Hope brake fanbois, you won’t want these

Had to send my first tech 4 e4 back as the lever was clicking and got worse . straight fwd return via wiggle ordered another.
Couldn’t get the rear to hold a bleed kept pulling to the bar after a few miles even after rebleed.
Took caliper off and there’s brake fluid coming from the outside one of the pistons it’s only weeping but a ball ache as there outstanding when they work .

I did read something that there was a seepage problem with some of an early batch of calipers. Drop Hope a line about it, they’ll probably replace it.

Finally managed to do a bit of riding on the Tech4 V4 brakes. I am pretty confident I wont bother refitting the Trickstuff Maximas.

Can you tell us more about how they compare?

Can you tell us more about how they compare?

The lever feel is a lot more to my liking on the Tech4’s, the maximal although they has loads of power always felt a bit mushy. Almost like they had too much power and that made them squishy. Also they don’t have enough adjustment to get both of them both engaging at the exact same point with the same throw, something that I don’t struggle with with the Tech4’s bite and reach adjustment. Oh one other thing, 6mm shielded braided hose or 5mm bare braided hose is a terrible idea.

can anyone tell me what the green pad backed compound is that comes with the brakes? and also what the red backed spares are???

with it being so wet, the greens have become really really loud on the rear of my bike, wondering if a change to a different compound will be quieter?!

annoying as hell as they’ve been silent – and as far as i know ive not contaminated them as they feel good still

Greens are race compounds with extra bite, but wear quickly and yes noisey in the wet

Reds are normal organic compound and great for all round use

Green are a very soft organic.
Red are std organic.

ah great thanks folks – the greens are really bad in the wet, for noise – ill stick the red ones back on i think i thought they were organic hence why they are so quiet

has anyone found a cheap place to find genuine replacements of the reds? mine have lasted 6 months so far, but are coming to the end (incredilbe really given how much abuse theyve had!) so only want genuine red ones

Red are Galfer’s Advanced compound. Their black pads are the standard organic pads and are nowhere near as good as the red ones.

does any one else suffer from the noise (squeal) on these brakes? is it just a wet thing? my code RSC with sintered pads in winter never made a beep no matter what was on them

No noise coming from mine so far using the purple pads

Have you checked the caliper is centrerd correctly over the disc and all four pistons are moving an equal amount when the brake is used?

Have you checked the condition of the pads to make sure they havent glazed or become slightly contaminated? also has the disc become contaminated?

Finally have you checked all the rotor bolts are tight, if they are floating rotors are the rivets all ok? nothing else in that area that could resonate the noise?

Normally i find a noisy brake is down to one of the above things or a combination of them

thank you @escrs

going to have a look into it this weekend, ive got some spare rotors i can try to rule them out, and ill swap the pads over front to back as the front is totally silent, guess i can process of elimination scenario it

weird as i dont remember it doing it at all even when it rained in summer, now as soon as it goes through a puddle or drizzle or anything it honks, until its used alot, then comes back after its cooled down….and yet the front (identical setup) doesnt make a single sound no matter what

No noise coming from mine so far using the purple pads

Have you checked the caliper is centrerd correctly over the disc and all four pistons are moving an equal amount when the brake is used?

Have you checked the condition of the pads to make sure they havent glazed or become slightly contaminated? also has the disc become contaminated?

Finally have you checked all the rotor bolts are tight, if they are floating rotors are the rivets all ok? nothing else in that area that could resonate the noise?

Normally i find a noisy brake is down to one of the above things or a combination of them

Good advice, I’m one ride in with my E4’s and they didn’t honk but had an annoying squeak (like a mouse LOL).

Following the Hope Youtube video to equalize the pistons, easy to do but the pistons just went back to where they started (one pushing out more than the other) regardless how much I let the ‘weaker’ piston push out.

I went back to the old school method of loosening the bolts and tightening them again with the brakes on…..see how that goes.

I may change to the Red pads and use the Greens in the summer.

I went through the green pads in five rides on the rear! Have put the ebike pads in for the rest of winter, may get some replacement greens for the summer, but the peaks and the wet killed em quick.  Not sure how many runs of the mega they would last…

Admittedly these are on my new bike which is delivering me into corners on the downs way quicker than the old bike.

