Trickstuff vs Hope – any experiences?

I’ve been smitten by a set of Trickstuff Maxima brakes, but am struggling to see how anything can be objectively ‘better’ than my trusty Hope Tech 2 V4s.

Has anyone got any real world experiences with the Maxima, or other Trickstuff brakes, to help compare against what I already have, and/or to justify upgrade cost?

I can’t help with the Trickstuff brakes but I went from Tech 3 E4s to Tech 4 E4s and there’s a big jump in performance. No lose in modulation but there’s more power and it’s easier to access, which to mean means less fatigue on long runs.

I’d be amazed if the Trickstuff’s were worth the massive difference in cost. They do look nicer than Hope’s though!

Might be worth seeing if you can have a go on someone’s newer Hope’s, if you’re anywhere near South Sheffield or the Peak District, you’re quite welcome to a go with mine.

What’s a Tech 2? Is that a typo or a very old brake?

Likewise I went from the underwhelming Tech 3 to the Tech 4 and they’re vastly superior. Very happy with them.

I was Trickstuff curious before but I’m not bothered at the moment.

I have Trickstuff Direttissima on my enduro full sus and Hope T4 E4 my hardtail. They’re both great brakes but the Trickstuff are definitely a step above in power, lever feel and overall quality. Whether you find that worth it is up to you.

I’d happily swap my E4s for more Trickstuff and I’d probably buy the Trickstuff again for a downhill oriented bike but I didn’t buy another set when I built up my hardtail as it didn’t seem worth it for that application.

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Edit: if you’re anywhere around the Maidenhead / High Wycombe area you’re welcome to a squeeze.

I think for the money involved you’d be better with the Hopes, given the test below puts them on par with Trickstuff or even slightly beyond

Hope Tech 4 V4 – in our big 2024 MTB brake comparison test

What’s a Tech 2?

They were never called ‘tech 2’ just simply ‘Tech’ and after that was the ‘tech evo’

Those were the version with the flip flop design and 2 lever caps

This one

you’re welcome to a squeeze.

They were never called ‘tech 2’ just simply ‘Tech’ and after that was the ‘tech evo’

Those were the version with the flip flop design and 2 lever caps

Oh yeah, I had those in about 2009.

Sorry OP, but if you can’t even imagine how something can be better than your 15 year old Hope brakes you need to get out more.

Ride more bikes, squeeze more brakes.

Has anyone got any real world experiences with the Maxima, or other Trickstuff brakes

Yep, they’re incredible. Hope Tech4V4 have caught up to Diretissimas now, but the Maxima still edges them both, power wise.

TS have a much nicer finish too, if that mean anything to you.

Objectively, there are a few options now that are 95% as good for 40% of the price, so if you are looking for good value, these aren’t it – I’d go for T4V4s – but if you really want them, you won’t be disappointed.

I would suggest trying a pair of tech 4 .ie a friend of just even squeezing someone’s out on the trail as they are definitely a different lever feel and whilst an improvement in power ove previous versions the lever feel and indeed lever style might not be for you.

It has quite a light digital feel which does take some getting used too .

Brakes are a real personal preference and the tech 4 are far from perfect .

I’m deliberately not trying anything more powerful than my Zees.

Avoiding temptation.

Last time I check the availability of the TS brakes the backlog was many months

Saddleback have just taken on distribution in the UK, and they do come into stock in Germany pretty regularly.

Interesting stuff, thanks all!

@dyna-ti, that’s the one, I’m on Tech Evos. The thing is, I’m not going to replace Hope with Hope as this is a heart decision more than a head one. If it was just the head talking then there’s no way I’d spend that kind of money on brakes when my Hope’s are plenty good enough for what I need.

@tomhoward, I thought you might pop up in a thread like this! In short, I really want them – just like I really wanted the eeWings which I finally got a little while back. I suppose I really wanted to know if they were a shiny waste of money, or if they are as good as the reviews paint them to be.

You absolutely won’t be disappointed, they’re amazing brakes.

But the latest Hope ones are really, really good too, and would be just as significant an upgrade on what you have

What about the tech 4 levers and the stainless pistons? Keep the old calipers?

