Hope brake fanbois, you won’t want these

They’ll have more power than you want, don’t suppose they will be able to sell any 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUAB8tYMQHS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I really don’t understand the Hope love. Someone in our group recently asked on the WhatsApp chat if anyone knew any tips for setting up Hopes. I held back from suggesting he throw them in the bin and buy Shimano. I rode with him this weekend and his his brakes were frankly terrifying.

I know Hope can be rebuilt, and Shimano can fail, but when they do fail they’re cheap as chips and supply is plentiful.

Shimano can fail, but when they do fail they’re cheap as chips and supply is plentiful.
#Brexit 😉

So just send more stuff to landfill then? I have friends who’ve had the same Hope brakes for years and if anything has catastrophically failed it has been repaired. They also work fine too. Good modulation and powerful enough for most riding. Well made brakes that do the job well basically

We have one bike with Shimano brakes in this house. The others are Hope and they work beautifully, require almost no maintenance, a set of pads once in a blue moon (same shape of pads as 5 or 10 years ago too), and have a wonderfully progressive feel.

We have one set of Tech X2s that must be 14 years old.  Still the current pad shape. Still working fine. Been to the alps a few times.  Enough power no repairs needed.

Shimanos are cheap I suppose. Though their discs are made of cheese – don’t use a Shimano disc with a Hope brake or it’s life is best measured in hours.

If anyone wants to take them off my hands for a nice set of secondhand Tech X2 or E4 brakes then PM me.

I have hopes on all my bikes – single finger powerful braking and very reliable. some sets are 20 years old

I think most folk don’t set them up right – its really simple to do but its a two stage process – centralise the caliper then the pads.

Literally thousands of miles out of pads as well – using hopes own of course

MY new bike is coming with hope everything.

Personally, I choose Shimano over Hope every time. I had Hope years ago and they were crap especially somewhere like the Alps. They may have improved over the years I don’t know, but I have never had any issues with Shimano.

I do like the lever though blade though. Much comfier to use than shimano.

In my experience Shimano are fine unless overheated, after that point they become troublsome.
My Hope E4s are way more consistent and can take a beating.

Not sure why anyone would struggle to set them up either.

I still have Shimano brakes on a couple of bikes but I don’t push them very hard.

Those who complain about lack of power with E4s, is it just a lack of hand strength?

As long as they come in a range of garish and hideous anodised colours, hope fans will be all over them. They seem to value this above actually braking performance.

Black or silver for me with the added bonus that the same thing happens each time I pull the lever.

Loving the “Hope-hate”!
If you don’t like them, don’t use them.

I’m happy with mine. I was happy with my Shimano SLX’s until they died and I had to replace the caliper because they cant be repaired. Was still happy with them until they started weeping oil onto the pads/rotors.
So I replaced them with Hopes. Prefer the modulation and feel to the more on/off natire of the Shimanos.
Currently running Deores on my new bike. Already had one warranty swap on the calliper as it was pissing out fluid from mthe calliper join straight away.
I’ll be swapping the hopes onto it as I prefer the feel and the power is fine for me and my riding (I’m around 72kg in kit so not a bog unit).

If it helps, mine are black?

I know Hope can be rebuilt, and Shimano can fail, but when they do fail they’re cheap as chips and supply is plentiful.

Oh!

My!

Sides!!! 😂😂😂

PMSL

Seriously though… I’m no Hope fanboi, mostly they’re pretty underpowered and I really don’t like their previously very angular lever shapes. Hope do know how to create modulation though, something Shimano have always totally lacked. Also, the new XCR lever feels very nice I must say, and I’d be keen to try the new Tech4 lever before writing it off… As for Shimano… Until they give their brakes a master cylinder reservoir large enough to cope with more than 50% pad wear, until they fix the wandering bite point issues etc… I wouldn’t spend my own money on them, nor would I recommend anybody else to either!

The black / silver Hopes are the better ones.  Garish colours are just there to wind up the Shimanistas.

PS – those that say Hope are underpowered, have they tried them with the pads that last longer than Shimano discs, or with one of the softer pads?  Different pads can give different characteristics, but the modulation is always there.
I quite like the (whisper it) £6 Superstar Kevlar pads. But that’s just me.

its interesting how marmite they are.

If I can lock the wheel with a single finger pull then surely thats enough power?

If there is not that much power then something is wrong.

I would love to try a bike with these “underpowered” hopes to see if they really are different to the ones I have in feel and power. I think its either cheap pads, badly set up or cold polished pads but never having ridden an “underpowered” hope set I really do not know

Mission accomplished 😀

All you fanbois did click the link and see that Hope are bringing out a new lever offering a claimed increase in braking power?  Not that anyone could possibly need it.

