Hope brake fanbois, you won’t want these

So I have just won a set of V4’s in a raffle! Are the new Tech 4’s a lot nicer feel than the Tech 3’s?. Any longer term reviews?

Lucky sod!

@RickDraper – Depends what you mean by feel.
I’ve had a set of Tech 4 levers for a few months now, and still have tech 3’s on the trail bike. I don’t really notice the change in lever shape I just mounted them a fraction further in-board on the bar.
To me they feel like they’ve traded a little modulation for a bit more bite early in the stroke. Whether that’s a good thing or not is subjective. Personally I like them a lot, but then I always liked the Tech 3’s too.

When I mentioned feel I should have said I didn’t mean the feel on the finger of the lever, I meant the feel of the braking power. I always found the Tech 3’s (Only tried the E4’s) to feel a bit underpowered and I had to really pull on the lever to get the power I wanted.

For reference I will either be moving some Trickstuff Maxima or some Direttissima to try the V4’s.

For reference I will either be moving some Trickstuff Maxima or some Direttissima to try the V4’s.

Stealth ad?

When I mentioned feel I should have said I didn’t mean the feel on the finger of the lever, I meant the feel of the braking power. I always found the Tech 3’s (Only tried the E4’s) to feel a bit underpowered and I had to really pull on the lever to get the power I wanted.

That’s what they’ve meant to have “fixed” – haven’t fitted mine yet so can’t say. But I’d agree that the tech 3 v4, although they have bags of power, you have to give them a decently firm squeeze to access it. The tech 3 V4’s most definitely aren’t underpowered, but they hid it deep in the lever stroke.

Stealth ad?

Nope wont sell either of them, no matter how good the new Hopes are.

The new Tech4 levers feel really good, I just wish Hope would stop dimpling the lever where you put your finger.

Haven’t used them in anger yet and remembering I’ve gone up a disc size front and rear (180-203 & 203-220) but on first impressions I’m very much liking the tech 4 V4. They do have a significant amount of bite now, but it’s not ala Shimano where the bite is right there at the very beginning of the travel – here you just need a bit of a squeeze and BOOM… POWERRRRR!!

The new pistons are nice and slippery too, makes setting up easy, and can be set up with minimal lever deadzone, even with a little bit of rubbing (which goes away I find once you start riding).

Looks like it’s going to be 20 degrees here Saturday (wtf!) so I’ll get out for a proper ride.

As Ta11pau1 says the new caliper’s have pistons that move very freely and easily. The only other brake’s I have with piston’s that move as easily are my Trickstuff.

I also have the Hope 2.3mm rotors and the V4’s don’t rub at all.

First ride on a Tech4 E4 today and it’s significant upgrade from the 18yr old Mono4 that it’s replaced. Initially felt like way too much power, but I’ve quickly adjusted to the feel of it. Lovely bit of kit

I tried a set of Hope brakes today for the first time ever, by Eck they were nice!!!!

Looking at pictures they were the new Tech4 type but no idea what combo. Very very nice though

Having just bought some tech4 E4 I concur.
I recently went to 220mm upfront, I needn’t have bothered.

I only changed to the Tech4 due to a new frame, deciding to stick with 180mm. Feels like 160mm would have been fine.

220mm up front will be eye popping!

220mm up front will be eye popping!

A theme of my bike is complete overkill, aka over-compensating for… Something 🤣

I was on the fence about going to 220mm but just thought sod it. The great thing about hope brakes is despite the power they now have easily available, they still have the same modulation. I’m a serial brake dragger down steep stuff so bigger is better!

I really like my tech 4 e4 on the flaremax. Nice feel and power with 180mm both ends. Although I managed to blitz a pair of green pads in a day at the ard moors practice when the conditions were grim. So I’d go with the other pads for winter use. Save the greens for summer.

Ok, so first proper ride/descent on the tech 4 V4 with 220 front and 203 rotors. They are really, really good. Oodles of power with the lightest of squeezes but still with the Hope modulation we love.

Ok, so first proper ride/descent on the tech 4 V4 with 220 front and 203 rotors. They are really, really good. Oodles of power with the lightest of squeezes but still with the Hope modulation we love.

Could you compare them to other brakes you have used?

Too many hope brake fanboys about ,so I need to hear how they compare to other brakes before I give them the benefit of the doubt…….

Could you compare them to other brakes you have used?

