Hi, got a hope mono mini (older one with the black caliper and gold insert) and no matter how much I bleed it the lever feels a bit spongy. I made sure the caliper was above the lever when bleeding and degassed the fluid before bleeding. Any ideas??

Try zip tying the lever back to the handle bar and leave over night – usually works for me

Has it got worse? IME hopes do have a softer lever feel than other brakes.

Did you push the pistons right back before bleeding? Air can get trapped behind the pistons if the pads are worn and the pistons part way out again IME

I’ve been tinkering around with Hope brakes for 10 years now. I think I have cracked how to look after them and learned the “dos and donts” now (I hope).

Maybe you need a seal kit. These are available through chain reaction cycles.

Make sure the piston sleeves in the caliper are free of any pitting. This is caused by grit and mud – corrosion. If there is pitting you will get leaks and air getting in will cause the lever to go spongy. In this case, you will need a new caliper body.

A full service will at least enable you to give the whole set up a good clean and see what it’s condition is.

The seal kits used to do both caliper and lever. I’d do both if I were you.