Shimano Saint VS Hope tech 3 e4 or any other?

anybody owned both? thinking of a treat for xmas, possibly….going from tech 3 e4 which are 2 years old, to the saints

never feels like I can fully lock the rear when its needed, more like the modulation brings it to a steady stop, rather than sometimes instantly needing it to stop….they are great in terms of feel, but I do feel they lack outright braking punch sometimes, (tried with either pads)….

how do the saints compare power wise?

ive had guides before which felt really nice lever wise, but had the dreaded warble from the rotors, ive not had the new generation of XT but again heard good things about them too

A decent bleed of the Hope’s? Feel like plenty of power on mine and with a 180 the back will lock if required (simply unweighting of the rear wheel helps) but most of the time I don’t want that to happen.

I went the other way – really like the Hopes, probably less outright power, but never felt there’s not enough.

My hopes- M4 race evos so older but similar, can easily lock me up if I want it.

Disc Alignment, bleed etc?

I also went the other way.
Had Shimano (XT rather than saint) on three bikes. Loved them whilst they were new-ish but they all started to fail as they approached the 2 year old mark. Mucky fluid at the lever end when bleeding and inconsistent feel. Came to a head when a lever pulled to the bar on a steep set of Hebden steps!
I now have E4 on three bikes.

tech 3 e4 which are 2 years old

is not something I was ever able to say about the Shimanos.

Treat yourself to a full ‘back to the factory’ service from Hope. It used to be good value – all seals replaced, professional bleed, new pads?

What size disc are you running?

maybe worth the hope overhaul, if they still do it?

not sure really, I’m running 180mm F & R

I get what everyones saying, they are such a great brake in terms of feel, I just cant get the power right on them, I get to the point where I need to brake a bit harsher (almost skid), and it just doesn’t

Not sure if its a service they offer but back to the factory bleed and pay to upgrade to V4 calipers? Think there is a minor weight increase but similar to going up a rotor size.

Or you could just upgrade to 200mm rotors front and rear. 😉

Buy the saints, keep the Hopes for when they fail 😉

I had Zees, whilst powerful they were terribly unreliable for me. Really, the set I had was cursed. Got some E4s and very happy, have 10+ year old M4s on my hardtail and they are great too, had them serviced a year or two back by Hope. Whilst the Zees were more powerful (when they worked) and very on/off, you should be able to get the Hopes similar with a good setup.

Fill out the form and send them in, they will do a full service, bleed and new pads.

A friend of mines has Saints on both his bikes, both sets suffer inconsistent bite points at times, with the lever needing to be ‘pumped’ up. But he does like them.

I like brakes and have got Zees Saints and E4s

There’s nothing to say that hasn’t been said before. In terms of power on the same bike with the same setup they are pretty much identical. The Shimanos have a lighter feel which feels like on/off to some people. The Hopes have a heavier, more tactile feel which may be interpreted as better modulation. Personally I find the Shimanos less tiring on long descents.

Both the Zees and the Saints have benefited from a precision set-up and some meticulous bleeding whereas the E4s have felt the same from day one despite reckless hose surgery on three different bikes.

I think if you’re a bit ham-fisted you’ll like the Hopes whereas if you have a lighter touch you’ll prefer the Saints.

Have found the opposite to rocketman, went XT, Saint then E4. Found the XTs powerful but no modulation, the Saints more powerful but still no modulation and the Hopes loads of modulation with less power but still plenty. Get a lot less hand cramp and arm pump with the Hopes too.

I get what everyones saying, they are such a great brake in terms of feel, I just cant get the power right on them, I get to the point where I need to brake a bit harsher (almost skid), and it just doesn’t

I presume you have your finger right on the end of the lever for maximum leverage? If so then either you have very very grippy tyres and/or trails or very gentle fingers. 😉 I’d get bigger discs.

thanks for all the responses, maybe give them a overhaul via hope then

what settings are people running on the BPC? I have to run it all the way out, as if I don’t even with the reach out quite a way, I find they come to close to the bars?

I find it odd that I have to do this though, Id have thought having it wound out all the way on the BPC isn’t quite right some how, but if I don’t then the above happens and they literally pull the bars to easily and have even less power than id like

that sounds like you have bled them incorrectly rather than anything untoward.

Hope do some great videos on how to bleed them up, its dead simple.

I haven’t bled them tbh, ever, the shop does them…..

winding it out the BPC takes the lever bite further away from the bars, if I even wind it in a few bits, its just doesn’t bite the same and comes too far back, even when the reach is turned further out….

ill have a look at some vids, never actually bled a brake, that and wheel building are the only things that scare me on the bike

If you like the feel of the Hope brakes but want more power, give Magura MT5 or MT7s a try.
Very happy with the MT5s I’ve got at the mo. They’ve got far nicer feel and modulation to them the SLXs o my other bike but just as much power as Saints.

I was advised by a Hope rep to run the bite point all the way in ie screwed all the way in, and then just adjust the lever with the reach adjuster.

Oh and in the wet I find the sintered pads offer more ‘grab’ than the standard ones.