@fathomer - nice one ill check them out too - they look reasonably price also - looks like a cool design and 2mm thick so should get the extra feel at the lever
@appltn interesting, i just assumed the green pads were galfer, as i think the red ones that come with the brakes actually say galfer on the backing? (could have imagined that though!), so just thought the greens were the same too - cool i might get some ordered then to go with some new disc rotors if they are good, the front feels fine and is quiet all the time, but the back once it gets a drop of wet just wont shut up, im going to check over the caliper tonight to see if i can see any oil weeping out, as it would explain the noise somewhat...
I thought that too, but an interview with hope somewhere on this thread revealed the greens were truckstuff ones iirc
ah right must have missed this then, ill try some of the galfer ones linked above see what they are like, the greens that came with them were ok the brief time i tried them but i preferred the feel of the reds tbh - but ill give these green galfer a shot as my reds are getting low now anyways
I’m pretty sure this is also linked somewhere in the depths of the thread but this podcast episode with a hope engineer is where I learned that the green pads aren’t galfer.
There’s lots of other interesting stuff in there too, I listened to it twice because I’m a nerd.
Alrighty the power of 4K is pretty mad
Is this the issue we’re speaking of guys?
https://youtube.com/shorts/nKEcEGdf5PY?feature=share
If you look at the piston closest to the camera watch every so often as I press the lever you’ll see bubbles or pockets of something coming through?
This is the only logical reason why I can see my back brake squeals like mad in the wet and the front is silent, for what it’s worth I check the front caliper and there’s no bubbles anywhere so logic makes me think this is leaking slightly on the back rotor or just about getting to it and dripping down slightly eventually on the rotor
Yep that's what was happening on mine. Have you checked your rotor? If it's brake fluid contamination it should be very easy to see.
That does look to me like it's letting out a very small spray of oil about every second pump.
It's on the outboard side so should be very easy to pop the piston out and check the seal.
I'll add that I've bought a seal kit and will buy a bore cap too so I'll replace my own seals if it happens again, the advantage of Hope brakes, fully rebuildable myself!
I haven’t checked the rotor tbh they are pretty worn so could be harder to tell
But yeah pretty much every other pump a little pocket of bubbles/oil appears then goes back in
I’ll fire a email across to hope see what they say, luckily it’s only ruined a rear older rotor I guess luckily I’ve not had the new ones delivered otherwise they’d be getting contaminated too
I’m not savvy minded on rebuilding these tbh so I’ll see what hope say, if they won’t warranty it/fix it I’ll get the shop to do it I think to be safe
I knew the squeal on my back brake wasnt normal and with everyone else saying there’s are quiet too…
Thanks for confirming for me guys I’ll report back when I have a answer
update - sending back to hope monday, have aske to send in for inspection whatever that means (hopefully a full rebuild)
they werent convinced its oil seeping, said its possibly the silicone lube, so will have to see, i wiped the piston over and over and over to remove any left over silicone lube, then when i press the lever again, the bubbles appear and somethings obviously coming through? surely even if it was just silicone lube there should be no air bubbles leaving the piston area? or am i being dim?!
When I sent a set back to them they suggested it could be the silicone lube too - they still came back with a full set of new seals so I'm guessing they decided it wasn't that after all.
@appltn - ahh thanks, okey doke, well that makes me think its worthwhile sending in then, had visions of them just looking at it and going no its lube, and sending it straight back, if it gets a full rebuild regardless then its worth sending in for as long as its a quick turnaround
So I bought one of those caliper alignment tools linked a few pages back - they're ok, not the best and you'll still need to do some alignment by eye. On my rotors (which are only a few hundred km old, so not worn) the tolerances weren't particularly great, enough room either side of the disc in the tool that you could see daylight.
Having said that, with the help of it I have just been able to get both front and back brake to bite, with the bite point adjuster 2/3rds way in, with about 1.5cm of free stroke. Which is not a lot!
I found the best technique is as follows:
1. set up initially with the tool, check by eye that it looks ok - chances are either the front or back will be slightly off-centre, don't worry about that for now
2. pop the pads in and get them centred as well as you can, you'll probably still see the disc being moved by the pads on the front or rear pistons at this stage (fyi, you don't want the disc being moved at all).
3. loosen the caliper bolts and make the tiny last adjustment to get the disc to sit perfectly centred between the pads - at this stage the amount of movement you've have will be limited by the pads which will be less than 1mm from the disc so it's much easier to adjust by the tiny amount that makes all the difference in these brakes.
