Hope brake fanbois, you won’t want these

Paid £156 for E4’s in Jan.  See same seller is now £215.  Yikes.

Biketart were the cheapest I’ve seen recently. £175/ea for V4s

£171/£184 for E4/V4 if you’ve got the Wiggle 12% discount.

Biketart are £192 for V4’s currently.

Are they normally suited to 200mm rotors?

If its the V4 you’re getting,they’ll work with any diameter rotor. But due to spacing its either the Heavy Duty rotor you want or the hideously expensive vented one.
The HD rotor comes in 180/200/220mm sizes.
I’m pairing mine(V4) with 200mm HD rotors, mainly because its for an Ebike, and the rotors have little lightening bolts on them 😀

You don’t need the heavy duty rotor, mine work fine with Avid Clean Sweeps.

Ordered from merlin cycles in the end, 10% cashback using top cashback plus they are fairly close so should be able to collect this week.
Also ordered galfer discs, hope bleed kit and spare pads from rush cycles.

Hopefully get to try them next weekend 😁

So, my front brake isn’t sorted.

Went out for an hour tonight, started hearing the tell tale ‘turkey gobble’ of the beginnings of disc contamination, and riding along on the flat, with a slight bit of pressure on the front brake (enough to only need a bit more pressure on the pedals to move at the same speed), the front brake lever is going literally to the bar, from it’s initial bite point of about 2-3inches from the bar, in less than 20 seconds.

That’s barely any brake pressure at all, for 20 seconds, and the lever is at the bar.

I probably don’t need to tell you that that’s not great when I’ve got 2 weeks riding in Scotland coming up in 6 days… 😫

I can also see the disc has the same contamination that it had before, I gave the bike a wash at the weekend and it was perfectly clean so I know it wasn’t contaminated from anywhere else. There’s no leakage from the lever and with the disc contamination it can only be coming from the caliper. Only one side, too. Same side as before.

I’m going to order a brand new front brake off Wiggle, and a bore cap tool from somewhere else – the new brake will be here Wednesday – I’ll get that fitted as it is to start, go for a ride that evening and then shorten th hose later if all good. I’ll then rebuild the faulty one with the seal kit I already bought!

I’d be giving up on them after another failure. Buy something more reliable for your holiday!

I’d be giving up on them after another failure. Buy something more reliable for your holiday!

Nah, it’s (probably) one piston out of many, and I’ve had about 4 years combined flawless reliability from 2x sets of tech 3’s – I’d rather not have to get used to a new brake feel when I really just want to know what the brakes will do when I use them.

Tbh I sort of need to switch my tech 3’s on my hardtail to tech 4’s anyway, fingers crossed a combination of a new brake and/or replacing the seals in the current one (I think it’s only 1 or 2 pistons leaking, on the outside pistons too so I won’t need to remove them all) will get it sorted.

Fair enough, it sounds like you’re fully invested in them. I like mine but leaky calipers would definitely put me off. Hopefully mine stay trouble free.

Plus there’s the matchmaker clamps and everything, it’s simpler to just get them sorted.

They’re phenomenal brakes when they’re working!! 😬🤣

So, I think the master cylinder seals are shot on my front brake, as well as it leaking enough fluid to contaminate the disc. I can’t see any fluid coming out from the pistons, but the disc is definitely getting contaminated. And my lever is doing this:

If lever doing that was down to fluid escaping I’d have no brake fluid left!! I’m going to open up the master cylinder to see how much I have in there, it might even be the level is low enough that it’s trying to push air down the brake line?

Edit: fluid level is pretty damn low! But not low enough that it’s pushing air. That fluid has gone somewhere… And that somewhere is straight onto my brake disc!

Fingers crossed the new one is free from issues!

That’s a bummer for folks having issues, I was out on Saturday making use of my second set of Pro 4 on some new steep stuff, and they really are fantastic.
My front does the turkey gobble a bit under really heavy braking, but no loss of power.
I’ve had it with othe brakes in the past and always associated it with holey discs.

What are people using as a Pro 4 bleed kit? Anything posh? I know I can do it with my selection of cheap pipes and syringes but am I missing a trick?

Total bleed solutions? on eBay do reasonably priced kits for hope. That’s what I’m using for tech 3 and tech 4.

Get the proper hope bleed kit with the funnel that screws on, it’s the easiest way to do it.

And yeah the noise (hard to describe, more of a warble than a gobble) for me is the first sign of the start of contamination, before they get to the full on honking noise level.

My rear has been rock solid, just the front with the issues!

