Hokay, so I’ve got a set of 2008 Oro K18s on my 2011 Turner 5 Spot. Blinged up somewhat with 203/180 Hope floating rotors, Dangerboy levers and Goodridge braided hoses. They work well, feel nice, good modulation, always felt they’re a bit down in outright power compared to my old Hope M4s with same size rotors, still pretty strong though. They definitely are compared to the V2 front M4 rear combo my mate has just put on his Nomad.
I’ve got Bomber 44 ti spring forks on the bike, CCDB with ti spring on the rear, Reverb on the way which is going to put it around 33lbs, getting a bit portly but love the way it rides. So was thinking of getting some new XTs with 180/160 rotors to save a bit of weight and also because the reviews are so good. I know the Oros are light brakes anway so the saving would mainly be in the rotors and a bit in not having braided lines. Anyone made a similar change? Are the XTs so far ahead in power and performance or is this money that doesn’t need spending (as usual). I’m about 14 stone BTW.
Cheers in advance, innit.

The XTs are a little better, and superb value… But I wouldn’t bother personally, it’s a pretty minor improvement.

I’ve replaced my old Oros with some The Ones, which are phenomenal brakes… And even that’s not a gamechanging improvement.

No, Oro’s rock, but I am 12 stone and 5″11″. One finger all the way on 180’s. I would invest in better legs and “i can make that” thoughts.

Another no here.

Changed from Oros. XTs “feel” different. Both stop brilliantly. Less faff with the Shimanos (maybe).

Spend your cash on something more noticable.

My XTs are leagues ahead of my Oros in every aspect, so I’d say XTs all the way.

My Oros where worse than the xtr V brakes on my other bike, even freshly bled they where crap, probably a bad pair but the lack of any decent distributor at the time and complete unavailability of spare parts put me off getting anything Formula again
But if yours work for you and the only reason for a change is to save a couple of grams then I wouldnt bother with the expense personally, there is probably better & cheaper ways to loose more weight

I agree with iain1775, if you’re looking to save wieght look elsewhere. Wheels maybe?

I had oros on an early zesty, and had lots of trouble. Again could have been a bad set,went back to formula many times. I now have r1’s which feel in a different league.

I demo’d a bike with the new xt brakes and they were amazing, felt perfect to me, with a good lever size for one finger braking as well.

But if your oros work, I wouldn’t bother changing and invest elsewhere. Carbon bars, 1×10, wheels….? Good luck 🙂

i have recently had both, which worked very well on both counts. The Oros are a little down on power to the XT’s but have better feel and modulation. The XT’s were very powerful and hard to adjust to at first as they felt like a lightswitch ! I got used to the Oros a lot quicker but it all comes down to if you want a perfectly good brake with lots of feel or a brake that bites like a bugger, probably making it feel more powerful, but lacks a little in finesse. Well thats my impression of them both. On preference, i am torn but its not worth swapping from one to the other i dont think. As said above, there must be better areas on your bike to sink the money into !! 🙂

So from what you say you like the Hopes you have and are considering XT’s.

What about another set of Hopes, they will outlast the rest

What about another set of Hopes, they will outlast the rest

Since when?. Proof?.

Since when?. Proof?.

My M4’s are still going strong at 8 years old – another 2 sets from about 06/7 still going strong. The parts are made of metal not cheese and can be serviced rather than some of the bin and replace counterparts.

Hope also do service and rebuild very reasonably too.

So because you’ve got a set that have stood up well, every set of hopes in the world are judged on the same merit?. Like yer logic, man!.

One of my sets of Oros is from 2006, another is I think 2008. They’re fully servicable, and reliable, and perform better than any Hopes I’ve used of that vintage.

Thing is, not many people are still using such old brakes. The Oro’s a dinosaur really, is there anything else that you can still buy that’s been fundamentally unchanged for 7 years? They should be outmoded and outclassed at that age but they can still bonk heads with most newer brakes. Only Shimano have anything better that can compete on price, but then there’s been at least 2 full redesigns of the XT since the Oro was launched so that’s no wonder. Most companies have something better to offer, but at much higher prices and even then, the best brakes out there aren’t so massively better.

I got some oro bianco’s second hand off here years ago and they’re still working perfect and feel like they’ll stop a train..if it ain’t broke blahblahblah…. 😀

+1 for Formulas here. I moved from Mope Mini Mono’s to Formula The Ones and the difference was immense – despite using same rotor sizes! Shimanos did used to be more hassle free though…

Oro’s are the worst brakes I’ve ever owned. 2009 The Ones not being far behind in terms of reliability.

Eventually I decided they had needed far to many seal and internal replacements over their lifetime to warrant keeping them. Oro’s have a perchance for rotting away from the inside.

mikewsmith – Member
Since when?. Proof?.
My M4’s are still going strong at 8 years old – another 2 sets from about 06/7 still going strong. The parts are made of metal not cheese and can be serviced rather than some of the bin and replace counterparts.
Hope also do service and rebuild very reasonably too.

Deary me 🙄

Cheers all, good info. Seems I’ve got a good set so I’ll hang on to them, haven’t had a single problem in 4 years. Need new knee pads and shoes anyway…