4. One last piston alignment working each side with a flat blade screwdriver to get them perfect.
Result: no rubbing, free spinning wheels and barely any free stroke before the brakes bite.
Is the tool worth the money? Probably not, unless you're completely blind as you can get the calipers aligned by eye with the pads out easily enough. If the tool made it so no further manual alignment was needed then yes, but it's not made to close enough tolerances for it to do that. You'd probably need to CNC machine one to get it really accurate.
Mine have started leaking again after a bit over a month on the new seals. Sent them back to hope this time. Hoping they'll put a new caliper body or pistons in as now that the seals are ruled out I cant see what else it would be!
Is the leaking affecting silver ones as well or is it just black calipers.
Mine were silver
Mine have started leaking again after a bit over a month on the new seals. Sent them back to hope this time. Hoping they’ll put a new caliper body or pistons in as now that the seals are ruled out I cant see what else it would be!
Yours were quite bad weren't they, looking at your pics? Are they leaking as bad as they were before?
As a total aside, anyone know if Tech 4 levers will work with elderly Tech X2 calipers, or whether it's better to start from scratch?
Yours were quite bad weren’t they, looking at your pics? Are they leaking as bad as they were before?
Yeah they were, its the same pistons that were leaking the most before. Only noticed as its been getting noisier a few rides after being cleaned - There's enough oil to lightly contaminate the edge of the pads.
update - my rear brake went back yesterday - arrived this morning and all sorted and hopefully back out for delivery tomoz
they couldnt find evidence of a leak in action, but the back of pads were wet, so not sure if thats silicone lube or oil from what i can gather, but no evidence to suggest leaking from the pistons, he tested the measurement of the body, and as a precaution has replaced all seals and pistons, so i really cannot fault that at all, super impressed with the speed and helpfullness, i guess you do get what you pay for with some stuff, if that was a sram brake youd be waiting weeks for a repair/replacement so defo 100% top drawer service from hope
i have a quick one for anyone whose had them back from hope fixed with seals/pistons etc, do they come back already bled??? im hopefully going straight out after work tomoz and as i have external rear brake i only need to strap it on with no faff, but if i need to bleed it i wont get time.....
I emailed Hope last week asking about swapping from a flat mount to post mount X2 caliper. Their reply was that the calipers are all the same so the Tech 4 levers should work ok with the X2 caliper.
is anyone running a wolf tooth dropper remote lever with the tech 4 levers yet,
if so, what mount option are you using,
i've got a drilled hope mount on my current tech3 (generation 2 levers)
does that fit the tech 4's, i've read shimano EV work, but my google skills dont seem to be hitting that comment today.
i messaged wolftooth, so will update if no one comments.
@crossed - ta! New brakes have been on the cards for a while as they're mismatched (one Tech which is older than my 12yo and one Tech Evo…)
@oscillatewildly
i have a quick one for anyone whose had them back from hope fixed with seals/pistons etc, do they come back already bled???
Yes, my set came back bled and ready to go. I reckon you’ll probably get new pads too.
appltn
Full Member
@oscillatewildlyi have a quick one for anyone whose had them back from hope fixed with seals/pistons etc, do they come back already bled???
Yes, my set came back bled and ready to go. I reckon you’ll probably get new pads too
ahh thank you mate, awesome stuff means can get straight out for a ride tomoz 🙌🏻 thank you be nice if I got some new pads too as they were pretty much bare 😬
Mines came back ready to fit, I didn't get new pads but they docs said it had a caliper service done.
whatyadoinsucka
Free Member
is anyone running a wolf tooth dropper remote lever with the tech 4 levers yet,
if so, what mount option are you using,
i’ve got a drilled hope mount on my current tech3 (generation 2 levers)does that fit the tech 4’s, i’ve read shimano EV work, but my google skills dont seem to be hitting that comment today.
i messaged wolftooth, so will update if no one comments
Doesn’t exist yet for hope tech4 e4/v4 with a direct mount to a WT remote, they are in her process of making one though, at moment I’m just running a stand-alone mount which in some ways offers better adjustment, but just doesn’t look as clean
ta11pau1
Full Member
Mines came back ready to fit, I didn’t get new pads but they docs said it had a caliper service done
ace thanks fingers crossed it will be bled then, also did you send your pads in with the brakes? I guess if you didn’t send them in they might not send new ones back out, mine were pretty worn and I just sent the whole thing in with pads/bolt etc
thanks @oscillatewildly, went for a coloured one so got the 22.2mm clamp as standard, had planned to sell the clamp and buy the part so will hold off till they launch. yet to buy the bike and it'll come with a basic dropper lever .