Edit: fluid level is pretty damn low! But not low enough that it’s pushing air. That fluid has gone somewhere… And that somewhere is straight onto my brake disc!

Possibly swopping the 2023 V4 calipers for the earlier Tech 3 version might do the job, if indeed all the power of the new brake is in the new lever.

But I wonder if its actually the lever is strong enough to force the fluid out the caliper if you know what I mean. And no matter what you fit its always going to force the fluid out past the seals.

Nah, like I say my rear has been completely fine over the 200km I’ve done. Maybe it’s a cracked piston or something, I’ll check once I get the new brake and strip down the old one.

thats a bummer @ta11pau1

hmmmm interesting – put different pads in my newly repaired one last week (Green ones) then realised i didnt like them, so put some red ones back in and ive got a weird horrid warble but only light braking (like corners etc), it doesnt do it at all when im going down something steep/gets them warmed up….really odd as its not a squeal at all like before….

im testing out again tonight, hoping it was just a case of because i ran the green pads, didnt clean anything and put the red pads straight back on without cleaning a thing….will report back

but i can see no bubbling as it was the first thing i checked, and the lever feels good

Ignore the fluid level above btw, I’d forgotten I had the wheel out and had pumped out the pistons with the pads still in, with them fully pushed back in the level is fine.

I’ve taken them off to have a proper look and I can’t see any fluid but I’ll put some paper between the bleed block and pistons to see if there’s anything on it.

Right, new front brake received, fitted, set up and bedded in within an hour.

It would have been earlier if the Evri driver had delivered to the right house! To be fair, the address on the label looks like 18 not 16 which is where I live, Wiggle need to improve their printer DPI! It’s the second time it’s happened – and I don’t get the delivery photo until the driver has finished his rounds… 😡

Anyhoo… The new lever is holding pressure. Thank god. And after bedding in and a few hard stops I can see not a drop nor bubble on any of the pistons. So, fingers crossed this brake is a good’un. I think my old brake is going to need a master cylinder rebuild too as it’s clearly not sealing in there, and that’s beyond my knowhow.

Currently rocking the ‘not quite finished’ look, if I can get out over the next 2 evenings and all is good I’ll cut the hose down and give it a bleed.

Hmmmmm, new bike is coming with Tech 4 V4’s. I currently use Tech 4 E4 and they have been faultless. Wondering just how common these issues are and would I be better speccing the new bike with E4’s. Just how prevalent are the V4 issues do we think ?

Just for comparrison ive been running Tech4 V4’s since before Xmas and no issues so far

Also have Tech3 V4’s & Tech3 E4’s & a set of RX4+ calipers, again they have been pretty much faultless over the years, just need to clean the pistons now and again which is a 5 min job

Just how prevalent are the V4 issues do we think ?

My mate that works in one of the many local to me LBS’s told me they’ve had a fair few back with leaky callipers.

I’ve not had a problem with mine so far but probably only got a dozen rides on them so can’t judge yet.

Not sure if there’s more issues with early batches of brakes, my original pair were ordered early September.

Honestly though, it wouldn’t put me off.

Yeah I’ve had my tech 4 v4’s for a few months now and not had any issues other than the green pads wearing extremely fast!

Bore cap tool delivered, and caliper stripped down.

None of the seals were flipped over, but there was some debris in one of the bore cap threads, and possibly on one of the seals.

I got this out the thread. Not sure what it is, doesn’t look like aluminium.

Now, the threads are the opposite side of the o-ring to where the fluid is, so it shouldn’t have affected it. But, a couple of the pistons do have some light scoring, right in the area that would have never been exposed to anything but the seal. So I think there’s been a tiny bit of debris stick in the seal which has caused the leaking.

This would explain why I had about 150km trouble free km with the brake before they started having issues, either the debris found it’s way there after a while, or it was there to start and eventually scored the piston enough to start leaking. The scoring is visible but I can’t feel it all with my finger/fingernail, I’m not sure how much it would need to be scored to allow a leak. More likely the debris stuck in the seal allowed the leak.

entirely new wolf tooth lever called the pro

The New ReMote Pro
ReMote Pro is cycling’s most adjustable and refined dropper lever. It features more adjustment than any other dropper lever so you can configure your cockpit based on your riding style. It also features a full metal assembly for durability and ergonomics – all components are CNC machined here at Wolf Tooth in Minnesota.

The new ReMote Pro is compatible with all cable-actuated dropper posts. Eight clamp options are available that are compatible with all standard MTB handlebars and can integrate with several brake clamps for a clean and tidy cockpit. It’s available now at the button below and with all bike shops that stock Wolf Tooth.

