Should I get some XT brakes?

We have 2 reviews; STW and MBUK. Both reckon the XTs are the better brake. They are also cheaper.
We should ignore all that because someone who admittedly doesn’t know how to use brakes properly says that the reviews are wrong. Who also hasn’t tried the new XT brakes either.
🙄

Umm I’ve used them. I spent about 2 months trying out different brake systems by jumping on friends bikes until my oros pissed me off for the final time.

So the MBuk dyno tests show that the Hope is more powerful whilst the Singletrack reviews reckon it’s better modulating.

You know, I reckon the only reason the XT scored half a star more in the Mbuk review is because it’s cheaper. On all other counts it isn’t as good as the Hope, especially if you are spending time out in the alps.

So get back to me when you have a tiny little bit more proof that XT’s are more powerful than the Race Evo’s. In the mean time I will carry on not listening to you.

Recently went from 2012 XT’s to Hope race evo X2’s, and am made up with them. Running 180 Air rotors, they are more than powerful enough with great linear modulation. You can feel whats happening right up to the point of wheel lock-up, and control it. The XT’s I found too grabby initially, the when pushing things a bit harder, they didn’t seem to have any more power, they felt spongy, which wasn’t for the need of bleeding, it was those tiny levers flexing when pulled hard. Another point worth noting if your a weight weenie, the XT’s were heavier than my old mono M4’s. The race evo X2’s are VERY light.

Posted on another thread….

HA in your face wrecker!

Hope brakes and the Alps? That’s why I have Shimano brakes.

i’ve tried xt, slxz hope and elixirs. i prefer the xt as i like the 1 finger braking iy helped me stop dragging brakes which has improved my riding whereas felt i needed to do this with elixirs and hope as they didn’t feel as powerful and easy to control to me. i do like the look of hopes but the xts are shiny too.

This kind of reminds me of one of those PS3/ Xbox 360 bun fights you get on gaming forums

Great enjoy them! I’m sure using mineral oil in the cold British weather is a brilliant idea! Try putting some in your fridge and see what happens.

What’s in my face?
Who’s fivespot? Why on earth does his opinion mean more to you than that of at least 2 MTB journalists?
I’m not saying that XTs are more powerful than anything, I’m saying that in my experience (having Owned several different brakes) that they’re better than the tech M4s I have had. Many of us know that there’s far more to a brake than raw power. Some have still to learn this so it seems.

Yeah, like modulation which is much better on the Hopes.

I’ve owned/my family has owned what has bordered on a dozen Hope brakes. Never had many problems with them at all.

I guess it’s personal preference that is all but saying all “Hopes are shit stay away, spend another 200 quid of your money” when your current brakes are fine…..makes no sense AT ALL.

His older Tech V2’s are perfectly decent brakes. Formulas needed the most TLC of any brake I’ve had but I would of perhaps gone for some of “The Ones” or “R0’s” but my preference came down to the feel of the Tech Evo V2s. That’s all, I was looking for a brake that was CONSIDERABLY more powerful than my Oros. Only the Codes, The Ones, R0s or Evo V2s fell into that category. I might have gone for Saints but I didn’t want to spend the money on a system that was going to be replaced and the Mbuk review was kind of vague about their power.

I haven’t recommended that he buy new brakes. I haven’t said that hope brakes are shit.
The truth is, all modern hydraulic disc brakes are good in different ways. My XTs stop my 14 and a half stone as quickly as my formula the ones did.

The entire new shimano range is stunning, with massive power. I’d have deores over any brake hope make.

A fool and his money are soon parted.

Do the Shimanos still have problems with operating in cold weather?

bwaarp – Member

Do the Shimanos still have problems with operating in cold weather?

Havent had the pleasure of using mine below minus 5 or minus 6. No problems there, any colder and I tend to suffer from chest pains after riding, so not much of an issue personally.

Do Hope’s still fail with laughable regularity?

Do the Shimanos still have problems with operating in cold weather?

No, not if you know how to brake properly.

The key to good braking is to always have your finger slightly on the brake, this keeps them nice and warm and improves performance massively. You’ll never have any cold weather braking issues if you use this correct technique.

The key to good braking is to always have your finger slightly on the brake,

that is the technique i use as standard practice.

muddyfunster

Do Hope’s still fail with laughable regularity?

Nope – in years I have been using them on several bikes I have had good reliability. – I think 6 sets of hopes and in 6 years and many thousands of miles two calliper seals and one master cylinder seal replaced – cheaply and easily. No catastrophic failures

davidtaylforth – Member

Do the Shimanos still have problems with operating in cold weather?

No, not if you know how to brake properly.

The key to good braking is to always have your finger slightly on the brake, this keeps them nice and warm and improves performance massively. You’ll never have any cold weather braking issues if you use this correct technique.

Utter bullshit. Just complete tosh.

It seems over in the American forums they actually rate the Hopes better than Brits TJ, raving about reliability etc 😐

TandemJeremy –

Nope – in years I have been using them on several bikes I have had good reliability. – I think 6 sets of hopes and in 6 years and many thousands of miles two calliper seals and one master cylinder seal replaced – cheaply and easily. No catastrophic failures

Sorry Jeremy, it was a rhetorical question. Every workshop manager in every bike shop I know of runs shimano and have only derisive laughter at the mention of hope brakes.

bwaarp – Member

It seems over in the American forums they actually rate the Hopes better than Brits TJ, raving about reliability etc

They drive Cadillacs over there don’t they?

