vented rotors / floating rotors from hope may contain fanboys

hi, I am aware of some of the issues of old regarding floating rotors. does this still ring true? (rivets coming loose etc)

also, vented rotors…. what the what now? do they make a difference7 are they a must with V4 hope downhill brakes?
ta!

everyone is riding 160mm sold discs these days

I’m running E4’s with Shimano RT86 discs with no problems.

poah – Member

everyone is riding 160mm sold discs these days
Are you sure? Are you REALLY sure?

yip these ones

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/disc-rotor-groove-racer-design.htm

U Wot?

hi, I am aware of some of the issues of old regarding floating rotors. does this still ring true? (rivets coming loose etc)

also, vented rotors…. what the what now? do they make a difference7 are they a must with V4 hope downhill brakes?
ta!

never had an issue with loose rivets in 10+years use of hope floating rotors in downhill (hope MonoM4/ Tech E4 used- Tech E4 and 203mm rotors F+R currently). I’m not convinced there’s a performance difference over single piece rotors, though I admit buying them years ago on that belief- both sets ups have for me been equally powerful in my experience. The hope floating spider can on occasion be thick enough to cause rubbing with certain mounts etc but YMMV. I wouldn’t say they are a ‘must’ but they do look better-which is of course subjective.. There might be credible research to show a performance boost but I’ve not seen it. They are also more expensive to replace and heavier.

No personal experience with Vented rotors. Seems unnecessary. A cursory glance at the sharp end of DH or EWS suggests they have no value in the most demanding aspects of the sport..

thanks Nick!

No worries man. When googled, there’s actually a STW thread that pops up from a year ago or so (one of many!). Seem’s there’s a split in opinion as you might expect- the take away though seems to be that they don’t offer much of an advantage in real terms. I actually replaced a Hope floating rotor with a Clarks on on the front (203 floating) a couple of years ago and its been excellent- it was just over half the cost of the Hope one when i needed a repacement in a hurry. Its never let me down. They do emit a pleasing ‘ting ting’ when they cool after a long descent- makes you feel special lol

yes I do like the ting ting! do they need to be 203Mmm? I have 200mm on my bike now

Mine went wobbly so I got them warrantied and then ditched them. Thing is, they don’t <do> anything- they’re not especially light and as far as I can tell there’s no performance advantage, so why? The actual Hope plain steel discs are good though

yes I do like the ting ting! do they need to be 203Mmm? I have 200mm on my bike now

Depends on the brakes/adapters.

200/203/205 are all obviously about 1mm larger in radius each time, so some combinations of rotor and caliper foul. There does seem sod all consistency in what works and what doesn’t though. Standards ehh? If you have 200mm now, i’d order the same again (assuming the pads are nicely in the center of the brake track already).

My hope floaters were fine.

No personal experience with Vented rotors. Seems unnecessary. A cursory glance at the sharp end of DH or EWS suggests they have no value in the most demanding aspects of the sport..

The sharp end of DH or EWS does not represent most riders.

I’ve melted standard SRAM discs in the alps. Actually melted them. They looked like quavers. All bent and distorted. Heavy braking from 30mph+ down very long descents did it.

Stuck on Hope floating rotors and the problem went away. Now run a mix of Hope floating ones and Uberbike Radiators

I’ve got the 203mm vented rotor c/w Tech V2 calipers on the front of my ‘big bike’ (never bothered with vented on the rear).

These brakes have now been superceded, but I’ve been running them for 8 years with absolutely no problems. Caliper allignment is key – especially with the vented as the rotor is slightly thicker than the non vented.

To be honest I’m not convinced that the vented offers significant improvement over standard floaters. I wouldn’t bother with them again to be honest. I’ve got floaters on all my other bikes and I’ve never had an issue and they can be straightened easily with the Park Tool if need be. Never had a rivet come loose.

Heavy braking from 30mph+ dragging the brakes down very long descents did it.

Ftfy

I’ve got hope floating, not noticed any issues with them in the 5 years or so I’ve been using them, but I’m not convinced they bring anything special to the party either (other than they look cool)

Expensive, probs won’t buy again

Been using Hope floating discs for 4/5yrs now, I think. No issues. They look cool and make tinging sounds after a bit of use. I take that as confirmation of my raditude, meaning the lack of noticeable braking benefits is completely forgiven.

uberbike floating rotors then….

The sharp end of DH or EWS does not represent most riders.

🙄 umm yes, that was my point..

I’ll spell it out for you though: If it’s accepted that the demands on equipment-like brake discs- are greater “at the sharp end” of competition, and we see NO top DH or EWS rider employing them in their set up(s), It’s safe to assume ‘most riders’ will similarly find no benefit from vented rotors. The only contributor with Vented rotor experience in this thread so far states:”To be honest I’m not convinced that the vented offers significant improvement over standard floaters. I wouldn’t bother with them again to be honest”

so.. yep, negligible benefit for ‘most riders’ and/or competition. “Seems unnecessary” still stands.

You try stopping on a sixpence when you’re bombing into the Lindarets bowl down a near vertical fire road at 30 mph.

I think they look nice 🙂
They also seem to last very well. I’ve got a set of 183/203 floating rotors that came with some M4s in 2006. The brakes are long gone, but the rotors are still doing their thing.

I’ll spell it out for you though: If it’s accepted that the demands on equipment-like brake discs- are greater “at the sharp end” of competition, and we see NO top DH or EWS rider employing them in their set up(s),

It isn’t accepted, I think most would expect pro downhillers to use brakes far less than most mere mortals. Slamming them on hard when they need to does not put the braking system under more strain that the “dragging the brakes” reality that most of us do to some extent or other, especially in relation to heat build up and dissipation.

