After a third leak onto the rear disc on my xt brakes I’ve had a sulk and decided to replace them.

I’ve a set of old mono minis on my wife’s Nicolai CC which have been utterly dependable for the last 4 years so I’m going Hope.

My bike is a Nicolai AM, 26″ (which I am not planning to replace with a more modern wheeled bike; at 5’10” a 26 wheel works fine and I have less MTB time these days as small kids means more road commuting – but eldest child loves her bike and at 7 is keen to ride together off road). It’s going to be trail centre riding with the odd uplift day iff I can get the time.

I’m thinking x2’s with braided hoses should be all the brake I need (I’m just under 80kg). Rotors are 160 rear and 180 front. I think these are roughly the same in terms of stopping power than the XTs?

That said I’m wondering if the e4 would be a better choice for more power (I’m not going to be downhilling. At most it’d be an uplift at FOD or Cwmcarn). I’d appreciate any real world experience of x2 vs e4 please….

Thanks!

Braided hoses are a total waste of money, so don’t bother there.

X2’s are less powerful than XT’s but with more modulation. I’ve found them very nice for normal Singletrack riding, but a bit lacking when the terrain gets gnarlier. E4’s are a tiny bit more powerful than XT’s but with more modulation. In your situation I wouldn’t even bother considering the X2’s, just get the E4’s.

Sweet. Thank you! Braided really no different? I’d always thought something about hose expansion?

Even Hope themselves will tell you that braided hose offers no advantage in terms of braking power.

I’d go E4 Kevlar hose, in fact, I did. Having said that, I might have some X2 for sale soon (with Goodridge hose) as I’ve now got some M4s for the wife’s hardtail.

The only other thing you might notice is that the X2 has a slightly firmer lever feel as you’d expect as there’s less hydraulic advantage. Love out E4s though.

Infidel i have braided hoses in my DH and they look cool therefore they are betterer.

In others news , any chance I could have a spring off the lever if you do get rid?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/m785-lever-spring-replacement-xt-brakes

I did the same, going from leaky xt to how tech x2. They are awesome, i really like them.

I have only once felt the x2 struggle, on a long alpine decent. I think 203mm rotor at the front instead of 180mm would have prevented that. I’m about 90kg.

Have the E4’s in purple 🙂 went standard hoses and there is no issue there, did a long day in Whistler Bike Park and one of the Utah ones 90kg rider, 14kg bike no issues all day, rotors may have been getting warm though!!

Infidel – is it your Caliper that leaked? I have a set of m785 with a leaky lever… Want to sell me your lever? Email in my profile of so…

Howsyourdad – I probably have that spring on my dead lever

Thanks all! I think it’s gonna be e4 for me. Kevlar hoses are only £6 more each end so I’m gonna pimp it up for no good reason!!

Nemesis – I think it is the caliper that has leaked – I still cannot find the leaky fluid anywhere. If you’ll sort howsyourdad with the spring I’ll happily sell you the lever. No clue what the going rate is – tenner plus a couple for postage?? If that’s outrageous please tell me. My email is markballard at outlook dot com.

Sounds good to me. Ygm

Braided hoses are a complete waste of money. I had some which frayed where my shoes rubbed and ended up with cuts on my leg from the sharp strands poking out lol. Went back to standard and had no issues with serious alpine riding DH all week with no fade. Also,one thing to watch out for is that braided hoses are thicker than standard hoses, so depending on your frame, they might not fit properly in the cable routing/brackets.

Awesome, mails all round. Incoming nemesis