[Closed] Hope-less brakes

Who bled them ? terminated hoses etc ?

Finger trouble

Still running my first generation Hope Minis.

Still as powerful as ever.

never ever had a problem with my hope brakes. I'll take em off your hands if you hate them that much.

My mate cooked a set of m4s on the first ride..

Where are they leaking? I like "Just been bled and already leaking", like it's connected in some way?

Still running my first generation Hope Minis.

Still as powerful as ever.

Like I said, they haven't advanced in terms of performance but have got a lot worse in terms of reliability.

My mate cooked a set of m4s on the first ride..

I can see where he went wrong there

Yes they've been bled properly.

Regarding the power, Hope are quite sensitive to the pads you use.

Anyway, on to the real business; as a rant that wasn't too bad. However, if you really want to let go try using random capitalisation, double or even treble the amount of exclamation marks, and try losing the [i]"Only thing going for them is they look pretty!"[/i].

We don't want platitudes, we want frothing anger.

What I really like is the lack of information. i.e. where they're leaking from, who bled them etc. It give me the image that you don't really want an answer to the rant, you just want to rant. Perhaps you've been running round the house screaming. I like that thought.

Are you selling them?

Not taking the piss I,m after aa set!

Stop moaning, send them to hope, and use punctuation. Who bled them? Bleeding has no function on leaks, unless it was carried out incorrectly.

I can do one finger stoppies on my four year old m4 brakes.

oh, and have you ever tried to get a decent bleed on servowave brakes? not easy.

Read this!

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/my-hope-m4s-are-awesome-now 🙂

Btw,I've noticed you're only in Bradford,my mate who bleadem only lives in wakey 1 mile off M62 Rothwell junction,I know he'd have a look at em for yah,.

I was also looking to swap my v2 for v4. Are they going in the for sale section?

Got the wife an awesome set of x2 from a chap who said they were crap and wouldn't believe they could be sorted.

Email in profile.

I'll have them!!

Had M4's in Them Alps. No trouble.
Had X2's on my FS for 2 yrs, no trouble.

Got a set of elixir 7s if you fancy a change 😀

I'm selling some rich 😉

Got a set of elixir 7s if you fancy a [s]change[/s] challenge. FTFY!

From my experience of brakes that iv'e owned combining both performance and reliability goes as follows.

Hope tec evo M4's>Shimano Deore M525's>XT m775>Magura Julies>anything avid.

Had Hopes for 5 years and only changed the pads,
Fit and forget with Goodridge hoses. ftw

I hate Hope brakes. I'll start with that so people know where I'm coming from.

The reason is as above. I brought very early M4s for two bikes and both sets leaked like an old woman who'd drunk twenty cups of tea and touched the white stuff that comes out of a broken dandelion.

They leaked from the unions mainly.

They got sent back to Hope who sent them back "fixed". Usually within ten miles they'd be weeping again and not working due to fluid on the pads.

I appreciate the marmite nature of Hope. Some of you are lucky. I wasn't. Hope just suggested it was my fault - brakes fitted by me and bike shop, front brake which requires no breaking shouldn't fail, I'm not bad with spanners....

Swore ten years ago never to use the shit again. It works randomly, and their attitude when they can't fix it is very poor.

I did suggest they changed their logo to "Don't stop using Hope". I don't think they saw the joke......

If they are leaking from a union then the union is either insufficiently tightened or has been terminated incorrectly, a brake lever/caliper assembly is a very simple hydraulic circuit if you cannot maintain or repair then i cannot really see how you can be qualified to comment.

Love it, inept brake mechanics.

In the example DrRS**** provides, it was Hope that couldn't maintain or repair it. So if he's not qualified to comment because he couldn't make them work, what does that say for Hope? 😉

TBH judging today's brakes based on 10 years ago makes no sense, though.

