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Anyone share their opinions on reliability and performance?
Using Shimano and Guides ATM but thinking of a change and always liked Hope kit.
Not too helpful but.. having used Hopes in the past (Tech m4) I would definitely go back to even those over my slx's if I could afford it. The lever feel, modulation and adjustment was just something shimano's (Or lower end shimano brakes) don't tend to have. With the bite adjust actually doing something on Hope brakes, doesn't seem to do a lot on Shimanos.
I changed from Formula brakes last year to Hope E4 Tech 3. They are great, well made and so far no problems. The modulation and adjustment are superb but I'd have to try other brakes to really appreciate them.
I appreciate how well made they are whereas other brakes are cheaper and just work. I was happy to pay a bit more.. I don't don't think the weight of my setup has changed significantly as I went down a rotor size to 180/160. They stop when I chuck the anchors out but also slow me down when I pull the lever lightly which I'd never experienced before. All in all a good buy but I am aware that other brakes are good too.
Cheers chaps!
I like mine a lot. The lever pull is firm and snappy compared to Shimano and they're consistent in all conditions no matter how worn the pads are and 100% faff-free
I wouldn't say the outright power or modulation is any better than my Zees but the Hopes have been fit and forget just feed them pads from time-to-time
I have some Tech E4's. They have been brilliant, deffo recommend.
You may not get many answers on here if you ask about hope brakes. Unless you have the cheapest disposable Shimano brakes people will think you are some kind of weird millionaire who actually rides their bike.
Back on topic the E4 brakes are the best I have owned or ridden. I have 2 sets and 1 set of the last generation M4 plus a set of X2 with the race levers. They have all been faultless. I don't do any maintenance on them but all the parts are available if you do need to and hopes after sales is second to none.
I'm not a fan of the race lever though as I find it a bit flimsy feeling but the tech 3 lever is pretty much perfect. As mentioned above the adjustments actually work on the levers so getting the lever reach and throw is a doddle. I'm also finding that the pads last a long time even through winter. Long enough that I won’t bother with sintered if these ever wear out.
I've had Hope Tech E4, Shimano Deore, SLX,XT and XTR.
I'm now running Guide RS.
My favourite, much to my dismay, is the Guides.
The Hopes were my second favourite and were dependable as you could ever get. The only thing that caused them to stutter, was really hot temperatures on 40 degree heat on long descents in the alps. That caused a sticky piston with the dust I think.
Rickon isn't wrong. I have recently had XTs (several sets), Currently have E4's and the new bike has Guide RSCs. The Guides are very good brakes indeed. Only time will tell what they are like to live with though; the hopes have been a pleasure in this respect.
Hope Tech M4 on both bikes as having put them on one bike I couldn't help myself as they were so good for all riding Surrey Hills to Alps holidays. I went for the full floating rotor, braided cable setup as I felt like treating myself. I have lots of Hope kit (headsets, bearings, seat clamp etc) and am very brand loyal to a great company. FWIW I recently bought a discounted full groupset which includes Shimano Deore XT's which I am looking forward to trying (project build so might be a while), they are certainly well regarded at a good price.
Have E4 (with Tech3 Levers) on the Trance, ridden around 1200miles on them so far, with no issues, changed the pads in the front.
Have a set of V4's on the downhill bike, around 400miles on them (and 160,000ft of descending). They've got through three sets of pads in that time.
As far as reliability goes, not had to touch either set. They've never pulled to the bar or overheated. Prefer the lever feel of the hopes over the shimano's, along with the modulation (hopes have a softer bite to start with), but there isn't a noticeable difference in the stopping power between either.
I have some Race E4's & they have been pretty good.
Very different to Shimano - they really highlight the different way in which brakes work.
Mine did about 2000km & 110,000 vertical meters in 8 weeks - all I did was change the pads.
They did get a bit funky on the really fast stuff when they got seriously hot, but i've never ridden a brake that hasn't in those circumstances.
Gave them a bleed this week as I had to route some internal cable, the oil was a bit dirty but otherwise they're set to go again.
I'm running Hope Tech E4 on my Whyte T-130 Works and they are just about perfect, I swapped out the Guide RS as they just didn't 'feel' right. I've ridden with Hope brakes since the time when C2s were cutting edge so basically I just like them.
I sold my Guide RS to a mate who's cheap Avid's had died and he loves them.
I've got Race Evo M4 on one bike and Tech 3 E4 on the other, so basically identical calipers but different levers. Great brakes! However, I much prefer the Tech 3 levers, they have just as much power and feel as the Race Evo levers but can be more precisely adjusted for your preferred feel.
Thank you everyone for the input.