wonder if hope will ever (i) release a dropper lever, they'd clean up and (ii) release some new colours, i miss the gunsmoke.
be interesting to see how burgtec's Green anodisation works out,
ace thanks fingers crossed it will be bled then, also did you send your pads in with the brakes? I guess if you didn’t send them in they might not send new ones back out, mine were pretty worn and I just sent the whole thing in with pads/bolt etc
Yeah, same - I sent mine with pads etc in, tbh they're only a couple of hundred km old so no need to replace. The green pads are easy to sand down to get rid of any issues though.
whatyadoinsucka
Free Member
thanks @oscillatewildly, went for a coloured one so got the 22.2mm clamp as standard, had planned to sell the clamp and buy the part so will hold off till they launch. yet to buy the bike and it’ll come with a basic dropper lever .wonder if hope will ever (i) release a dropper lever, they’d clean up and (ii) release some new colours, i miss the gunsmoke.
be interesting to see how burgtec’s Green anodisation works out,
no worries i asked the same question about 5-6 pages back but its impossible find stuff on this forum lol - yeah defo in the works, they have a mount for the tech 3 e4, but not the new tech 4 e4 so its on its way, ill probably get it for aesthetics alone but im more than happy with the standalone position I've got it at now, like said in some ways it really doesnt limit you with adjustment like a matchmaker one does
i think hope did have one in the pipeline (unless ive just imagined that), but its never come to fruition, the WT is by far the best lever ive used though, its so so smooth on my fox transfer so dont think id ever both swapping this one out unless it just wasnt compatible with a new dropper post in the future
ta11pau1
Full Member
ace thanks fingers crossed it will be bled then, also did you send your pads in with the brakes? I guess if you didn’t send them in they might not send new ones back out, mine were pretty worn and I just sent the whole thing in with pads/bolt etcYeah, same – I sent mine with pads etc in, tbh they’re only a couple of hundred km old so no need to replace. The green pads are easy to sand down to get rid of any issues though.
ah right fair enough, i wasnt expecting any new ones, maybe theyll take pity and see they are almost worn and put some new ones in but wont hold my hopes up for it!
ps did you manage to get back out yet and test the noise level?!
Yeah mine are fine at the moment, only got out for an hour though. It'll take time for any issues to show up, it was only after a few rides I saw any noise.
I'll be trying to get out regularly over the next few weeks though, as I've got 2 weeks of fairly solid riding in Scotland in 4 weeks time, I'd rather not have to replace seals mid-trip!
Not sounding good all these issues, I hope they sort it out because its a lot of money to spend and brakes are the most important part of riding
I think I'm glad i just went for the levers alone to pair with the Tech 3 V4 calipers. Might not have the fancy pistons, but at least they work.
Bad form Hope. Never thought I'd hear myself saying that 😆
ta11pau1
Full Member
Yeah mine are fine at the moment, only got out for an hour though. It’ll take time for any issues to show up, it was only after a few rides I saw any noise.I’ll be trying to get out regularly over the next few weeks though, as I’ve got 2 weeks of fairly solid riding in Scotland in 4 weeks time, I’d rather not have to replace seals mid-trip!
fair point yes, i dont remember mine being noisy outback when i got them, although it was end of summer so not much water about i guess, time will tell hopefully as he's said mines wasnt showing any signs of leaking it was just weird coincidence (with the silicone lube i guess) and some other reason why it howls in the cold/wet but the front doesn't, shall see ive got some new rotors now too so hopefully that will clear it or ill only start riding in the dry lol
Looking back at my pictures of my rotor, you can clearly see the contamination but it looks like the whole disc has been covered in something grey and oily, but only one side - the side which is facing forwards when the car is mounted on my towbar rack. So, there's a possibility it wasn't the pistons at all, instead I drove through some oil dumped on the road by a car, but only on that side of the car (as the rear disc is fine). The noise did start at the start of one 1 night ride where I have to drive 45 mins to get to it, and got worse on the following weeks ride.
