I've been messing with the boys Hopes on his Privateer but i've not had a lot of luck in truth.
The rear came to us disconnected as it was necessary to split for removing from frame... I bled that up with Tech3 kit and it's super now. Firm feel, nice lever feel, no drag.
The front though, i couldn't get to work nicely without any drag, so i pushed the pistons back a bit and then went with bleeding again.... Then it was too soft... so bled again.... Still 'ok' at best but still a bit soft on the lever.
I tried removing the wheel, pulling brake to preload the system as i've done with sram, shimanos and Formula etc. But i still can't get a nice lever feel.
So much so that i've pulled them off the bike and listed them for sale 😀
He's now running the Codes this weekend as i'm pretty good with SRAM and bleeding edge now and can get them quickly and easily 'right'.
But there's got to be something somewhere i'm missing with the front Hope...
So tips appreciated as i may need to do the same for the DH bike one day.
Caliper alignment, then working the pistons out by pushing the other side in whilst squeezing the lever, should be very easy to get a short lever thrown and firm lever.
I bet it's caliper alignment and/or piston alignment. If the caliper isn't straight or the pistons aren't moving equally then it will feel like crap. You can't just hold the brake on and tighten the bolts like you can on other brakes, they're more sensitive to correct set up.
They also really don't like warped discs. The slightest run-out and it'll push the pistons back meaning there's more of a squidge before initial bite. They're very much like brembo motorbike callipers in that regard.
Nah mate, wasn't aware there was one... but whether i'll go in search or just sell the buggers, i don't know yet 😀
Lazy piston, have a look at the hope tech videos, lots of pointers there.
I hate 4 pots, always a faff to setup and keep adjusting. 2 pots are just better.
I don't mind 4 posts, the Guides and Codes are 4s... but i must admit i'm having a bit of toys out of the pram with them 😀
Spent time along with the boy, watching videos and then trying to get it better, including pushing the pistons back and out and trying to bleed more. It almost seems like I need more in there, but it'll only fill so much.
I could soften the lever on the rear to make the same, but you know what, I've had enough.
If the lever is soft you still have air in them. If the travel is long then the lever goes hard its either a sticky piston or misaligned caliper.
HOpe have a specific video on their site on how to bleed and set them up. all sorts of odd stuff pops up on youtube. go to the hope site
Still got air in there
If the lever is soft you still have air in them. If the travel is long then the lever goes hard its either a sticky piston or misaligned caliper.
This.
It's really not that hard to set up hopes, and once you do they won't need any fettling for ages. If you've bled it and there's no air coming out, then it's can only be the alignment (unlikely to be a stuck piston if you're setting it up correctly and working the pistons out to centralise then).
5:30 onwards
I've tested all 4 pistons and they all move freely... holding 7 in with a tool and using finger on the 4th, they all move freely.
I've watched the one on Hopes site.. TBH i can't be bothered with the hassle, certainly not today anyway.
are you aligning the caliper then setting the pistons? the loosen the bolt / pull the lever / tighten does not always work with hopes. Setting the pistons properly the hope way always does
Yeah, if you do it the Hope way it should take no more than 10 minutes. Pads out, line up caliper by eye, tighten bolts slowly ensuring caliper doesn't twist while doing the bolts up. Pads back in, bite point adjuster all the way out, pump brake lever a few times to get the pistons out, push back in either side very slightly while pumping out the other side until you've got a nice firm lever and the pads are retracting/pushing on the rotor evenly. They should be close enough that on a brand new set of pads/disc there'll be a slight rub most of the way around the disc. Adjust bite point for reduced lever throw. Done.
Then go and bed them in, and any rub will have gone.
Air trapped behind a piston. I've had it with my hopes when I had to route the cables through my new frame
Here's how I solved it
Do a bleed as normal
When you think you've got all the air out, squeeze the lever and pump the pistons out a bit
If they're coming out uneven then push them back in and use a tyre lever to keep the ones that are coming out in place and pump the lever to get the stuck one moving
Once that's out, open up the bleed nipple and push the pistons back in. You should see a big air bubble come out the caliper hose
Nip the bleed nipple back up and do another couple of normal bleed process steps