Following the Hope Youtube video to equalize the pistons, easy to do but the pistons just went back to where they started (one pushing out more than the other) regardless how much I let the ‘weaker’ piston push out.

If one piston isnt pumping out compared to the others then i would pump out all the pistons enough to clean around them with a cotton bud dipped in isopro alcohol (careful not to pump them out the caliper) once clean and dry lube each piston with some dot brake fluid or some Hunter’s silicone lube

Next work each piston in turn back and forth into the caliper, they should now move freely and pump out the same distance when the brake is applied

I’ve now had 4 sets of E4s and all have had a high pitched squeal/chrip. The wife now has a set and they’re the same. I just thought it was a Hope thing, fortunately it doesn’t both either of us and the new T4s are brilliant!

Added these V4s to the Big Daft Deviate, was supposed to be riding tomorrow but foot is knackered again 😩.

Look good though!

Added these V4s to the Big Daft Deviate

Bit of a back brake dragger? 🤣😮

Never tried the vented discs.

Me neither, thought I’d give them a try. Hoping they’ll be powerful enough to not feel the need to drag!

quick question folks

i need some replacement RED standard pads (the ones that come with the new tech 4 e4), finding them online is proving tricky? are they the same as the old tech 3 e4 fitment wise and pad compound wise?

https://www.merlincycles.com/hope-tech-3-e4-pads-77134.html

so would these fit?

Yep the red organic and gold sintered pads are identical to the ones that came with the tech 3 brakes.

ah brill thanks bud, phew should be easy source a pair then for the weekend!

Someone finding it difficult getting the red pads?

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/hope-standard-disc-brake-pads-organic?lang=en&curr=GBP&dest=1&sku=5360716771&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=base&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5Z6S7MLn_AIVxO3tCh1nMAexEAQYASABEgI6FPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

oops yep – its cos i didnt realise they use the same pads as the old ones, so no results came up for the new tech 4 e4 – seems they are all the same – but thanks yep those are the ones 🙂

Anyone else struggle to get these lined up perfectly to not rub?

I can’t seem to even in the stand get them to not rub

Sometimes it gets worse on a ride too – the pistons all run smoothly and retract/come out easily but just always a nagging catch n the rotor at some point

Any tips? I’ve used those little metal tools to help align but didn’t help, done it by eye, done it with a torch so I can clearly see the gaps…..

Nope, no issues here.

Mine have a tiny bit of noise when turning the wheel by hand but the wheel is perfectly free spinning and there’s minimal deadzone before they bite. When riding there’s zero noise.

Make sure you start with no pads in and align the caliper to the disc. If that’s not straight you’ll never get it right.

I feel your pain oscillatewildly. I’ve got some tech3 X2 and some tech 4 E4 and found them quite fiddly to align compared to shimano. I’ve been there for ages with the torch and spacers trying to get them perfectly aligned but there always seemed to be the slightest rub. I was happy they were as straight as could be and just cracked on. The certainly didn’t get worse with riding. Better if anything.

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v83YFGi5uT0 –

I got one of these recently which does the job for centering the caliper. As long as you’ve got a straight rotor of course!

Caliper Alignment Tool for Hope E4, V4 Brakes

You can hear a small amount of contact in the stand with mine. Wheel completely free though, and don’t notice it riding.

That has to be the worst product picture I’ve ever seen! I’m guessing it’s a block that fits the width of the caliper opening with a centre slot for the disc?

Yeah. the picture is terrible. But yes, it’s just a block with a slot that the disc fits snuggly into. Pretty simple, but does seem to work well. I wasn’t far off by eye. but its one of those things I like to know I’ve got it as good as possible.

I use playing cards in my initial set up. Even number on each side means the caliper itself is exactly centered.

Then tighten. Pulling the lever to center doesnt always work so well(for me at least)

Yeah. the picture is terrible. But yes, it’s just a block with a slot that the disc fits snuggly into. Pretty simple, but does seem to work well. I wasn’t far off by eye. but its one of those things I like to know I’ve got it as good as possible.