A fool and his money.

I think that’s probably because a lot of them are the official dealers for Shimano, they tend to be in bed with one LBS in each major town/city.

They drive Cadillacs over there don’t they?

A fool and his money.

I’m sorry but Shimano used to have a bloody shocking record when it came to brakes operating in cold weather. A fool is someone who jumps on a new product without much long term testing (aka the new SLX or XT brakes).

I think, in conclusion for the OP, everyone loves their Shimano brakes and finds Hope a bit gash.

Apart from Bwaarp. Who loves Hope. Just him.

Muddyfunster – considering the utter tosh people come out with on here prefaced with ” talking as a trained bicycle mechanic” I would take a large pinch of salt with that if I were you

Munrobiker – wrong once more. Fitted them with a rock did you?

You get what you pay for – nowt wrong with shimano if you like the pinch a brick feel and are happy to throw them away when they fail and to replace pads every week – want to ride for years with no problems with loads of power and feel get hopes.

Really, everyone loves their XT’s?

My front XT brake appears to be leaking fluid at the caliper end, right where the metal nut joins the hose to the caliper.

Has anyone fixed this before or is it likely to be a warranty job? The tech doc shows there are 2 o-rings with the banjo bolt which could be aligned faulty, but I’d rather not pull it apart if it’s clearly a problem I’m unlikely to fix.

I’ve just discovered it as it isn’t affecting brake feel at the lever, but has managed to contaminate 2 sets of pads so far.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/shimano-xt-m785-leak

There are plenty of more complaints in that thread, whatever examples you can find of Hopes going wrong I can guarantee you’ll find just as many examples of Shimano’s going tits up.

The bike mechanic argument doesn’t hold up as most of those guys are mechanics in shops that deal Shimano kit (there’s at least one in every major town). They have a lot more dealers than Hope. Nice deals/goodies and all that.

I was an untrained bike mechanic, does this mean I’m credible?

Jeremy, I’ve owned Hopes and Shimano. I’d never touch their brakes again (their hubs seem fine though).

I and every other bike mechanic I have ever known has worked on far more sets of Hope brakes than Shimano. You have the experience of one really rather mincey middle aged bloke pootling about, not every bike shop customer in 5 years of working in 2 stores over a massive range of riding abilities and conditions.

I have only ever had experience of 2 Shimano brakes going back. Ever.

Does my brothers experience of racing the NPS rounds for 4+ years, being at one point sponsored by Leisure lakes and coming into contact with all sorts of kit count?

As I’ve said, dozens of Hope brakes that were beaten to an inch of their lives. Never had a problem.

Some **** shit spouted on here sometimes god!

and munrobiker wave yer willy a bit more please.

Every workshop manager in every bike shop I know of runs shimano and have only derisive laughter at the mention of hope brakes.

When my Hayes ST brakes were recently deemed busted and uneconomic to repair, I considered buying Hope, as I had specced a full set of Hope stuff on the bike. But all 3 of the spanners in my LBS told me to buy SLX. They all run XT/XTR but don’t think there is a great deal of difference in performance with equivalent SLX setups. And the VFM to purchase and repair them is undeniable.

Frankly I’m still finding them scary-strong compared with my 4yo old Deores on the other bike. I barely breathe on them and they engage. I still wonder if I should have spent more money and got Hopes just for the complete look 😳

NMunrobiker – you talk pish on this. Using the tandem we put brakes under far more stress than most folk do. 230+ kgs at 40 mph down 1000 ft descwents? Plenty of folk on here blowing seals on shimanos – yes they are good if you like that feel and the cvalue for money is great but to say hopes are unreliable or lack power simply shows your lack of knowledge and mechanical skill.

TandemJeremy – Member

You get what you pay for – nowt wrong with shimano if you like the pinch a brick feel and are happy to throw them away when they fail and to replace pads every week

Why do these threads bring out a totally different TJ, one that’s happy to say things he knows perfectly well aren’t true?

Whats not true? You cannot get spares other than a new calliper or a new master cylinder. From what folk say pads do not last a long time either? Not the thousands of miles I get from pads.

replace pads every week

That’s not true seeing as how you asked.

Replace pads every week- not true. Throw them away when they fail- not true.

No idea what “pinch a brick feel” means so I’ll reserve judgement on that one 😉

So you can get spare seals then?

I’ve never needed them TJ, so never looked. I know how you feel about Hope brakes. I feel the opposite. Simple really. You use them and like them. I’ll never have a another set and dislike them. I think it’s known as a difference of opinion.

Indeed coogan – as is the feel / modulation thing.

the only spares available are a new calliper or a new master cylinder – no seals

So can you replace caliper/lever seals or not? Everything I’ve read says you can’t.

My bias comes from my brothers racing where he wanted to make sure the brakes were perfect, like new, before each race. It makes no sense having a set of brakes in those circumstances that you can’t strip and check for seal issues etc. In those circumstances It’s better to have a brake that you can service than one that may be a bit more reliable but that you have to wait to go wrong. Carrying spare calipers to races is infinitely more expensive than carrying spare seals.