Tbh I’ve been on Hope V4’s for the past 3 years so I’m probably not the best to give an opinion!

I have memories of a set of previous generation 4 pot Shimano brakes on a demo bike that were so grabby that I was scared to pull the front brake on the wet trails I was riding for fear of locking up. The same for a set of code RSC brakes, very immediate and instant power.

Generally if you’re coming from Shimano XT or SRAM Code even these aren’t going to feel as grabby on the initial pull – some people think that means that don’t have power, which they do, you just have to squeeze a bit more. The tech 4’s have improved this but they’re still not at the Shimano levels of bite. Hopes also have more power the more you squeeze, whereas others have loads of power up front but nothing more when you pull harder.

It’s all down to preference though, some like the instant power whereas some prefer more modulation. Nothing wrong with either preference.

If you give your location maybe there’s someone local who can give you a demo of them.

I won’t be able to offer any comparisons to other brakes unfortunately. I’ve only ever had hope 4 pots on my mtbs. XC4, Mono4, original techs and now these E4

Im waiting for mine. Just ordered a pair of levers from Bike tart yesterday, they should be with me by the end of next week.

Will be fitted to tech3 V4’s and using 200mm 2.3mm HD rotors 😀

Had mine for a while. Previous user of last gen E4’s, XT’s, Code’s and the other sram brake the name of which I can’t remember. They’re so good. In every respect. Running 180’s on my hightower, that’s plenty.

This is quite a useful review of them:

Hope Tech 4 E4 brakes review

“Set up right though, stopping power with the new lever and pads is leagues ahead of the old Tech 3s. I always felt under-gunned with the old brakes, and sore hands are etched in my memory from pulling so hard on massive Alpine descents – the clamping force just wasn’t there. Now, with many endless foreign downhill tracks in the bank, I can happily say this is no longer the case, either in terms of modulation or pure top-end power.”

Decent review, sounds like hope have a competitive brake now.

I’ve just ordered a set of magura mt7 for my new bike.

The bleed cap for the tech 4 seems to come in 2 forms. HT0018 and HT0019.

The HT0018 appears have a wide central hole, and the HT0019 has what looks like the size of hole the easy bleed pot thing screws into. The HT0018 I dont think will fit the pot, or at least it looks too wide a diameter thread.

Cant seem to find anything on the Hope website about there being two types, but I’ll keep looking unless anyone here knows.(The info in the general brake section hasn’t been updated yet, so Tech 4 part number for the bleed cap isn’t listed)

I’m guessing just by visually looking at them, but the fact there are 2 parts with different numbers must mean theres a difference.

Anyone know the script here ? 🙂

The HT0018 –

Hope Workshop Bleed Kit Cap Tech 4 – Silver

The HT0019 –

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/8053322442

Hope do a silver and a black bleed pot. The black bleed pot uses a larger OD thread. Quite why they needed to do 2 different bleed post I’m not sure… I ordered HTT0019 and it works with my silver bleed pot.

@dyna-ti interested to see how the new lever works out. I’m toying with swapping out my tech 3 levers for the 4 with my tech 3 e4.

@dyna-ti interested to see how the new lever works out. I’m toying with swapping out my tech 3 levers for the 4 with my tech 3 e4

The only thing you’ll be missing with that is the stainless hybrid postons – otherwise the E4 and V4 calipers are identical (cosmetics aside).

I’m thinking I may have to swap the tech 3 levers on my hardtail at some point, now I’ve experienced the tech 4’s 🤣

Hope do a silver and a black bleed pot. The black bleed pot uses a larger OD thread. Quite why they needed to do 2 different bleed post I’m not sure… I ordered HTT0019 and it works with my silver bleed pot.

Might have something to do with having a greater flow, as I cant see them doing it just to make money. Might find int he future the wider system becomes the only one available.

But thanks for the info. Denotes which one i should buy.

@dyna-ti interested to see how the new lever works out. I’m toying with swapping out my tech 3 levers for the 4 with my tech 3 e4.

I’ve got to get past a serious level of laziness first. I got new pro 4 wheels, a new 10spd XO mech et al, new rotors and at the time tech3 levers and V4’s and the entire lot just sat unfitted behind the sofa for 7 or 8 months.

There once was a time I’ve have fitted new parts to the bike 5 minutes after they arrived, but i just keep putting it off and putting it off so i need to bite the bullet so to speak and rebuild the bike with all the new parts.

