Just put my fourth ride on some new X2s, not been shortened or tinkered with and assembled all clean and tidy. Just cleaned with degreaser and put on the bike. No squidge at the lever to indicate air in the system from the factory, but the braking power is terrible.

Asked a few more people in the know to look at them and they are flummoxed. The work fine at low speeds, but just dont have any power further than that. Cant even lock the wheels, even after new pads to cure the “contamination” which wasnt there. The discs just dont get warm even at the bottom of a big decent.

Now before i throw the toys out the pram about the crap lever design (basically its about 3″ too long, so you cant fit it on a normal length bar for 1 finger braking”, does all the pivot point gubbins make them feel solid all the time, i cant see how it makes any difference as it just alters the progressiveness of the pivot ration and the actual master piston is solidly connected.

Ive said 3 times never again to my hopes after being seduced by the looks (old M4s and mono M4s), anybody else used them and they actually got them to work nearly as good as a cheapo deore set???

The degreaser might well have contaminated them. Sounds like contaminated pads and discs / glazed pads

i doubt IPA would have left any residue?

Double cleaned and new pads didnt help.

Just a thought – have you got the adjusters on the lever set so the master cylinder is not reaching the end of its travel? Try readjusting the lever thingies

all the way in or out, makes no difference apart from making the levers unusably far from the bar.

i had the x2 brakes for a week before selling them,much the same problems as you with poor lever design, and little power, went for formula, and they are in a different league

Damn, I’ve just bought a set of X2’s to replace my mono M4’s as a slimmer option…

Try one adjuster right in and the other right out? I am wondering if it is possible to have the adjusters set so that with full travel of the lever you are only getting part travel of the master cylinder? Ie it is not returning to the rest position or “bottoming out”

Phone hope – they are very helpful

edit: sorry double post!

It’s a shame – I want to love the Tech X2s but I cannot get over the lever design interfering with most current shifter designs…

surely all that means is that you should be running XTR?

I have two sets, both used with XTR shifters and they are good. The power is fine for me 180 front and 160 rear. I am nearly 13 stone and my bike weighas a ton too. I would say the power is less than brakes like formula’the one’ but comparable to xt, but the lever feel is much nicer.
I got them as I was fed up with my formulas burning through pads every other ride and the lever feel changing a lot as the pads wore down.

Mines the same as I’m confused. I can 1 finger stoppie on the 180 no bother, have them running with X0 triggers not a problem. Sure they don’t throw you over the bars with a quick squeeze but I don’t want them to.

Mine are OK. Levers are a pain though to set up with XT shifters.

turnip
mine stop 21stone of manfat at terminal velocity ok.
best feeling brakes i have used so far.
200mm front
180mm rear.

Was thinking about getting some. got minis with sticky pistons, stripped,deburred pistons, cleaned, bled, fettled and rebuilt loads of times, but keep sticking….ahhhhhh

just found out that hope do a refurb for 35£, includes new pads, new phenolic pistons and new seals. with the cost of parts it looks quite cheap, well cheaper than new x2’s.

Anyone gone for a hope refurb?

Have you tried contacting hope, or no offence intended, let your LBS have a crack?

I know you’ve tried a different set of pads, is there any chance your rotors are contaminated?

Earlier this year my LBS serviced my SOs mono mini brakes and fitted phenolic pistons. They now work well with no apparent problems so far.