I have had a set of these for about 18months. I bought then new as every single review or opinion seemed to say that they were the greatest things ever!

To be honest I am less than impressed. The main issue is the power they provide. In my opinion is pretty poor. They just seem to fail to deliver out and out stopping power. I have had the brakes serviced and have had them bled numerous times and I still am not happy with their performance.

So is it just my expectations of the brake that are letting me down? Do others who used them feel like they are fantastic and its all in my head?
I still read comments and reviews saying that they have masses of power and modulation. They do modulate very well and they will stop me eventually but to be honest the reviews and comments I read do not seem to describe my K24 brakes!

I would be very interested to hear other users opinions on the brakes.
Let me know what you think of them, good or bad.

Thanks

rhid

From what I have heard and read they are very sensitive to the brand of pads that you use, possibly because the pad is a tiny little thing. A mate runs K18s which are pretty much the same brake and he reckons they work well with Clarks sintered.

I wouldn't totally agree but I can see your point a little. I was expecting them to be much much better than my old juicy 5s and they just werent. They are better, and I love the feel of them but as you say out and out power isn't is good as you'd expect reading the reviews! I do like mine though

I run 180mm discs with sintered pad up front and semi metallic on the rear at the moment. I have thought about going for a 200mm disc up front too to try and boost the power. To be honest it could be that he brakes are fine but don't suit my riding style, or that if I did try X brand of pad then the power they provide could be mind blowing!

The modulation is fine, you can scrub a bit of speed off very well but I find inorder to stop at speed you really do have to apple a lot of force to the levers. I just don't understand where the opinion of masses of power comes from!

Yeh I can understand that totally (the slamming on braking). I suppose bigger rotors would help. I've just put superstar sintered in mine and they don't seem any better or worse than the ones that came with them.

I may replace them with Shimano saints as they seem to be the kind of thing I'm after. I run Hope V2s on my big bike and do really ike the power they give. I will consider my options!

Mine were brialliant to start with, but reduced power after a while. The pad type did mamke a big difference and i only ever use genuine ones now.

I bought some Mega's (alsmost the same as the Ones) and they are just mental. Ridiculously powerful. Had them now for 6 months and the pads last a long time as you aren't thraping them!

I though about the ones but they seem to be very expensive. Merlin are doing a full set of Saints for £300 so that seems ike an ok deal at the moment!

Just ditched mine for some Hope tech m4's. Night and day difference. The K24's are a faff to bleed to the point where my 2 lbs couldn't get it right so they had to sent off to Propel!

I have the Bianco's and find the power & modulation very good but pad wear atrocious. I went through a set on one wet ride in the Dales. They also wail like a banshee when wet & lose all power. Tried all sorts of pads, originals, Discobrakes organic, Superstar organic and now on Superstar sintered which seem the best so far.My original Hope Mini's are fit & forget compared to the Formulas even though they may not have the ultimate performance.

Mine are great. They can lock the wheel out almost instantly from any speed and the modulation is fantastic. I prefer them to Mono Minis, and this year's XTs (although there's not much in it) – I haven't really tried much else.. I'm running Superstar sintered pads, which seem better than the standard Formula ones and have lasted really well so far. I've found that playing with the bite point adjuster can make quite a difference.

Im amazed that anyone thinks that Hope Minis are better. I think the K24s are a superb brake. Much better than some of the ON or OFF brakes ive had in the past.

I didn't say Hope Mini's were better, just less hassle 😉

I think that they are good brakes, they give a lot of modulation and look fantastic but they don't suit my riding style. I think they will be repaced with Hope V2s soon so if anyone is in the market for some K24s watch this space!!

I have K18 and they seem to be very hit or miss. After a week in the alps I have decided to change to something like the Saints when money allows.

At times the K18 were very good and I think they are fine/good for XC stuff in the UK but for DH they just dont cut it.

Get the Saints and let me know what they are like.

I've been running original Oros and a set of k24s for a few years now, and I'd have to agree.

I'm running a 200mm disc on the front and at 14.5 stone the braking is merely adequate. I have to exert substantial force for emergency braking situations. If there was any less power I'd have changed them.

They are quite light for the power they deliver though, and although the bleeding system can be a little tricky if you take you time and read the bleed instructions carefully its easy enough. Spares availability is pretty good too, bar the supply issues at the beginning of this year. Modulation is good too, although I question whether modulation is needed to such high levels when best technique mtb braking is late and hard.

Been thinking about returning to hopes after a few years off tbh.

Very odd, I'm running my K18's in xc jey mode with 160mm rotors and the brakes are good, I also run them with 180mm rotors on the 5-spot and I find them blindingly powerful. Way way way more than the M4s or minis I've had before. I think 200mm rotors would be like running into a wall. I have no idea why you find them so poor.

TJ has a theory that big discs mean the system runs at too low a temperature. Perhaps I'm over braked and they're not getting hot enough to facilitate pad material transfer to the disc?

It may explain why yours are apparently so powerful for the 160mm discs. You're a bit lighter than me too aren't you? Seen your pics from BBF – I seem to recall that you're markedly less fat that I am!

Maybe my description of poor for the stopping power is a bit harsh, maybe dissappointing would be more approriate. I think for some riding styles they are great brakes. Its probably my poor braking technique but they don't deliver what I want from a set of brakes and that is, I suppose, more on/off power.

I know its a bad comparison but I really like the power my V2's give. I understand that they are bigger brakes, but they wouldn't be out of place on my heckler and I know that they will stop me very quickly should I want them too. Thats what I am going to replace the K24's with!
Anyone got a set going cheap?

I am running the Formula Biancos, and I agree with a few others, the pads make a big difference. I love the feel of these brakes, I can get as much or as little power as I like with one finger.

The one big problem is the noise they make, and I have heard it from many others. I have tried nearly all pads, and actually very little difference in all of them..The Superstar sintered were definetly the loudest and on a very long, steep, fast downhill they overheated which has never happened with any of the others. BUT… good news, I have just tried some of the new superstar kevlar pads (mmmmmmm Kevlar, first time I have had this on the bike), and WOW. The first thing I noticed was how much bedding in they needed, they simply did not work… on a moderate road downhill they would not stop me, but once they were bedded in they are queit and VERY powerful… perhaps give these a try before ditching the formulas.

ii've run k24's for 2 years now and i love them.

one finger stopping in all situations. getting the bite point in the right place makes a world of difference. if the lever is too close to the bar the power seems to drop in my experience.

one mate runs m4's and prefers my brakes. in both power and feel. He has also had more problems with his brakes in teh time i've had my k24s.

bleeding is a doddle – i dont understand how it could be hard. i have the bleeed kit tho.

another mates v2's are wayyy too powerful for my liking but i guess its what you are used to.

I've been running them for a couple of years and I'm really surprised when others say they lack power, I have to echo rj's comment when he says they can lock the wheel out almost instantly and in any occasion, I'm probably about 14st in riding gear and run 180 front and 160 rear.

Except for the rather major problems of having the brakes from the dodgy batch (the wrong material used in some internal components) which was sorted by Propel they've been faultless.