A worthwhile upgrade or do they just look pretty?

I have them on some Hope M4s but don’t see the difference between the power compared to my RXs

IMHO just look pretty.

There’s not enough pressure generated in an MTB brake hose for braiding to be useful.

They do make a difference on a car though, give a much better pedal feel in most cases.

Worth it for me after kinking and then ripping standard hoses in crashes 🙁

I think they’re more for the bling factor than for any perceived performance advantage TBH.

hard wearing and better in crashes, just make sure you tape the frame where they rub

Lots of quality brakes have kevlar braided hoses anyway. Weakest point in a crash with some brakes is the hose ends anyway but yep braids are generally more durable.

Coming from motorbikes… Traditionally what you do is, you replace 10 year old worn-out rubber hoses with braided hoses, and you replace the ancient brake fluid at the same time, oh and while you’re at it you might as well throw in new, upgraded pads. Then you go for a ride and declare that ZOMG braided hoses are teh awesum and rubber hoses suck 😉

yep defintly bling factor

The problem with standard car/motorbike hoses is IIRC the liner is a form of rubber IIRC, which isn’t entirely resistant to brake fluid. Over 10 years or so it swells up to the point where it acts liek a valve, under pressure form the pedal it lets fluid through to allow normal braking, but not to return, so the pads dont retract and wear down in a matter of weeks. The swelling is at least partialy responsible for the spongy feel of old brakes.

MTB brakes are ususal a PTFE liner inside a braided casing of some sort, and you’re unlikley to keep them for 10 years.

In cars and motorbikes the standard rubber hoses degrade with age and lose their wall stiffness, so tend to bulge slightly when the brakes are applied. Braided hoses give a better pedal/lever feel by not bulging, but probably no more than a new set of rubber ones would. The reason people put braided ones on cars/bikes is to ensure max performance, fit and forget.

I’ve never seen advanced pad wear from the use of old brake hoses tbh, and that’s in quite a few years of motorsort. 🙂

I have two sets of Hope X2Evo’s, one braided hose, the other plain, both less than a year old. Both run with 183 rotors on the same type of wheels and tyres. I can’t tell the difference in performance, if indeed there is any. One suits the stainless frame, the other the black anodised finish. I’ m very happy with both