I've recently bought a new pair of Hope M4 brakes. Got them set up on the bike fine with both levers feeling the same (bite point and lever travel) Problem is i've since had themn back at the LBS to have the hoses shortened and now can't get the the levers feeling the same as one an another. The bike shop isn't sure why but is going to contact Hope in the morning to discuss. It seems that the front brake has a slight bit of lever travel before the pistons actually move, then when it does move it seems to grab. The rear brakes pistons move as soon as the lever is pressed giving a great feeling, gradual bite which i want to replicate on the front. No matter how i change the BPC and lever reach i can't get it how i want.
P.S The brakes were re-bled at the shop so no air in the system.
Any ideas guys??
air in the system...
don't care if your bike shop bleed them, we (my GF and I) have a set each. LBS cut cables and "bled" them 3 times.. still the same, ended up sending to hope and they did it for us... all ok now..
i've been riding hope brakes for ages and love em but these new tech m4's are getting on my wick!!
Its air in the system. Rebleed them. Lube the pistons as well.
Fozzy YGM
its worth watching the 'how to' section on the hope site as theres a couple more steps to bleeding the tech levers than their other brakes.
i did the same with my rear when i took the caliper off to route it through the swingarm. easily sorted!
Agree with slowrider - did the same when I had to re-route though swingarm when I fitted them new (Slowrider is it an orange BTW? 😉 ). There are a few extra steps. [url= http://www.hopegb.com/page_mep_force_56.html ]LINK[/url]
Tandem Jeremy is bob on.The pistons are known to stick.....and they are a bugger to bleed satisfactorily.
Thanks Slow Rider and Foxy. I watched them bleed the brakes today and they missed the bit in the vid @ 2.37 where he tips the brake upside down and then pumps the lever to get rid of air.
Maybe this is where the problem occurs? Thing is he did the same with the rear and that seems fine
i spoke to hope, they told me with the new design clamp part air gets stuck in the lever more than the old design..
Thanks for all your input guys and gals, seems i may have found the root of the problem?
Also can't stop thinking of the way he attacked the pistons with a screwdriver to push them back in...
I always remove the wheel and pads, and gently pump the lever to expose the pistons.
I give em a clean with ear-buds/Dot fluid to make sure no crap will cause them to stick, and to lubricate the seals.
Best method is to use a wide flat object (cone spanner etc) to hold one side's pistons in, to increase the distance the other side will become exposed. Be careful not too pop them out though!
Not the end of the world if pistons pop out as they can pop back in - but DOT will p!$$ everywhere
I always wedge the freshly cleaned/DOT-lubed pistons in place with a lump of wood - but anything will do, as long as they as set right back into the caliper body, and cannot budge!
I always use the soft grip on a tool to repeatedly knock/tap the caliper, hose length and lever to make sure any air is mobile, and likely to be bled out.
As mentioned above, the Hope vid clips are extremely useful - especially the piston centering trick. That one always has the most impact in lever feel : )
i use ring grease on the pistons to keep the seals fresh..
"ring grease"
fnar fnar fnar
"can't stop thinking of the way he attacked the pistons with a screwdriver to push them back in... "
he didnt, he pushed the back of the opposite pad
he didnt, he pushed the back of the opposite pad
Second that one 😉