When the new levers arrive I’ll get it sorted for sure.

Loving my new tech 4 E4 .had to warranty the rear lever as it was creaking upon every pull which is then developed into a audible click .
Had to send the whole brake back which was a pain but was sorted within a week

I’m keen on a set.  But have a simple question (for now).

Does the new brakes work with the I-Spec II adapter that I’ve seen listed for the Tech 3 brakes?

Same with dropper side, does the Hope adapter for the Woolftooth work with the new Tech 4s?

Cheers

I don’t see the point in lever swaps. Can’t see how that works out better than just buying a whole set and selling the older set. Any tiny savings is surely outweighed by hassle factor.

Does the new brakes work with the I-Spec II adapter that I’ve seen listed for the Tech 3 brakes?

You’ll need tech 4 adapters, they’re different to the tech 3 versions. On the plus side there’s now some adjustability on the angle you can set the dropper lever/shifter to.

I don’t see the point in lever swaps. Can’t see how that works out better than just buying a whole set and selling the older set. Any tiny savings is surely outweighed by hassle factor.

I’ve just sold am old set of tech 3 v4’s for £210 Inc the MMX adapters so let’s say £190 without without adapters allowing for postage costs. My tech 4 V4’s cost me £370 so that’s a a cost of £180. Tech 4 levers are £95 from singletrack bikes so £190, so yeah you’re right – tbh the stainless pistons are worth the upgrade too.

“I’m thinking I may have to swap the tech 3 levers on my hardtail at some point, now I’ve experienced the tech 4’s 🤣”

If that 30% increase in power is accurate that’s equivalent to going from an E4 to a V4 and also going up a disc size – which makes a big difference! I’ve got E4 and 203/183 on my hardtail and V4 with 220/200 on my eMTB and even with the extra weight and grip the latter requires a lighter touch!

Yeah I’ve got v4’s on both my bikes as a) I like power and b) I can share pads between them, but I’m running 180mm discs on my hardtail (versus 203/220mm on the FS) so they heat up faster in grimy/wet winter conditions and also because the bike doesn’t get used on the same big, long technical descents as the FS does. I’ll see what the hardtail brakes feel like, I need to give them a clean and set the pads up again as the bite point is a bit too far out at the moment.

I’ll most likely be getting a new set of levers, mostly because mine are the old Tech flip flop ones that I just can’t get a good feel out of on the back.

As far as power goes the only time I had concern was at MacAvalanche when I cooked them up in the snow traffic jam, they were absolutely fine but the Sram CS rotors were definitely suffering, pinging and ticking like nothing else!

I don’t see the point in lever swaps. Can’t see how that works out better than just buying a whole set and selling the older set. Any tiny savings is surely outweighed by hassle factor.

What hassle factor? I assume you don’t just whang brakes on without trimming hose lengths? Internal routing?

I’ve just sold am old set of tech 3 v4’s for £210 Inc the MMX adapters so let’s say £190 without without adapters allowing for postage costs. My tech 4 V4’s cost me £370 so that’s a a cost of £180. Tech 4 levers are £95 from singletrack bikes so £190, so yeah you’re right – tbh the stainless pistons are worth the upgrade too.

Bear in mind you can sell the Tech 3 levers for about £70 each so that’s you down to a £50 cost. Pistons are probably going to be in the region of 50 quid again so £100 total. And that’s just a nice to have, wait until everyone starts remembering how shite the stainless pistons were for seizing before they went to phenolic. I’m not in a huge rush to replace mine.

Has anyone direct mounted a wolftooth remote yet. Just ordered na set of tech 4s but forgot my dropper remote is mounted on the tech 3s currently on the bike.

You’ll need tech 4 adapters, they’re different to the tech 3 versions. On the plus side there’s now some adjustability on the angle you can set the dropper lever/shifter to.

@ta11pau1 I’ve not seen Tech 4 Adapters for I-Spec II shifters anywhere?  If they do exist can you link me to them please.  Cheers

I think the tech4 ev adapter will work with I spec 2 shifter as well, it’s Ispec b that’s not compatible for tech4’s, it seems like Hope’s tech4 connection is the same as new shimano m8100 etc levers, I’m wondering if you could direct mount a dropper lever for example if you’re running tech4 levers inboard quite a lot.

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