Affected side of the disc
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52704327699_f5d3cdd53f_h.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52704327699_f5d3cdd53f_h.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Other side of the disc
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52704072471_f9cc2d1cca_h.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52704072471_f9cc2d1cca_h.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
See the grey stuff on the silver part of the disc below where the pads contact but above the floating spider...
For what it's worth, we've got 3 sets of E4s between me and the good lady and, touch wood, haven't had any issues. The newest was fitted in October/November and ridden weekly since then.
Well I dont know how other folk brake, but I ,when wet pull slightly on the levers to bring the pads into the rotor so it scrubs off any moisture and gets a bit heat in them if I am intending to slow or stop.
If its wet and i just pull on thee brake, it lets out a scream, but bringing the pads in for a few seconds seems to prevent that for the most part.
@tallpaul - could well be coincidence - i'm unsure what i think tbh with mine, i dont get even if its just silicone why there would be bubbles escaping the piston? surely this means there IS a leak somewhere regardless of whether its lube or oil....i could be totally wrong as i dont know the ins and outs of how they work, but assumed its a closed circuit and no air bubbles should be leaving or entering a brake system....happy to be corrected though!
will report back when i get it, its out for delivery today, so literally got there yesterday and back to me today, incredible service i must say, and super helpful, so it hasnt put me off as they are the best feeling brakes ive had, hopefully it was some other reason why my rear brake howled, but ive got a new rotor now (2mm thick feels great on the front too, defo more bite/feel), and will just run them, guess if its still squealing in the wet/cold its just how it is and ill switch off from it as it wont be a issue through summer - other than this they have been spot on, id not hesitate to have another set
well ive got it back - again superb service! no new brake pads - boooooo :/ only messing wasnt expecting any in reality
worksheet states no problems found but seals/pistons replaced
ive just had a good go with them at work pushing and pressing pistons/levers, and theres absolutely zero lube/oil or bubbles coming out of any of the 4 piston areas now, so if theyve just been freshly lubed with silicone too kinda means that theorys out the window when i spotted it was lube....
theres zero anything coming out, and its much more easier to spot as i can get them right by my eye in the light not covered in mud, they just seem solid and nothing else to report, so something theyve done has stopped that bubbles/fluid.....who knows, still great service, im still not convinced it wasnt oil tbh but ill roll with it
I'm a few rides in now and very impressed. Went up and down Skiddaw on the main bridleway with testing the brakes being in mind. Both felt great, rear firmed very slightly but given how much it was dragged understandable. Noticeably less arm fatigue thanks to the lighter action needed. T4 V4 on 200mm HD rotors.
im still not convinced it wasnt oil tbh but ill roll with it
Could always have tasted it. Hydraulic fluid is harsh on the tongue*, a bit like aldi red wine, silicon doesn't really taste of anything.
* Obviously im not suggesting you suck it out the hose, just wipe the finger on the caliper and taste that.
dyna-ti
Full Member
im still not convinced it wasnt oil tbh but ill roll with itCould always have tasted it. Hydraulic fluid is harsh on the tongue*, a bit like aldi red wine, silicon doesn’t really taste of anything.
* Obviously im not suggesting you suck it out the hose, just wipe the finger on the caliper and taste that.
ha! if it happens again ill try it - fingers crossed i dont need to do the oil taste test!
is anyone running a wolf tooth dropper remote lever with the tech 4 levers yet,
if so, what mount option are you using, i’ve got a drilled hope mount on my current tech3 (generation 2 levers)
I have managed to get my Wolf Tooth lever attached directly to my Tech 4 lever. It's very close to the lever clamp and does away with one of the parts - basically bolt the dropper lever straight on to the brake clamp. As such it's 'shallow' against the bars but I'm used to it now. Not ideal but keeps the bars clean. Will try and get a picture.
well went out for a ride last night, in what can only be described as biblical conditions 🙁
great for testing the howling noise, as before one drop of rain/wet set it off, pleased to report (using same pads) that it was absolutely silent through the ride, in wet/mud/tonnes of rain and it didnt make a sound once
now this is with a new sram hs2 rotor so not exactly using my old disc that howled (but same pads at least), so can only assume it had leaked oil on it from the caliper, i checked the pistons after the ride, and theres no bubbling or anything anymore, so i do think regardless of what was stated by hope they were seeping oil out slowly
anyways, so far so good and a quiet rear brake!
however, it did come back a little bit squishier than im used to, is there a quick fix?? can i just top up the lever reservoir fluid and pump to see if any small air comes out? or do i need to do a full bleed?
