So,

I’m running Hope Tech M4 with braided hoses and floating rotors on my big bike, but like any tinkerer I like changing things and fancy a change, I’m looking at switching to XT with Ice Tech rotors, but apart from weight saving will I like the feel of Shimano over Hope, and will there be a power gain in braking?

Has anyone moved away from a Hope and regretted it?

Thoughts/opinions would be great.

Cheers

Endurokid

Sorry to not answer your question, I’ve got XT on my 5 I built in august..
I’m a heavy rider and find them not quite enough.
Although on my anthem with braided hoses there excellent anchors!

I’m torn between putting braided hoses on my 5, or changing to saints and selling the 3month old XT’s.

So might be some XT’s going if you do decide to change..

Not moved from hope but have used hope brakes in the past and I would say xt are a lot more ‘grabby’. If you want shimano but like hopes feel I think you’ll prefer zee. I think they’re the best brakes I have ever tried and had (so far of course). Have a read of the reviews, good one on pinkbike.

Both good brakes but polar opposites in terms of feel. I’ve also worked on a lot of two year old XT brakes lately with sticky master cylinder bores. Warranty is good but there’s no repair option. Again, Hope are the polar opposite. If you’re a true tinkerer, the serviceability of the Hopes will swing it for you.

I can’t see the point in changing to shimano brakes in your situation. Especially in a year when something brakes/wears on the shimano’s and you can’t get a spare part. If you currently had no brakes I would consider the xt’s but seeing as you already have the hopes I can’t see the point. Whilst xt’s are very good performing brakes (especially for the money) the hopes are on another level for build quality, servicability and after sales backup.

I can’t see the point in changing to shimano brakes in your situation. Especially in a year when something brakes/wears on the shimano’s and you can’t get a spare part. If you currently had no brakes I would consider the xt’s but seeing as you already have the hopes I can’t see the point. Whilst xt’s are very good performing brakes (especially for the money) the hopes are on another level for build quality, servicability and after sales backup.

This!

here’s my advice,keep the m4’s !..

Thanks for all the feedback, it’s certainly giving me food for thought.

So, Shimano can’t be serviced? Is that right?

You don’t service Shimano. They generally just work. If they stop working a new caliper is very cheap.

Interesting theory?!

Are XT ‘Enduro’ too?! 😆

Shimano every time. Pretty much every Hope brake that comes through my workshop is either so-so in terms of power and consistency or just plain ropey. Good job they are serviceable.

Note hope v XT again.

😯

Have you got any problems with your hopes at the moment or have you had any since you have owned them?

Reggiegasket. Do people often bring fully working brakes just to your workshop to show you how they are working perfectly and need nothing doing to them?

I assume not. Hence the reason he isn’t slating Shimano xt’s………

Shimano perform at a higher level and keep working.

Pffft.

Also, have you thought about the Tech3 E4 (enduro 4)? They’re as light as Shimano XT and far more powerful, with nore modulation.

Plus they’re made by someone in the UK.

Win.

I’d say try the Shimano, not much to lose since they’re cheap. Dunno what the best choice is, but I had a go with some Saint brakes and they were immense.

I like the Hope stuff but I don’t reckon the performance is quite as good.

Rebuildability doesnt count for much I dont reckon. A new sHimano caliper is about thirty quid with a set of pads. You’re not gonna bother **** about with new seals and what not. Just buy the new caliper, job done.

Too divisive. I went through exactly the same dilemma and decided to just try the XT’s for myself. Very happy with them and have no plans to go back to Hopes any time soon. And I was a big fan of Hope brakes for many years.

Just gone from Hope Tech M4 to Zee. Both great brakes with similar sort of feel. Zee shade it for power though and they come in quite a bit cheaper.

andysredmini – Member
Have you got any problems with your hopes at the moment or have you had any since you have owned them?

POSTED 15 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

No problems whatsoever, in fact, I love them!

A lot of people who I ride with either run XT or SLX and rate them highly.

CRC are doing the XT cheap at the minute, even more so with an additional £15 off, the Mrs has offered to buy them for Christmas.

No real need to change, but that’s just it, I do fancy a change!

All feedback has been great by the way, cheers.

Personally I wouldn’t bother with XT and all that ice tech bobbins. Just get Deore instead and save yer pennies.

Thanks again all.

I’ve gone for it, XT brakes ordered 🙂

I’ll still have the M4’s, they’ll just be on the HT and not the big bike.

Ms AD has just had to warranty both her XT brakes due to stuck pistons. Also, she has worn through both Icetech rotors in under a year (but she was working as a guide). In the same time, riding exactly the same terrain, my M4s have been faultless.

Also, I dont need to spend as much on pads.