Probably undoing the banjo bolt to alter angle and not re-tightening? can't see what else it could be if its tight with washers in place they can't leak .
I've used hopes for years C2's early M4's mono's , evo's new and s/hand never ever had a issue with any of them incl setting up or bleeding. I've even bodged them with random banjo bolts washers etc from other sources not a problem.

If you can't bleed ,setup or maintain hydraulic brakes buy some cheap shimano then buy another set when they fail.

In sufficiently tightened. Terminated incorrectly. Made of cheese. You choose.

All I know is Hope were really poor at sorting this. This legendary customer service (presumably because so much goes back) was woeful.

The year mine were leaky I went out to the alps and rode with a big bunch of guys using Hope brakes. They ALL leaked.

Maybe it was a bad year. But then I've mates who've had them recently and they scream like banshees in the rain. Hope blame installation, but a similarly installed XT doesn't scream.

Products support is clearly strong, sadly stronger than the product.

Sadly me and a lot of my mates have had poor performance from Hope and their returns dept. So much so that when I brought a Five recently I had to ask Orange to put Avid brakes on instead of Hope. That's how much I hate them.

Money for power for reliability. Hope are useless.

@spectabilis

I hear what you're saying, but these were FIXED brakes supplied by Hope. The front needed no loosening or adjustment to any joints. Yet within en miles would be spewing fluid onto the pads. So this is a brake fitted as from Hope, and returned as a wrong un before being refitted.

This is the straw that broke the camels back.

If they can't get em right then why should I bother.

Ran Hayes for years. Fit, use, forget. And half the price of Hope.

Now on XT. Fit, use, forget. Cheaper than Hope.

If you want to pay for them, good luck. I choose not to. Simple.

To the op. Assuming this is new send back stating the problem. Once this US done come back with rhetoric results. As above bleeding doesn't fix leaks.

@Dr .
My post wasn't a direct response to yours.
But fair enough your choice, good luck with your avids 🙄 have u got a bell fitted yet?? 😆

Hi i have seen a few times on various brakes that the routing of the hose on suspension and forks is important. Sometimes as the suspension compresses there is a twisting motion on the hose.
If it twists anti clockwise it can start to loosen the union. This causes leeks weeps etc.

I have also seen, watched, and know people who re-use the copper washers and dont replace damged squashed rubber o rings on brake unions. This is also going to cause problems.

I have owned 2 bikes with oldish M4`s both sets very powerfull even if a bit "on/ off" in feel.

Found for bleeding the best solution take complete brake off bike, put lever assembly in vice, hold calliper lower and connect a syringe full of fluid.
remove reservoir cap open nipple slowly push lots of fresh fluid through letting it over flow from reservoir onto an old rag.
Seal cap / nipple etc clean it all off with water and refit to bike.
Every time I used that method they worked perfectly.

🙄

[i]All[/i] of my Hope brakes (C2's, Mini's, Mono Mini's and M4's) have worked perfectly. So I would suggest operator / mechanic error...

Stll using 2002 M4s and 2004 M6s here - on DH bikes.

Never had any major issues with Hope brakes. I've killed XT,Saint,Deore,HFX9 and recently a pair of Zees (in three weeks a new record!).

They may not be the most powerful but they have good modulation and more importantly are FULLY rebuildable unlike most of the competition.

Any brake can fail but compare the price of new seals for a Hope caliper against the price of a new shimano XT caliper - for me it's case closed.

Got a set of 2004 M4 brakes here, the only maintenance they've required is a couple of changes of pads and the rear banjo loosened on a ride once and piddled fluid out. All sorted at my local Halfords though at a total cost of £4.

I've fitted new hoses because I like the colour blue, but that's been about it. They still stop beautifully, now on my missus' bike.

My AM bike also has M4s, my xc full suss also has Hopes. Bloody lovely brakes.

I need to buy a set for my hardtail.