Is is worth the faff? Just sell yours complete on the Hope fanbois FB group or similar and buy complete Tech 4’s from Start Fitness or Slam69 or whoever has the best discount.

@jamiemcf – that’s absolutely the right head decision, but doesn’t scratch the itch that the heart has..

As long as the Trickstuff’s aren’t all show and no go then that’s my question answered! Sounds like they are as good as everyone says they are. Of course they don’t represent value for money against the latest Hope offering, but somehow they seem more special.

but somehow they seem more special.

Until someone spots them on the trails and asks how good your new Lewis brakes are.

*Forum in-joke

Until someone spots them on the trails and asks how good your new Lewis brakes are.

Or asks if they’re knockoffs of Lewis brakes!

@abingham

The other option as pointed out above is to keep your calipers and just buy a pair of the T4 levers, as its mainly the levers the power is coming from.

I’ve 2 sets of T4V4. Set A is on the mega, full brake, got them for about £300 for f&r during the CRC sell off, but the other set(B) I built using a pair of T3 V4 calipers, paired onto a pair of T4 levers. The levers cost me £99 each, and the calipers while older were actually new.

As this mismatched set is for a commuter Ebike, i dont need fancy pistons.

.

Im using a single T4V4 on the front of the emtb, and the rear original shimano is a leaker, so effectively nowt going on there working wise, and thus all my braking on that bike is only on the front brake. Given me and the bike plus panniers/kit/shopping etc we’re looking at 130kg+ which is a hell of a weight for a single brake to cope with, but cope it does and ive had zero issues stopping.

Our pool of clients might not quite be big enough to constitute a proper statistical sample, but if it’s helpful our current observed failure rate in the context of a week of Alpine riding is :

Trickstuff: 100%

Hope: 0.1%. Maybe not even that.

I’m not joking. Every single Trickstuff brake we’ve seen has spewed its fluid all over the trails within 2 days. Admittedly, that’s not very many. But still. We run Hope on our bikes….

Former Maxima owner here…

Subjectively, they are “all that” and more… Forgetting VFM, they are everything a brake should be in terms of both power and modulation, combined with the nicest lever feel I’ve ever experienced and build quality unlike no other… They feel far more like a high quality Brembo Superbike setup than any other MTB brake I have used, in that you never need to get anywhere near either the grip strength of your index finger or that you never lack the most intricately precise degree of control at all times. There is no “stick in the spokes” moment, just gobs and gobs of incredibly well controlled power with pretty minimal input required. The freedom that this allows you in terms of reducing hand fatigue and to be much more precisely measured with where and when you can brake without either locking up a tyre or overshooting an apex, is incredible…

There of course were some BIG buts…

First big but… Availability of both the brakes in the first place (I bought a set 2nd hand) and spares was as good as non-existent… Since being bought out by DT, this seems to have improved significantly however. Bike-components.de seem to have spares in at all times, and even complete brake sets most of the time too, albeit the chance of getting a discount is non existent and you will pay duty to bring them in to the UK thanks to Brexit! But if what @tomhoward says about Saddleback having taken them on as UK distributor is true (I can find no confirmation, but will be asking around with industry friends in the morning) then it can only be good news.

Secondly… It can get VERY expensive if you have got several bikes… Once you’ve ridden them and got used to them on one bike, recalibrating your brain back to other brakes on your other bikes becomes a royal PITA. Sadly I sold mine because not only could I not afford another 3 sets, getting hold of them would have been impossible at the time anyway.

Thirdly… The 6mm hose really is a no no for most modern internally routed frames… Fortunately Trickstuff seem to have addressed this with a 5mm hose option now as per on their Diretissima brakes, but older brakes will require a new 5mm hose to be able to use on most modern internally routed frames in addition to buying the brakes.

Fourthly… They are a bit of a PITA to bleed… Don’t expect your LBS to be able to do it either… Buy the suggested Trickstuff bleed kit, follow Trickstuff’s bleed instructions to a T, and the bleed will still be mediocre at best… It’ll take you half a dozen times to get a decent bleed on the brake if you’re not used to it, but obviously, it’s worth persevering… And once bled properly, they shouldn’t need bleeding again for a very long time at least!

