Just switched from Elixir 5s to 2nd hand Hope minis. Too soon to comment on overall quality, but certainly the power and modulation of the Hopes feels like a big improvement. Brakes were fitted by a guy I know who spends half the year as a mechanic for one of the world cup downhill teams. He won’t touch Shimano / Avid with a bargepole and advocates Hope all the way. I’ll happily admit to knowing jack all about most of this, but given his line of work and his experience, his opinion counts a hell of a lot for me.

Good to see that many of the people on the hope side come across as having a fair bit of mechanical knowledge and post detailed information on experiences and solutions to any setup issues .
Whereas the shimano camp ……..

+1 for that. Having trawled through 4 pages of this thread (and being an avowed neutral) I’d say that the Hope advocates are way more credible than the bashers…

not everything is based on price for me. In my day job non servicable parts really do my nut in….

I crashed into a tree a few week back and snapped my shimano xt lever, I was really surprised at how cheap shimano parts are! £35 for the lever unit!! Had that of been hope I bet I’d be lucky to get change from £100!
What I like about shimano is the fact that they’re so simple to bleed and maintain yet there performance is outstanding!

Who wants to have brakes that are a hassle to bleed anyway!?

funkrodent – Member
Just switched from Elixir 5s to 2nd hand Hope minis. Too soon to comment on overall quality, but certainly the power and modulation of the Hopes feels like a big improvement. Brakes were fitted by a guy I know who spends half the year as a mechanic for one of the world cup downhill teams. He won’t touch Shimano / Avid with a bargepole and advocates Hope all the way. I’ll happily admit to knowing jack all about most of this, but given his line of work and his experience, his opinion counts a hell of a lot for me.
Good to see that many of the people on the hope side come across as having a fair bit of mechanical knowledge and post detailed information on experiences and solutions to any setup issues .
Whereas the shimano camp ……..

+1 for that. Having trawled through 4 pages of this thread (and being an avowed neutral) I’d say that the Hope advocates are way more credible than the bashers…

So what your saying is that you have to have c-tech qualification as a bike mechanic to look after your hope brakes! 🙄
That’s not good is it!

Had a set of hopes mini’s for a few years, never had a problem with them, give them a bleed and a service every winter.

The only thing that would put me off them would be the price.

What I like about shimano is the fact that they’re so simple to bleed and maintain yet there performance is outstanding!

Who wants to have brakes that are a hassle to bleed anyway!?

Shimano bleed procedure seems far more hassle than hope. I’ve bled my hopes in 5 mins before a ride.

pussywillow – Member

funkrodent – Member
Just switched from Elixir 5s to 2nd hand Hope minis. Too soon to comment on overall quality, but certainly the power and modulation of the Hopes feels like a big improvement. Brakes were fitted by a guy I know who spends half the year as a mechanic for one of the world cup downhill teams. He won’t touch Shimano / Avid with a bargepole and advocates Hope all the way. I’ll happily admit to knowing jack all about most of this, but given his line of work and his experience, his opinion counts a hell of a lot for me.
Good to see that many of the people on the hope side come across as having a fair bit of mechanical knowledge and post detailed information on experiences and solutions to any setup issues .
Whereas the shimano camp ……..

+1 for that. Having trawled through 4 pages of this thread (and being an avowed neutral) I’d say that the Hope advocates are way more credible than the bashers…

So what your saying is that you have to have c-tech qualification as a bike mechanic to look after your hope brakes!
That’s not good is it!

NO just don’t blame the product for YOUR ineptitude.

If you can’t do it take it to your LBS thats what they’re there for..

I can remember all these arguments being made about cars back in the early/mid-eighties. Don’t buy any of that foreign stuff stick to Ford/Vauxhall – spares are readily available and they’re easy to work on etc

In August ’83 my grandad bought a Datsun Sunny, my uncle a Ford Escort. 5 years on, the Escort needed a new engine @ 60k miles having had several big repair bills along the way – the Sunny (similar mileage) hadn’t been touched apart from routine servicing & a new exhaust.

Admittedly after 7 years the Sunny was rotten but it had cost less than half what the escort had over the same period.

I crashed into a tree a few week back and snapped my shimano xt lever, I was really surprised at how cheap shimano parts are! £35 for the lever unit!! Had that of been hope I bet I’d be lucky to get change from £100!

Or in most likelyhood they wouldn’t have charged you for one.

spectabilis – Member
pussywillow – Member
funkrodent – Member
Just switched from Elixir 5s to 2nd hand Hope minis. Too soon to comment on overall quality, but certainly the power and modulation of the Hopes feels like a big improvement. Brakes were fitted by a guy I know who spends half the year as a mechanic for one of the world cup downhill teams. He won’t touch Shimano / Avid with a bargepole and advocates Hope all the way. I’ll happily admit to knowing jack all about most of this, but given his line of work and his experience, his opinion counts a hell of a lot for me.
Good to see that many of the people on the hope side come across as having a fair bit of mechanical knowledge and post detailed information on experiences and solutions to any setup issues .
Whereas the shimano camp ……..
+1 for that. Having trawled through 4 pages of this thread (and being an avowed neutral) I’d say that the Hope advocates are way more credible than the bashers…
So what your saying is that you have to have c-tech qualification as a bike mechanic to look after your hope brakes!
That’s not good is it!
NO just don’t blame the product for YOUR ineptitude.
If you can’t do it take it to your LBS thats what they’re there for..