I’ll spell it out for you though: If it’s accepted that the demands on equipment-like brake discs- are greater “at the sharp end” of competition, and we see NO top DH or EWS rider employing them in their set up(s), It’s safe to assume ‘most riders’ will similarly find no benefit from vented rotors.

I bet I drag my brakes a dam sight more than the pro’s do!!

I probably weight more than most (if not all*) of them as well.

*not all of them at the same time, I’m not that fat!!

Yeah, I’m with Ads on this, a fat MAMITLD is probably harder on brakes than someone that uses them properly.

Ok so why do they exist at all then? Just to cater for the ‘average’ user who drags their brakes? Seems like a lot of R&D for negligible benefit as previous contributors make it out to be-all be it anecdotal. Btw I’m not sure ppl caught this but Boardin Bob would like to point out he isn’t average and demands his brakes stop him when “bombing down” alpine descents at 30mph or 30’plus’ depending on the forum post…. just so we’re clear.

Hope the op finds a solution amongst the BS

My 160 floating rotor on the rear rattles a lot now. The 183 on the front is fine though.
I think I cooked the rear one by dragging it/running too small a rotor than was needed.

I have a non-vented rotor on my V4 on the front of my keewee and it’s fine for the likes of Fort William. Neither the Keewee nor I are what you’d consider light weight 😆

U ok hon?x

U ok hon?x

OK with the OP’s question and my answers yes. It’s been pointed out that there are differences between pros and mortals who may drag their brakes-as if that’s a revelation. No one has- as far as I can tell- offered a credible answer about the OP’s query over vented discs, which is where i was going. But you got me Columbo, I was indeed being factitious about your alpine experience, in which you only mentioned your sucessful switch to floating rotors not vented ones. Any comments on the case for vented rotors to help the OP out? Be careful you don’t mention ‘pros’ though….

No one has- as far as I can tell- offered a credible answer about the OP’s query over vented discs

Apologies if my response wasn’t ‘credible’ enough for you. I’m not sure what credentials are required, but I tried to offer my own personal experience of having used the Hope Tech V2 brakes with Vented rotors – which was as follows:

I’m not convinced that the vented offers significant improvement over standard floaters

Apologies if my response wasn’t ‘credible’ enough for you. I’m not sure what credentials are required, but I tried to offer my own personal experience of having used the Hope Tech V2 brakes with Vented rotors – which was as follows:

Forgive me Digby, I actually mentioned your answer -and conclusion- earlier, in support of some real world experience to assist the OP. Your experience with vented discs is greater than mine at nil. So, no offence was intended. By ‘credible’ I simply meant any research, articles or consensus that may support them- or as i was alluding to- why they’re NOT used professionally in the modern era. Mate, I’m just curious after the OP mentioned them, I’m not wishing to add to the quota of STW smart arses, of which there are seemingly legion. At £90 a rotor, I’d expect a little more evidence of their efficacy than one anecdotal mention on a forum post.

You seem really angry

You seem really angry

Funny that. Could be something to do with legends like you who just pollute a thread about brakes with solid gold posts like “you ok hon x” and “you seem really angry”

Super constructive.

Got anything about vented rotors?

There are very few pro MTBers (any?) who weigh over 100kg. There are plenty of amateur MTBers who are. Amateur riders are more demanding on brakes than pros of the same weight because their more frequent braking causes greater average disc temperatures but lower peak disc temperatures and the greater pad contact time increases the amount of thermal energy entering the caliper and brake fluid.

A vented rotor can dissipate more heat – that’s straight-forward engineering, hence many cars with solid rear discs still have vented front discs to handle the greater loads.

If you’re a big rider riding down big hills then vented discs are a good idea. If you’re not then you’re unlikely to benefit from them.

Hilarious! Can we be mates?

There are very few pro MTBers (any?) who weigh over 100kg. There are plenty of amateur MTBers who are. Amateur riders are more demanding on brakes than pros of the same weight because their more frequent braking causes greater average disc temperatures but lower peak disc temperatures and the greater pad contact time increases the amount of thermal energy entering the caliper and brake fluid.

A vented rotor can dissipate more heat – that’s straight-forward engineering, hence many cars with solid rear discs still have vented front discs to handle the greater loads.

If you’re a big rider riding down big hills then vented discs are a good idea. If you’re not then you’re unlikely to benefit from them.

thank you.

nickhit3 – Member

Ok so why do they exist at all then?

It’s so they can sell floating rotors for £40 each in pretty colours, rather than plain steel for £20. Same reason they sell braided steel hoses.

It’s so they can sell floating rotors for £40 each in pretty colours, rather than plain steel for £20. Same reason they sell braided steel hoses.

Seems there’s a run on misquoting today: “Ok so why do they exist at all then?” was in relation to Vented rotors, not floating rotors. So it’s just a money making pisstake after all?!! no functional benefit just pretty colours. could have saved myself a lot of time here. ah well. next!

No misquote, the thread is mostly about floating rotors (since almost all rotors are vented) and you didn’t say which you were referring to so it was a fair assumption.

No misquote, the thread is mostly about floating rotors (since almost all rotors are vented) and you didn’t say which you were referring to so it was a fair assumption

Read my posts more carefully. There is a distinction in the context between the usages of vented and traditional rotors. The post of mine you quoted was in direct reference to those contributors immediately prior who hadn’t addressed why-in my view- there weren’t a ton of professionals using them currently. “Almost all rotors are vented” shows a misunderstanding sorry-The vented rotor discused above is of the type hope produce of a sandwiched layer making up the rotor disc, not in reference to machined cutouts in the braking surface.

The op asked a direct question about the vented rotor not just tradional floating rotors. Semantics are important when talking about two distinctly different products.