I can lock up my Shimano brakes with one finger and I can also do it with my Sram brakes.

You really don’t like anyone to have a different opinion to you do you TJ. If they do you have to criticise them such as suggesting people don’t know how to set brake up.

Still have my original hope minis working great on my bike. I’d try other brands but these won’t break.

Kuco – apologies if it came over like that.

I am just puzzled by this as the description of underpowered hopes does not apply to the half dozen sets I have and was pondering why this is so.

Hope do outline a different set up proceedure to shimano

The only set of Hope brakes I ever liked were the C2’s on an xc bike I had. I’m not a Hope hater as I have several sets of wheels with Hope hubs.

I am just puzzled by this

Like if you’d never seen colour TV you could think black and white was the best thing ever?

My point is that if I can easily lock a wheel with a single finger pull they are not underpowered – and I have ridden bikes with other brakes including shimano. I hated the shimano set. Wooden grabby and less power than my hopes.

So some folk find them underpowered and I do not disbelieve them so I am trying to work out why some sets are underpowered and some are not.

thats all

Do we need to do this on a weekly basis?

Yes. It’s fun to read

Do we need to do this on a weekly basis?

Sorry, I knew exactly what I was doing and did it anyway.

Bored and it’s Sunday evening with bugger all on the telly.

All you fanbois did click the link and see that Hope are bringing out a new lever offering a claimed increase in braking power?

I reckon it will be an increased piston diameter, possibly shoving more fluid down the pipe.
But at least hope work to redesign, shimano have been using pretty much the same lever for 20+ years.

I reckon it will be an increased piston diameter, possibly shoving more fluid down the pipe.

Nice try but I’m not biting 😀

learn how to bleed your brakes, irregardless of brand.

also, servowave wandering bite point?

Never really understood the Hope brake hate. Or the claims of being underpowered.

I’ve (too many) pairs of Shimano and Hope brakes. Yes, they do feel different but on balance I’d choose the Hopes although the Shimanos are also excellent. That’s on performance, serviceability and aesthetics. On the performance, for a given amount of stopping power at the wheel you have to pull the lever more firmly but that’s not a lack of power, just a different user interface. I’d say you need that difference to give you the range of usable modulation. The Shimano ‘feel’ is a lighter touch at the lever but much more digital in operation. I think people just mistake that for more power when what they really mean is they don’t have to squeeze so hard.

I didn’t used to get the Hope love, but over time they’ve definitely got better while frankly a lot of competitors have got worse. Looks a lot cleaner than the current range

Don’t like the adjusters though, I know people like tool-free for some reason but it just puts more metal and complexity in the part and those look pretty exposed. Like seriously, how often do you want to adjust these things that you need to have 2 dials sticking out of the bike on each side?

Mission accomplished 😀

Well played. got me you barsteward. Its not really sport tho conning me – more like shooting fish in a barrel 🙂

Nice try but I’m not biting 😀

Actually this is the hook here.

But at least hope work to redesign, shimano have been using pretty much the same lever for 20+ years.

.

People talking about brake a or b being magically ‘better’ or ‘more powerful’, all things being equal is a little like someone arguing that their wheel is more round than their mates.

You can:
Increase pad contact area
Increase lever angle (bigger rotors)
Increase the size of the piston
Increase the leverage thrown by a lever (but only so far as shimanos cammed servo wave – which is shit – shows).

Very little of this has anything to do with the brand. Think about it. It’s some fluid, a plunger pushed by a lever, and a piston pushing on a disc. What magic can you really inject?

Get something that you can fix.

People talking about brake a or b being magically ‘better’ or ‘more powerful’, all things being equal is a little like someone arguing that their wheel is more round than their mates

What about people that have owned both brake a and brake b, and know that brake a is better because they’ve actually used both for an extended period of time? its nothing to do with magic, just one is better for the task at hand, like you can get good wheels and better wheels, but they’re both still round.

Pick a brake brand

be a dick about it.

Very little of this has anything to do with the brand. Think about it. It’s some fluid, a plunger pushed by a lever, and a piston pushing on a disc. What magic can you really inject?

So why does every brand cock it up so badly? MTB brakes are crap all round.

So why does every brand cock it up so badly? MTB brakes are crap all round.

Cheer up, You may have heard Hope have a new Tech 4 lever on the horizon and just maybe it will be the brake that has it all?

a little like someone arguing that their wheel is more round than their mates.

You have obviously not seen my mates’ bikes. My wheels are rounder. And straighter.