I need to get my Hope brakes serviced – one stuck piston and one spongy lever – not bleeding.
Hope charge £40 per brake + postage – which does include new pads but I just dont need /want them and they dont do it cheaper without sadly.
Anyone know of either somewhere cheaper or an online guide to doing this.
Any experience on how easy /hard this is to do?
Ta

send it in without the pads in. When it comes back swap pads again and sell new ones on the classifieds.

Replacing the seal and greasing the piston will prob cure your sticking piston. With the bore cap tool it's a piece of p!ss – plus a couple of quid for the seals and however much the rubber grease is. As for the spongy lever – dunno…..

It all depends on what you are comfortable doing. I've broken down Hope brakes into their constituent parts more times than I care to remember, and I'm pretty sure a brand new set of all the seals, plus a well-executed full bleed will solve your problems. If you have spare brakes (luxury!) why not try it yourself?

By the way, a friend had (and has) lots of problems with brakes, being a 17 stone downhiller type. He's said Hope service is second to none.

before you waste your cash, take pads out, pump lever a couple of times to get the pistons almost out, lube them up, push them back in and replace pads, then pump the brake. your pistons should slide easier, then do a full bleed. Always worked for me and multiple sets of hopes! cost around 20p worth of lube, it is well worth learning how to do it as any brakes can stick esp in this weather!

This is not a bad guide

Hope Mono Caliper Overhaul (Mini/Trials/M4/V2/M6)

What grease is best to use on the pistons? I have read that silicon grease is the best to use but where is the best place to get this?

silicone is OK
Castrol Red Rubber grease is OK too

As uplink – I use the Castrol Red rubber grease. A pot so big that the remainder will have to buried with me at the rate I use it was had for about a fiver online.

Sorry mate, cant help you as I have always just sent mine to Hope. Very very happy with the service though, they come back practically new.

I use silicone spray from ya motorist discount/halfords. perfect for rubber lubrication

Would that be similar to the stuff stendtec sell for spraying on fork stanctions to make them extra slippery to eliminate stiction? I have some of that but wasn't sure if I could use it on calipers!

Bear in mind that DOT will eat most grease eventually. I think you can get specific grease for the application though.

Would Manitou M Prep grease work with the seals? I just remembered I have a tube of that knocking round somewhere. It is supposedly ok with rubber seals?

Would Manitou M Prep grease work with the seals?

I wouldn't – but I can't come up with why not 🙂

You could just use brake fluid if you don't want to buy any grease

Cheers uplink just what I was after

Apparently Hunters Silicone Lube, which is used in plumbing, is the lube of choice for sticky pistons. It can be found at most plumbing suppliers!

With the lube you have to be sure that it is OK with the seals – the red rubber grease I know is. Other stuff I am not sure – hence I use the red rubber gresse. Motorcycle shops often sell it in small quantities.

Hopes are fairly easy to rebuild – callipers straightforward and levers a bit fiddly.

However the hope service has a good reputation and is very fairly priced IMO

The Hunters lube just mentioned is what Hope sell for home servicing, but they use a specific silicone brake assemby grease in the factory(incredibly expensive, apparently).