Have hopes now x2 and e4 and pads run a bit close to rotors so are always catching or so it seems , my son has SLX’s and they seem a bit grabby .
What do you recommend

Magura Martas always had excellent modulation. I’m not sure what the modern stuff is like.

sram level or guides

blastit – Member

…my son has SLX’s and they seem a bit grabby .
What do you recommend

don’t squeeze so hard

(winding in the lever ‘reach’ seems to help with this)

Set The hopes up properly. None of my 6 sets have ever rubbed.

Really like the price of SLX will go have a fiddle .

Formula The One have superb modulation and lots of power behind it, old but still superb and can be very cheap now… But, not much pad clearance so might not deal with the issue that’s put you off the Hopes. (not something I’ve ever had a problem with mind, if your rotors are straight it’s fine and if they’re not they should be 😉 )

Tried setting Hopes up many times but they just seem to run pads closer to the discs than shimano’s. My latest Tech E4 seems to be closer still.

Yes you are right the rotors are not perfect . Brought some new ice rotors and they had a little wobble in them but” within tolerance” Maybe hope rotors are a bit tighter that way. Will go have a look.

Zee

I’ve never had that problem with Hope (and I’ve just fitted some new E4’s).

SRAM Guides have a similar modular feel (I find Shimano very grabby as well).

zee or saint

Guides.

Guides have lovely modulation. And that’s from a diehard Shimano man.

I’m currently running a Guide RS one end and Zee the other – and they feel surprisingly similar.

Hold on – you have different brakes front and back?

I feel sick.

Hold on – you have different brakes front and back?

I feel sick.

haha, one of the Guides that came on my new bike had a fault

I suppose I could have not ridden for a month or so while it traveled to Germany and back…

Magura. My MT4’s are just lovely and progressive, with as much power as the rest of the oab’s Shimano brakes.
The MT4’s also retract further it seems, plus ace magnetic pad retainer.

Formulas (at least their more expensive options) have loads of modulation, the action is a gradual build of pressure, in contrast to Shimano which are more switch-like (not a criticism, just the way I find them). Haven’t tried Guides though, sound great for a heavier duty brake though.

Been running loads of different sets of Hopes for the last 6 or 7 years, never had the issue you describe.

Are you running genuine pads? Sometimes 3rd party pads are a bit fatter out of the packet. Same goes for rotors.

Seems a bit extreme to change brakes because the pads sit close to the disc. Surely there must be a way of setting them up so they don’t catch / run all the time?

If you do swap then it’s a vote for Sam Guides from me. I’ve got the Guide Rs and eye been faultless so far. Easy to bleed and have reach adjustment. If you feel flush then I think the guide rsc also has bite point adjustment (that actually works ). You can feel how much power you’ve got at all times and judge when lock up will occur. Always got enough power, and even banzai speeds at bpw haven’t made me think I need more brake (running 160mm discs at both ends).

I’ve not tried modern hopes, but find shimano brakes too grabby. I’ve tried some formulas on a mates bike which seemed OK, but haven’t been very reliable.

+1 SRAM Guides

Sram Guides are excellent and I’m also a Shimano fan

I think Excitable1 still has his Sram Guides for sale –

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/sram-rsc-guide-brake-set-3

He has also mentioned Ebay, but I don’t know when they end on there

Set the brakes up properly and they dont rub

Shimanos will always have a bigger gap because of the servowave mechanism.

Pretty sure anything else (apart from BB7s) will run with less gap.