My ineptitude?? I’ve had shimano’s and hope brakes a long time, different models as well and I find shimano a lot better and easier to bleed.
But your right about people having to take hope brakes to there local bike shop cos they’re such hassle to do if you haven’t got plenty time, Whereas my xt’s take me about 5 mins to bleed.

Shimano all the way.

Blazin-saddles – Member
I crashed into a tree a few week back and snapped my shimano xt lever, I was really surprised at how cheap shimano parts are! £35 for the lever unit!! Had that of been hope I bet I’d be lucky to get change from £100!
Or in most likelyhood they wouldn’t have charged you for one.
POSTED 5 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Now your forcing me to bring up there customer service aren’t you!
Tbh I’d rather not deal with them, especially on the phone. And I don’t believe for one minute that if you rang them up telling them you’ve crashed into a tree and broke the lever that they’d say ” ok don’t worry about it, we’ll send you another one free of charge cos we look after our customers!” 😆 🙄

Shimano bleed procedure seems far more hassle than hope. I’ve bled my hopes in 5 mins before a ride.

Well it’s not. To be fair they both bleed roughly the same. Except Shimano oil doesn’t dissolve your paintwork should you happen to spill some. (Assuming Hope are still on DOT 4)
Magura have come up with a slight improvement that makes them less messy. My Louise Carbons have that.

Actually, scrub that, my older Maguras and all the Shimano brakes we have all bleed IDENTICALLY to my Mono Minis. Theres no difference at all. 🙂

Now your forcing me to bring up there customer service aren’t you!
Tbh I’d rather not deal with them, especially on the phone. And I don’t believe for one minute that if you rang them up telling them you’ve crashed into a tree and broke the lever that they’d say ” ok don’t worry about it, we’ll send you another one free of charge cos we look after our customers!”

Why not? have you tried it? They are mostly bike riders at Hope that understand that bike riders crash and break stuff. I like the idea of being able to ring them and talk to the guy that made the product you’re (or not in your case) using. Have you tried ringing up Mr Shimano and asking him about the slight issue you may have with his product?

Blazin-saddles – Member

Now your forcing me to bring up there customer service aren’t you!
Tbh I’d rather not deal with them, especially on the phone. And I don’t believe for one minute that if you rang them up telling them you’ve crashed into a tree and broke the lever that they’d say ” ok don’t worry about it, we’ll send you another one free of charge cos we look after our customers!”

Why not? have you tried it? They are mostly bike riders at Hope that understand that bike riders crash and break stuff. I like the idea of being able to ring them and talk to the guy that made the product you’re (or not in your case) using. Have you tried ringing up Mr Shimano and asking him about the slight issue you may have with his product?

are you in the industry?

I don’t work in the industry no, I am however not that impartial so I’m not going to say any more on the subject. I just wanted to make a point that just because one person has issues with a product (or manufacturer) it doesn’t mean everyone is in the same boat.

I personally can’t stand the on or off feel of the XT brakes I once had and have spent longer than I should have trying to bleed a set of XTR brakes once that just wouldn’t feel nice. Doesn’t make Shimano bad brakes, just makes me not want to use them or have anything to do with them in the future.

Do you blame the tree for being there on HOPE too.I am sure they must of planted it right in your way. 😀

I love the ineptitude of some of the peeps on here, Typical example

pussywillow – Member

I crashed into a tree a few week back and snapped my shimano xt lever, I was really surprised at how cheap shimano parts are! £35 for the lever unit!! Had that of been hope I bet I’d be lucky to get change from £100!

Fact £36 for a shimano xt lever £16 for a hope.

BTW I run maintain Shimano Hope and Avid. Only brake fade I’ve had is Shimano, worse ones to set up Avid, easiest to bleed Hope.