Lastly… The bar clamp setup is overly complicated and not particularly intuitive. Combined with Trickstuff’s own SRAM or Shimano matchmaker type clamps, it’s all a bit fiddly when setting up compared to a fully native SRAM setup, and due to the pretty small machine screws used and small allen keys required (buy a good set of allen keys like Wera or the like, please don’t use an old worn out cheap set!!!).

I have totally ignored the elephant in the room of VFM here as someone who just wants the best, VFM is irrelevant in my experience. 4yrs ago when I purchased my set of Maxima’s 2nd hand, the performancegap from the competition was vast, but so was the price gap. Hope Tech 4’s and arguably a couple of other brakes seem to have decreased the performance gap somewhat, if you want the best you will still be prepared to pay for it…

I have been Trickstuff curious again myself for a few months now, since coming back to MTB from an enforced layoff effectively means I’m eMTB only now (or might take my XC bike out for gentle rides with the GF, but then the brakes won’t matter) where previously I was chopping and changing between 3 or 4 bikes frequently when I had the Maxima’s fitted to my Geometron, I am finding it harder and harder to resist another pair to be honest! Certainly they are a FAR better investment of your cash than carbon wheelsets, wireless groupsets or the like… Though I’d still spend my budget on the right frame, suspension, tyres and getting it all tuned and setup individually to my requirements first before spending out on some Trickstuff brakes…

@mboy https://www.instagram.com/p/C_08PeYJ2_5/?igsh=MXRpd2Y3OG1xbGlyNg==

looks like some from this parish will be able to confirm too 😉

You could always throw Intend Trinity into the mix if you want expensive, flawless and exclusive. Occasionally dropped in batches of 50.

Last time I check the availability of the TS brakes the backlog was many months

There seems to have been some massive changes with TS over the last 12 months or so. Availability is now (pretty much) days to weeks for most stuff over here, i suspect that the additional funding and support from DT Swiss is now in full swing.

Sorry OP, but if you can’t even imagine how something can be better than your 15 year old Hope brakes you need to get out more.

Diminishing returns innit, i’ve got tech evo and tech 3 (and some classic m4) they work incredibly well modulation is excellent, power is more than enough, fade just doesn’t happen, don’t have any hand/finger issues. So why spend hundreds to replace something that works perfectly well? It’s spending for the sake of it.

Ride more bikes, squeeze more brakes.

I ride loads of bikes and squeeze loads of brakes. *Shrug*

I am fortunate enough to have a couple of sets of TS brakes. One set of Piccola’s on an Epic & a set of the newer Direttissima’s on my big bike.

I’ll echo what others have said about the quality of them – nothing else, bar the Intend Trinity feels as quality as either.

Regarding performance, I will also add, I have never ridden anything that has the level of consistency of a well bled TS brake, regardless of use. The only brake I have used which comes close is the Hayes Dominion A2, which I had on my previous Epic, I do actually really rate the Hayes better than any other brake I have used when you take value into consideration.

My partner bought a bike with a set of the new Tech 4 brakes, which lasted about 2 weeks before they were sold (for some Dominions!). My subjective view was they didn’t feel as powerful as the TS, the levers look comical & crude and regardless of how well, or as many times as I bled them, they still felt mushy.

With our riding group every year, we play a game relating to apres bike beers. Those who need to bleed brakes, or faff about with brake setup, buy the rounds. I suppose I should be thankful as Hope by proxy, very kindly funded our beers all week via our friends who insist on using them still. We stayed on another week, and ended up doing nearly 80,000m of descending in total without touching any brakes, having not touched them all year prior other than to change pads.

I think I would rather run Shimano over Hope.

I mean, surely anyone with deep enough pockets for Trickstuff should be getting the beers in though?

Yeah and I bet he parks his VW T6 or whatever outside the forest to avoid the £6 parking charge.

T6? Jesus. I’m not homeless.

With our riding group every year, we play a game relating to apres bike beers. Those who need to bleed brakes, or faff about with brake setup, buy the rounds. I suppose I should be thankful as Hope by proxy, very kindly funded our beers all week

Jesus christ, I bet they struggle with a front mech as well. It’s not nice taking advantage of folk you know.

I have E4s that I never touched, worked fine. As in, original Enduro 4s. Same as my M4’s, V4s and Race Evos. If you can’t bleed a Hope you have none.