Looking at brake upgrade for trail/enduro use,
What’s the opinion on above 2 brake sets
No idea about the hopes, but my zees are awesome
I went from Zee to V4. V4 is a much better brake IMO. Way better feel and always consistent bite point, which you don't get with Shimano. Don't be tempted to go for E4. The weight difference is barely anything and the power is delivered so controllably that there's no downside to having more.
What do you have at the moment? What do you like or not like about them?
I used to run Hope V2 but swapped to E4 rather than V4 on my latest build as I didn't need that much umph.
I was interesting in the idea that brakes need a certain amount of heat to work well.
I certainly don't feel any worse off with my E4. It's a great brake. I've always loved the serviceability of the Hope stuff and the modulation is second to none.
They both feel good and have plenty of power. The Tech 3 lever is super adjustable and the Hope brakes will last for ever and keep feeling good. The Shimanos aren’t anywhere near as serviceable.
4 pot XTs?
Should be better contorted than the Deore levered Zees and still usefully lighter, cheaper and less bulky than the Hopes?
Are they similar prices? My zee brakeset was £160 from wiggle inc discs bitd.
Go Hope if you can afford the price difference (60-100)
Zee are fantastic brakes though, not had a single problem with them on one of my bikes for three years.
I currently have sram guide r’s and to be honest great brakes when new but iv been plagued with reliability issues and had a front replaced but now they are out of warranty iv decided to have a change,
The hopes work out more expensive than the zee’s and they will be on my whiyte G150
STW have just done reviews of these and some others:
Never had the v4s, had several sets of zee, none of which have been "fit and forget". Always work bit never been 100% consistent day after day. Have either needed regular bleeding, piston freeing and resetting or the cam in the lever going really blotchy.
From past experience I will only buy hopes from now on.
Nearly every single set of shimano brake ive had has eventually leaked(if the seals were replaceable then it wouldnt be an issue)
My v4s have been superb, needing little more than pad changes and (crucially) correct pad alignment for best performance.
Magura. Mt trails are awesome,
5 year leak warranty?
When Zees were commonly available under £150 a set they were pretty well the best deal out there - if you were ok with the usual Shimano issues of 'replace as complete unit when it leaks'.
Now that it's much more like £200 and over for a set of levers and callipers, it's less clear cut. There's a number of four-pot options at the same price point. Hope are always more expensive, but with a pair of Zees at CRC for £220 and a pair of Tech3 E4's at Rush for £260 it's a lot less clear cut than it was. Personally for the forty quid uncharge I'd get the Hope even though the lever design always makes me want to puke. They'll last a lot longer.
I swapped my Zees for E4s. The Zees were awesome until I overheated them once and they were never consistent again.
If it was a hope brake in the first place I’d just order a seal kit and rebuild them.
I've been a Shimano fan for years but haven't had much luck recently, putting me off.
Leaky calipers, contantly shifting bite points and lever pump requirement.
I also have a set of Hope E4 . They are better, but my Avid Guides beat the lot of them.
Just over two years now with perfect reliability, great power and modulation. Claearly I've cursed them now though.
Just ordered another set from Planet X today. £99 for a pair with the discount code. 🙂