But this is a very small sample of 1 admittedly. As said above, they couldnt feel more different, in terms of the lever and the bite.

I’d be happy with either personally.

…and I find Hope slightly easier to bleed, even with the Shimano tool.

Deore or SLX… don’t bother with Ice Tech rotors… supposedly not as long lasting as normal rotors and need replacing sooner than you think if you ride a lot. told to me by Dr. Bike at Lake Garda.

I have xtr trail on the nicolai. Plasticky build quality, powerful, but they don’t like being hung upside down and need bled frequently.
Hopes on the other bikes and a tad heavier , x2 ltd ed, more modulation, beautifully machined.

Mate I’m a tinkerer too and fancied a change from X2. I bought some XTR trails, hated them. Far too grabby, very on/off. So I sold them and bought the new tech3 m4’s….stunning brakes with 0 fade.

Pretty much every Hope brake that comes through my workshop is either so-so in terms of power and consistency or just plain ropey

Isn’t that weird that a load of bikes needing work don’t have tip-top brakes. Who’d have thunk it?

Plasticky build quality, powerful, but they don’t like being hung upside down and need bled frequently.

bought some XTR trails, hated them. Far too grabby, very on/off. So I sold them and bought the new tech3 m4’s….stunning brakes with 0 fade

Totally my experience. Although I bought some Tech3 E4s – which I’d assume you actually did too 😉

I’ve gone from Mono Minis > M4 > Tech X2 > XT.

I got a new bike and the Tech X2 hoses weren’t long enough. Being too impatient to wait for new hoses, I bought some XTs and WOW!

The XT don’t have the modulation of the HOPEs. Something I’d never really understood before. There’s just an on/off feeling with the Shimano brakes. Nor do they look as good.

However, the power is amazing with the XT. The lever design is fantastic and, like others said, they just work.

In my mind, I couldn’t justify the not cheap swap. If you were asking what you should get for a new build though, I’d certainly recommend the XT.

So do XT brakes have bite point adjustment? No many fans of Avid Elixirs but they have done alright for me and im not keen on a brake without the bite adjust

I have XT on four bikes and I like them. They are a bit on/off though.

I have Hope Tech3/E4s on my big bouncy bike and I like them. Worked great in the Alps. No problems and more feel/modulation than Shimano. I’ve hope loads of hope brakes from XC4s, C2s, Mini Mono, Enduro etc and never had any problems with them.

My newest bike came with SRAM Guide RS brakes which I was expecting not to be keen on but after a week in Spain I really liked them. Good lever feel and plenty of power. So I’m going keep them on and see how they work out longer term. The original plan was just to go XT to have the same brakes on all bikes.

Them flexi springy plastic levers are nice on shimano a arnt they !!!!!.

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I have had and still do have a mix of Shimano and Hope on my bikes.

Shimano are very bitey, and so at low speed when testing they feel like they have more power*, but out on the trail I find that biteyness is annoying, and then once you’re actually into trying to slow down the power is about the same as any other brake, the limit becomes you tyre traction and not the brake.

The Hopes (M4s and X2s) have masses more feel, but nowhere near the same initial bite. I prefer them on my XC bikes for that reason alone, but they’re fine on bigger bikes too, the power is there when you need it, but it comes on as you need it rather than ‘whack’ like the Shimanos.

I’ve actually dopped down to using 160 and 140mm rotors on my bikes with Shimano brakes as it calms them down a bit at lower speed, and they still have enough power that it’s not been a problem at higher speeds in the UK. (Alps might be different for heat reasons)

The massive benefit of the Shimanos is that they’re half the price 🙂
I’ve only ever bought a couple of sets of Hopes brand new for that very reason, despite having owned and used Hopes since the very first Cable actuated ones, where as Shimano I always buy new, as 2nd hand ones are almost invariably half dead already, and if I have a failure on a new pair at least I have comeback.

*this is mostly evident when people do the car park test on their mates new brakes and go ‘wow!’, but then once actually out using them it’s a bit different.

I’ve got both on different bikes. The XT’s are very good but my Hope X2’s are better overall. Stopping power is very good from both brakes and they’re also both easy to maintain. The Hopes just have a better feel out on the trail for me, probably due to the modulation that Hope brakes have.

So do XT brakes have bite point adjustment?

No.

And Yes.

There’s a tiny screw, that is supposed to perform that task. In reality, it’s a screw that goes in and out, and does nothing.

It’s not likely to make any difference whatsoever. They are just brakes. Ride the damn thing 🙂

Hope X2, adore them, hate brakes which are on/off, and result in wheel locking up on steep stuff, the hopes have so much control and power, and the feel of the lever is beautiful.