BTW I run maintain Shimano Hope and Avid. Only brake fade I’ve had is Shimano, worse ones to set up Avid, easiest to bleed Hope.

you in the industry too? 🙂

and isnt that just the lever and not the full shibang…

People Love* / Hate* to Love* / Hate* Hope

*Delete or include as appropriate

Me? I’ve finally found the brakes that suit me. M4 Tech Evo front and X2 Tech Evo rear, Hope 183mm floating rotor front and rear, Hope adapters – now down from 203mm Shimano and much better for power and feel.

pinhead – Member

you in the industry too?

and isnt that just the lever and not the full shibang…

1./ Not in the industry, Im an engineer [electro-mechanical electronics]
2./ Yes with HOPE thats the point snap a lever change it
3./ As for all the bleeders on here, I’ve never done it. If you know what you are doing there is no need.
4./ Reason for brake fade was I bought shit pads, so that makes Shimano brakes shit ? or me stupid ?

shimano aint shit in the alps where it matters,

Fact £36 for a shimano xt lever £16 for a hope

Not exactly. Shimano is the full assembly – lever, reservoir etc, not just the blade. 😉

Nobby shut it, if they [Shimano] sold parts as they show on their website it would be a different matter.

BTW remember I know where you live.

“Dales_rider – Member
I love the ineptitude of some of the peeps on here, Typical example
pussywillow – Member
I crashed into a tree a few week back and snapped my shimano xt lever, I was really surprised at how cheap shimano parts are! £35 for the lever unit!! Had that of been hope I bet I’d be lucky to get change from £100!
Fact £36 for a shimano xt lever £16 for a hope.
BTW I run maintain Shimano Hope and Avid. Only brake fade I’ve had is Shimano, worse ones to set up Avid, easiest to bleed Hope.”

I think you will find that for the whole lever res clamp, the lot as Nobby says!
Now who’s inept!!! 😀

Now who’s inept!!

The guy that rode into a tree?

So how much is a Shimano lever and where do I get one from ?

Singlespeed_Shep – Member
Now who’s inept!!
The guy that rode into a tree?
POSTED 5 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST
Dales_rider – Member

I guess your too awesome to ever have any crashes! 😀

Dales_rider – Member

So how much is a Shimano lever and where do I get one from ?

CRC maybe

I managed to crack one of my M4 calipers by over tightening the banjo bolt, wrote a polite email to Hope explaining things and they replied offering to look at it. Sent it in and 3 days later recieved a brand new one in the same colour with new pads in for free, they even paid the postage.

Lost a pinch bolt from my Juicy levers, phoned Fishers to order a replacement and was told they were not available and I should just buy a whole new lever, the guy then had a pathetic rant about how my LBS shouldn’t have given me the number because Fishers do not ‘deal with end users’ I’ve not bought anything they import since.

Similar tale to me, lazy attempt to reset the pistons on me m4 caliper & ended up bursting all the seals. Phoned to explain I haven’t really bothered to look after them, cba watching the hopetech vids.

2days later front brake is back with me, all new seals, pistons, pads & a pack containing spare 8 spare seals & a print out of the video 🙂

Only cost me 2.50 to post

Oh and they upgraded the hose too!

pinhead – Member

Dales_rider – Member

So how much is a Shimano lever and where do I get one from ?

CRC maybe

Do you have a link ?

Hmmm. Seems very strange that people sound like they’ve had exceptional service from hope when I’ve only received and heard of negative feedback from them..hmmmm… I wonder….hmmm.

pussywillow – Member
Hmmm. Seems very strange that people sound like they’ve had exceptional service from hope when I’ve only received and heard of negative feedback from them..hmmmm… I wonder….hmmm.

TBH I think you had decided that at the start of the thread…

Yep Hope sell parts not just make an exploded diagram that you can’t get the bits for. Did you ever send yours back or are you still just shouting about it on here?

I’ve got shimano XT’s on my steed and deores on the wife’s bike, bloody fantastic. Used to have avid elixirs, utter tosh. Never had hope so have absolutely no opinion on them but a few mates who I know through my wife’s brothers aunty know a geezer who’s had them and didn’t like them because they didn’t work because his cat licked them while he had his bike upside down changing an inner tube and so because of that I’ve decided to not buy them and feel the need to tell the world that they’re sh1t which they are because my mate said so and cat spit is toxic to humans so watch out.

Well if there’s one thing good that’s come of this thread… it’s that loyalty is still strong in this country! 😀

Pussywillow did you actually send them back?

Well if there’s one thing good that’s come of this thread… it’s that loyalty is still strong in this country!

Yes and that some people still appreciate craftsmanship ,serviceable equipment and decent customer service etc etc ….

Some people wouldn’t know quality if it shagged their mom ..lol

Hmmm. Seems very strange that people sound like they’ve had exceptional service from hope when I’ve only received and heard of negative feedback from them..hmmmm… I wonder….hmmm.

Did you ring them up with the same sort of attitude as you’re displaying on this post, or did you speak to them normally and respectfully? not bulls**ting them. If someone rang me up mouthing off and generally being a pain, I’d be less inclined to help them too!

Most of the stuff the (2 man) warranty dept see’s is out of manufactures warranty or has been broken by misuse, it’s up to the guy on the ground to make the call on how to help. I’ve personally seen Nick swap all the seals in a guys brakes at a race because he’s covered them in WD40 and swollen them, he walked off afterwards and didn’t even say thanks let alone offer to pay for them!

Over and out!