Hope tech 4 v4 bleeding.

Hi all.

I’ve got a set of t4v4 on my bike that I fitted a couple of weeks ago. Didn’t bleed them at the time hoping I wouldn’t need to.

Anyway, occasionally when I lie the bike down and then pick it up the rear brake lever is coming to the bars and needs a good few pumps before it works. So I’m guessing they need a bleed.

Google and you tube have thrown up so many different ways of doing it and so I was wondering if anyone had a way of doing it that gives a decent lever feel.

thanks

Steve

When I ran Hope brakes, I used to reverse bleed them – pushed the fluid up from the caliper…I haven’t watched that Hope video, but I thought I say a Hope video from a couple of years back that suggested doing the same – but I can’t remember if there was something done before or afterwards.

Before I got the Sram brakes, I only connected the fluid to the caliper and pushed the plunger and made sure all the fluid was clear that came out the hose. Since having the Sram brakes, I know fill the brake system with fresh fluid and then do a ‘bleed’ step on the caliper and a ‘bleed’ step on the lever. I suspect I’d now do similar to any brake I was bleeding.

Sorry not much help and seems to be more a chance for me to get that off my chest, but I used to find Hope brakes very easy to bleed. Before doing the bleed, I always unscrewed all adjusters all the way out – that seemed to mean when I readjusted the lever, I got the small lever throw that I like.

I might go watch that video now to see how far off the proper way I was/am. Turns out, it is a very different way of bleeding them!!!

I do the bleed similar to the video with the easy bleed kit but with old pads in with a thin spacer replicating the rotor thickness then towards the end remove them and push the pistons back in and insert a bleed block to finish off the bleed, I’ve tried with a syringe on the caliper but couldn’t feel any improvement.

Thanks for the video Bikerevive. I had seen that but then on a different forum (cant remember which) someone mentioned they had done that process on their T4 and still had issues when the bike was lay on its side for a bit?

Ive bought the bleed kit from epic bleed solutions with the cup that screws onto the lever and was going to try a conventional bleed like you would on a car brake?

If you only fitted them a few weeks ago i very much doubt they need a full bleed

Before you bleed the brakes try the following

Adjust the brake lever until the reservoir is level, remove the top cap and diaphragm, pull the lever towards the bars and wrap a zip tie around the lever and bars to hold the brake on, leave overnight, this should force any trapped air bubbles to the top of the system

The next day top up the reservoir and refit the diaphragm and top cap making sure its completely full and overflows when fitting the diaphram and top cap, clean everything up and the brake should be spot on when the bike is laid down or turn upside down

@dickbarton

how do you reverse bleed hope when you’ve just got a nipple and tube rather than a threaded port for a syringe?

@b33k34 – Use a 3/4 full syringe. Connect to bleed nipple. Pull brake leverand open nipple to bleed the ‘regular’ way which releases the air bubble you have in your hose where you just pushed it onto the nipple. Flick the hose so this air bubble goes to the top of your syringe – which you are holding upright.

You now have a fully bled syringe full of fresh fluid you can then push back up the brake.

Carefully…and the syringe connected to a hose with the hose connector on the end. You can’t force the plunger, it needs to be slow and smooth plunger action. This is going back almost 10 years now though…

Imo what you are experiencing is air below the diaphragm in the master cylinder.  Push pistons back is a temp fix as it will pop the bubble back into the reservoir.   Conventional top down bleed isceasy

I’ve bled a lot of T4 E4s.

Remove wheel, remove pads. Push pistons flush with calliper. Insert bleed block.

Adjust bite point and reach all the way out (furthest from bars). Make sure lever is 100% level and calliper is orientated with the hose to ‘up’.

Open reservoir and fit the bleed cup and fill with fluid. Attach hose to other end. Bleed as you would a motorcycle brake. Open bleed bolt, squeeze lever, close, repeat. Half a cup of fluid is usually enough.

Remove cup and fill the reservoir to the absolute brim, overflowing if possible. Then roll on the rubber exactly as Hope suggest. Fluid will go everywhere but you won’t get air in the system.

Refit cap and clean fluid from everything.

https://vimeo.com/834698535