhaps because of less meatl to absorb it?) - although I have to try really hard to cook the ones on the tandem - but this is greatly reduced if you bleed thru with fresh fluid annually - old fluid absorbs water which lowers the boiling point. Since I started doing the annual bleed thru I have never overheated a set - and the tandem puts far more heat intot eh brakes than a solo - old school M4s with 203 / 185 discs.
Those who have had overheating - had yu bled thru with fresh dot 5.1 in the previous year?
Posted 2 years ago # -
I've bled those Saints I mentioned once in four years. Never missed a beat. I like other Hope products, but wouldn't touch their brakes even if they were free.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Kingtut:
"Which won't have new pads, braided hose and fully bled."
Why would you want to replace the hose if there's nothing wrong with it
XT calipers do come with pads, which are very effective.Only criticism I have of my XTs is that one of the pistons was slightly sticky from new, which needed a few minutes of work to clear up. Other than that they've been flawless, for general riding about or for fort william uplifts.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Why would you want to replace the hose if there's nothing wrong with it
Because it's a nice touch, good customer service - the thing that so many fucknuts on here complain they don't get.
That said there may have been something wrong with it for all I know.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Just thought I'd let you all know the OP has made his/her decision, so we can stop arguing.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Just thought I'd let you all know the OP has made his/her decision, so we can stop arguing.
But someone on the internet is wrong etc..
Posted 2 years ago # -
The only person who is ever right on the internet is sat behind your keyboard, obviously
Posted 2 years ago # -
I always wonder when these "whats best" posts pop up & folk answer with this or that opinion on such & such a make what their maintenance schedule is like? I mean nothing is going to work for ever if you dont look after it properly..
Personally, Ive had Hope, Shimano & Magura & its not easy to tell them apart. The Hopes have the best feel, the Shimanos are a bit wooden & the Maguras Ive only had for a short while. Ive cooked both the Hopes & the Shimanos in the Alps & elsewhere & just spent the w/e riding my Maguras in Moab with no probs. IMO there isnt much difference between any of them but the crucial factor is how you look after them.
Posted 2 years ago # -
^^^^^^^exactly what i was going to say^^^^^^^^
Yes hopes are good, i like the feel, not everones cup of tea, but i like them. Yes the customer service and spares availability is great, but yes you will need it at some point. Yes shimano are pretty invincable - can't really complain about the performance of mine. I love magura's build qaulity but i find for me the lever feel is a little mushy, the powers there, i just prefer the feel of the hopes.
I think if i wanted some brales today i'd have hopes, as although you may need the availability of parts etc these are accsessable and i love the way hope will do their upmost to get you the parts no matter where you are in the world (well that's what they did for me, so they'll have my brake cash money so long as they make brakes that work)
Posted 2 years ago # -
I had some slx brakes for a week in the Alps and they never boiled or needed new pads. But the rider and the conditions probably had much more influence than the brakes though so there is not much point me posting this brake is great! The most important thing about brakes pads lasting is the conditions and how much you drag the brakes and the same goes for boiling as well.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Of the two: Shimano if you want to be sure your brakes will work when you squeeze the lever. Hope if you want nasty gold coloured stuff on your bike. Simple.
Personally I ditched all my Hopes for Avid BB7s. Huge improvement. BB7s since replaced with Juicy 7s. Even better.Posted 2 years ago # -
It depends really
If you want your bike to stop no fuss... Hope
Bear in mind this is STW therefore most of the keyboard riders on here think the black at laggan is hard.
If you want to be pickish do as TJ said, but then considering how slow he rides I am not surprises he cooks the DOT inside.Posted 2 years ago # -
i find avid bb7 with a 200mm rotor far more powerfull than any of the other brakes.
just not fashionable i suppose.Posted 2 years ago # -
Magura...
Marta or Louise...
Love em
Posted 2 years ago # -
Put some cheap Shimano brakes on my wifes bike as an upgrade from V's and they work fine.
Much more attached to my original hope Mini's though
Posted 2 years ago # -
got shimanos on both bikes because i could get them cheap. I would have had hopes, but couldn't afford them at the time.
New build will have hopes on it though
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hope if you want nasty gold coloured stuff on your bike. Simple.
Strange, the last 2 sets of hope brakes I bought have no gold bits on them, and work superbly. As others have said, pretty much all modern hydro brakes work very well, as long as they are set up correctly. The only ones I'd actively avoid are juicies.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Nice reliable, powerful Shimanos or weak, spongey, unreliable hopes?
Obvious choice really.
Posted 2 years ago #
Topic Closed
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