I will admit that my hopes do require a little more fettling than te other stuff I've used
But because you can get the small parts they last for ages

And the latest ones ( race x2) have been fit and forget other than pad changes

Compare with my xt ones first the hose failed like everyone else then the caliper seals failed and knackered te pads
But you can't buy seals for them , open bin drop in xt replace with hope job done

I've only had good experiences with Hope- oldest set are a very hard used pair of original Minis from 2002, currently on my commuter hardtail that does over 3k miles a year in all weathers and terrains. They've had so much use and so many pads that the second front disc is now getting quite thin. 2004 M4s are still going great on my big bike; just like the above, have been back to Hope twice over for a re-build and came home like new.
Avids- have had horrid experience with three sets of Juicys that just sieze up in winter. Shimano are good for a while, although less beefy than any of those Hopes. Deore and 2 different pairs of SLX have been functional if uninspiring but the worst has been a single XT that leaked at just over a year old and as I now know, is not serviceable. I hate throwing away a lump of theoretically repairable kit, so won't buy Shimano any more on principle. The next new brake (Sh..! Don't tell the Mrs, it's for her) is a front Hope Race X2, for which I have high hopes as it will be looking after an 8 stone rider in the Alps this June.

Running V2's since May, now in my 3rd set of pads. However that is with over 4k miles.

Brilliant brakes and would not change then.

Sintered pads and they stop extremley quick in all weathers. And thats with a 15.5st rider.

I'm maintaining 3 different bikes using hope brakes. All of them are performing perfectly. I've found them to be reliable, easy to work on & I definitely don't need more stopping power. I've had cause to call Hope twice (due to my own ineptitude) & the customer service has been excellent. My call's go straight through to a person 😀 How often does that happen ?

Keep up the good work at the Hope factory...I love Hope brakes 8)

D.

My brakes leak ..... Bleeding them didnt work ...

Brilliant deduction holmes.

Tried cracking an egg into the system and getting them hot *

Get someone who knows what they are doing to replace the seals with a 10-15 quid seal kit from hope - try doing that with shimano

* i am not being serious here.

Seal kit is 4quid. Winning.

i used hopes for years until my v2's stopped working. hope servicing them didnt do a thing so i got xt's. best brake i have used by a mile!

All I know is Hope were really poor at sorting this. This legendary customer service (presumably because so much goes back) was woeful

Indeed. But I've got nothing against their customer service, I just get sick and tired of using it:

2 snapped axles (who's bright idea was alloy axles? At least give us a choice) one of which took the hub with it.
Gouged free hub bodies no matter what cassette used (see alloy axles)
Broken pawl springs, twice IIRC
Umpteen bearings (Modern hope bearings simply not up to the job)
Snapped front hub flange (Mrs PPs very lightly used Kona)
Lip of front hub circlip retainer cracked off
Snapped seat collar
Mono Mini brakes that boiled in Wales and dumped me in a ditch (they couldn't handle braking twice from 30mph)

Despite that I actually have quite a liking for Hope stuff. I look at it, think "ohh that's nice" then buy Shimano, Magura and DT Swiss instead, which doesn't look as nice...... or break as much

PS
Bizarrely, I'm still using a pair of Ti QR skewers from about 2004 which are perfect, despite everyone else saying they are death traps........

Never had a hope brake go wrong, other than when it was my stupid fault. Still using an original 2002 Mini, a 2007 Mono Mini, and a pair of 2010 Tech M4s. All on original seals etc. Older ones have been bled and obviously pads changed. I really like them...

BUT, and its quite a big but, apart from looks I don't think Hopes are worth the money any more. They used to have a performance advantage that justified the price, they now don't. For example, I wouldn't buy the M4s again, I would buy SLX or XT. I run Deore M596s on my commuter and they impress me every time I use them and remember how much I didn't pay for them.

Why are people thinking the OP bled the brakes to cure the leak? If you think that you're kind of missing something! He bled them because they needed bled! *duh* And they started leaking because they are shíte. He didn't bodge the seals or mess with anything to cause a leak, it's the brakes at fault.