SHOP REMOTE PRO

Added Adjustment
ReMote Pro is the only dropper lever that allows for adjustment of the lever starting position independent of cable tension. With ReMote Pro, you have 48º of rotational freedom to select your lever starting point – no need to adjust clamp positioning or cable tension (or anything else) to get the lever to your ideal spot.

ReMote Pro can be moved along and rotated around the handlebar as can be done with ReMote and ReMote Light Action, while also having additional adjustment of lateral movement once the clamp is in its final place with three lateral mount positions.

SHOP REMOTE PRO

Increased Leverage
The cable pulley of ReMote Pro is designed with a variable leverage cam (oval) shape around the axle. This provides more leverage at the beginning of the lever throw, when dropper posts need more force to open the fluid reservoir valve that allows the post to move. Think of it as starting to pedal a bike from a dead stop while in a low, easy gear compared to starting in a high, difficult gear. Actuation of ReMote Pro starts easy and ends easy.

SHOP REMOTE PRO

The Most Refined Dropper Lever
ReMote Pro is years in the making. The result is a thoughtful, versatile, refined dropper lever that will meet the demands of the trail ahead.

Compatible with all cable-actuated dropper posts
Various clamp options to integrate with brakes from Shimano, SRAM, Hope, Magura, and Hayes
Machined surface of paddle provides extra grip
Large sealed cartridge bearing is shielded from the elements
Stainless steel lateral mounting bolts extra adjustability
Cable clamp won’t pinch or bend cable
Easy installation with video guides available
Individual components available as replacement parts via Wolf Tooth Right To Repair
ReMote Pro is available now at the button below and with any bike shop that stocks Wolf Tooth.

will the new pro 4 mount work on our ‘old’ levers or do we need to buy the whole new remote?!

Finally got mine fitted and a trial mooch around to get them bedded in and setup. Gonna take some getting used to, coming from guide RE which need a strong grab, much better control and way more power. Lovely. Hopefully don’t get the issues seen here, galfer 200mm rotors seem to work well.

Gonna take some getting used to, coming from guide RE which need a strong grab, much better control and way more power

interesting to see how you get on. Keep looking at hope but have Guide RE’s as they are cheap reliable and powerful. I don’t feel they need a grab but all relative I guess.

Mine were several years old and definitely in need of a rebuild. They were powerful but seemed to need a lot of force to keep doing so, and no matter what I did I couldn’t stop some of the pistons from sticking.

I’ve also been after hopes forever so once I got my bonus I didn’t need much convincing. Quite fortunate.

Bit of an interesting update. My brakes have been warrantied for the third time with hope because they were leaking (Details are in some of my previous replies). I phoned in advance to try and see if there was something else they could do given this, and they said they’d measure the tolerances on the calipers.

I’ve received them back today with replacement calipers as the seal grooves were undersized by 0.01mm. Seems like there are some lemons floating around!!

My brakes started howling yesterday. It was the maiden voyage of the Shotgun saddle so I was too occupied with a hyperactive 2 year old to do a proper check of the bike. It was dry and sunny and the bike’s been sitting in the garage for a couple of weeks.

Anyone want to place any bets on me finding a leaky caliper?

My lever reservoirs seem to be leaking. I had the bike in the car with the levers face down on some foam in the back of the car and the reservoir caps end up coated in a layer of oil. This happened on 3 separate journeys, so id be surprised if it was just residuals on top of the diaphragm.

Anyone else had similar?

I wonder if these caliper leaking issues are a new thing with the tech 4 lever or new pistons. Is there any record of these issues with previous generation calipers?
Hoping mine done exhibit said issues but keeping hold of my guide RE’s just in case.

Having just rebuilt a 3 year old hope e4 caliper using new hybrid pistons the tolerances seemed to be a lot tighter than my new tech 4 e4 which I’ve had warrantied which contradicts what I originally thought was undersized pistons on the new models so it could be its the calipers .

This has all been very disappointing to read, I hope Hope are taking this seriously, as it is a big blow to their reputation.

As ever you only hear about faults. However I don’t want to jinx my brakes 🤐

For comparrison my Tech 4 V4’s have been faultless, so have my Tech 3 V4’s and Tech 3 E4’s along with my RX4+ calipers

My mates Magura MT7’s on the other hand kept leaking at the rear caliper, we finally we worked out the bleed nipple was leaking even though it was tightend to the correct torque, this was after we found both the small plastic Bat plugs on both levers had worked loose and were nearly lost on the trail