Cheers, tbh I need a bleed/travel block anyway so may order one.

Does anyone know where the best price is for these things at the minute? This is the best I can find…startfitness.co.uk/products/hope-tech-4-e4-hydraulic-disc-brakeset

£315 for the pair with a 10% discount code.

Also, is anyone using them with 2mm rotors like the new Galfers? Or are the Hope floating rotors worth the cash? I haven’t used them for years because they used to rattle and squeal like hell.

I’m on the Tech 3 V4 but the calipers are the same (bar the new pistons) – I had the Hope floating rotors before but now have the 2.3mm thick steel “ebike” rotors. I gather they’ll fit in the E4 calipers too. They feel as solid in use as they look, I like!

davros
Free Member
I feel your pain oscillatewildly. I’ve got some tech3 X2 and some tech 4 E4 and found them quite fiddly to align compared to shimano. I’ve been there for ages with the torch and spacers trying to get them perfectly aligned but there always seemed to be the slightest rub. I was happy they were as straight as could be and just cracked on. The certainly didn’t get worse with riding. Better if anything.

chrisdw
Free Member
I got one of these recently which does the job for centering the caliper. As long as you’ve got a straight rotor of course!

Caliper Alignment Tool for Hope E4, V4 Brakes

You can hear a small amount of contact in the stand with mine. Wheel completely free though, and don’t notice it riding.

sorry forgot to reply to the question i asked

yeah i must admit after really taking my time this time with the torch/metal aligner tool, i did get them running nice yesterday, at no point did i hear them catching nor did they get worse

so this tool from r3pro – how does it work, i genuinely dont usually make this much effort to get them aligned, but i want to now, so ive bought the tool

is it just a case of pushing back pistons, guide rotor/wheel in slot and tightening the bolts? or do you have to squeeze the lever whilst this is in? hopefully will take any guess work out, and then just concentrate on the pads if they are slightly out

i dont know why but suddenly my rear brake howls when its wet/rained on, the front doesnt do it at all with same rotor/pads, ive put new hope pads in the rear and even swapped the rotors around, the front remains silent (so i know the rotors ok) and the back still squeals when wet/rained on….never used to do it and is pretty annoying!

Also, is anyone using them with 2mm rotors like the new Galfers? Or are the Hope floating rotors worth the cash? I haven’t used them for years because they used to rattle and squeal like hell.

I’m using my Tech 4s with 2.3 Intend Massive rotors, slightly less lever throw before contact with the pads. No noticeable rub. Red pads been great all year round, green a little noisy and wore quicker (but to be fair was wet/ sandy so expected that really).

just ref bleeding them – i think mine could do with a full bleed soon, starting to get ever so slightly squishy compared to usual rock solid feel i like

few hope vids make it look fairly easy but a few questions : (i have the hope bleed kit so ready to go)

in the video he bleeds them with the pads in, meaning the pistons are fully out as hes bleeding them, can i just push the pistons fully in and use a bleed block then start the bleed process (dont want to risk contamination of the pads especially as they are new), the rest of it looks fairly straight forward, but unclear of why he starts the bleed with pads out?

You should bleed with the pistons fully retracted or else you’ll have too much fluid in the system and won’t be able to push the pistons back in fully without removing fluid.

Edit: just watched the video, when he’s bleeding with the pads in he’s fully opening the bleed port, pulling the lever then closing the port with no pressure on the lever – this means the pistons don’t extend out. He then pushes the pistons back in full before removing the bleed kit.

I prefer to bleed with a bit of pressure in the system, so press the lever slightly, open the port a little while retaining pressure then closing the port. The means nothing is drawn back into the caliper and you’ve got the pressure forcing any air out. Obviously to do it this way you need a bleed block in to stop the pistons from extending out.

Does anyone know where the best price is for these things at the minute? This is the best I can find…startfitness.co.uk/products/hope-tech-4-e4-hydraulic-disc-brakeset

£315 for the pair with a 10% discount code.

That’s very tempting, thinking could recoup a good chunk of that selling my T3s.  Would need to add another £40 for matchmakers though :-/