what is wrong with my Hope Tech V2s – any common issues and fixes?

Help before I chuck them in the bin please!

Have Tech M4s, in three years, been amazing.

Bought a set of used V2s, braided hoses, off here 2 years ago and they have never been great. Issue is lever pulling to the bars. Now, I have bled them, and replaced the rubber diaphram thing 4x on the levers. Still issue. LBS serviced them, were good for 2 rides, then same issue.

Is there a common issue this is likley to be that I can fix easily, coz if it’s a pain in the arse time wise, and likely to cost a bit, might just chuck them and get something else (Shimano Zee anyone?).

Any help much appreciated.

Kev

Phone Hope and ask, or try their Facebook page…

Some say they’re really helpful, I’ve never tried.

Hmmm….yes, unfortunately this is a common issue with hope, in all honesty, I would throw them in the bin or maybe sell them on here as there’s a lot of suckers on here that like them! 😆

They do all tend to have leaks, I would sell up and get Shimano…, xt’s are spot on and great price, I now have a set of these on both my bikes, I don’t know about the zees but I’m sure they’ll be great brakes too! Especially compared to hope.

Unlike shimano they can be rebuilt to new. Call hope about their rebuild process.

My v2’s have been great since I got them 2 years ago, not bled them once, even when hoses removed to swop across bikes (although they are now ready for a bleed) 1 previous owner who im sure didn’t treat them too kindly either (a Hope sponsored 4x rider)
Maybe pussywillow and all his friends drag their brakes if they all have problems, he must certainly have more money than sense if he would simply bin them 😉

I would do a full rebuild. Not difficult to do – really simple stuff.
Download the correct pdf for your calliper if you want a guide to how they go together.
All the Hope brakes i have owned, including V2 Techs have been spot on and reliable. Maybe the previous owner had not rebuilt the calliper in the correct way, or damaged a seal or left one out. Who knows till you strip it down.

Kev pussywillow has a ‘thing’ for Hope :-), suggest give Hope a call they will sort you out

Yeah ! Just bin em… ! Actually, no, send them to me… After all my 7yr M4s work as well as my Tech M4 and my Tech V2. Been very happy with Hope and made here etc…. A good product IMO .

Yes other good products are available 🙄

Just to add if you bin without calling hope then thats a fail.
Send to hope and leave the return address blank and there will be a queue forming.

Hope will fix it for you. And then you can bang on endlessly about how amazing Hope are because their products break then they fix them 😉

And then you can bang on endlessly about how amazing Hope are because their products break then they fix them

Better than some of the competition whos products also fail.

Never had any problems with Shimano warranty tbh, whereas Hope have always done the least they possibly can for me. But it’s still funny.

Personally, waste is one of my hates with bike stuff. Some stuff you can mine for spares others it’s just 1 lump that only comes apart when it brakes. Not making a seal kit (or the ability to change them) is criminal. Not being able to remove the lever blade of it bends (or get a new one) is crap.

I’ve only ever used the Hope race support at the Mega, everything else is still working well.

Agreed, it is ****. Didn’t used to be a big issue as Shimano went on forever but not convinced they can say that any more.

(incidentally, I just googled the price of Zee brakes. And **** that!)

Never had a problem with Hope brakes and my family have had about a dozen between us over the years since the original C2.

EDIT: Scratch that, I boiled C2’s and minis in the alps…that’s it.

replaced the rubber diaphram thing 4x on the levers

Four times?

You know what they say about someone who repeats the same thing over and over and expects to get a different result?

For the sake of 8 quid a side…..

http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/208/hbspc16t/hope-tech-lever-rebuild-kit.html

In contrast to the above I go my V2’s on a 2008 Marin Quake. I did the 2009 Mega with them and found them like an on/off switch so visited the Hope stand. Within 2 hours I had a brand new set of calipers, new pads all fitted, bled and ready to go. It turns out I had a set of calipers that were pre-production samples, or something like that.

Since 2009 they have not been touched. Not lost a drop of fluid and only needed new pads. Most reliable brake I’ve ever had. It’s a pity I don’t need a brake as powerful as these now.

Woah there lovers and haters, not wanting this to be a ‘yeah, but you smell!’ thread 😀

was just wondering if there was a common ‘oh yeah, the wee spigot crankle flange thingy always needs replaced on V2s etc etc’.

I will call hope, good idea, did once a few years ago, spoke to a proper northern bloke who knew what I was asking and instantly helped, will do so today.

if the rebuild is easy, I agree that would be the way to go. Ham fisted mechanics unite! 😆

Dirty dog, I know you could read it that way, but what I meant was there are 4x rubber diaphragms, I have replaced all of them. Once. 😀

Isn’t UK bike store supposed to be accompanied by >>>>>>>!!!!!!!<<<<<<<<< impending doom punctuation?

cheers all,
Hope lover Kev

When I’ve had those symptoms it’s usually a sticky piston in the caliper.
Try squeezing the pistons out in sequence (without popping them out of the calipers) and give the pistons a really good clean. Silicon spray is useful for this.
If that doesn’t sort the problem them strip the caliper and inspect the seals and replace as necessary.

tuskaloosa – Member
Kev pussywillow has a ‘thing’ for Hope :-), suggest give Hope a call they will sort you out
POSTED 7 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Err.. No I don’t, I’v always used hope hubs and would highly recommend them as they’re good value to performance compared to the likes of Chris king, and can’t stand the hassle of cup and cone that Shimano only seem to do..
However, I feel hope haven’t really advanced in terms of reliability and performance since the first minis came out…

In contrast to the above I go my V2’s on a 2008 Marin Quake.

Yes, this is the bike they belong on!! 😀

+1 pussywillow.
i ditched my v2’s last year after having them for years and even hope couldnt make them perfrom like they used to

fair enough pussywillow… I’ve only owned a pair of crap Avid 3’s since moving to the V2’s.. time will tell I suppose.

I guess personally after so much crap service around it’s refreshing to have a company like Hope in your corner.

enjoy your day gents….

Dirty dog, I know you could read it that way, but what I meant was there are 4x rubber diaphragms, I have replaced all of them. Once.

Ahh, fair enough.

Like you I bought a pair second hand, I’ve had them two years but I’ve have not had a problem with them.

When the levers pull to the bars do they go squishy and lack power or is it just an issue with the lever throw i.e. they feel firm but with a lot of travel?

Thing is with brakes there’s not a lot it can be, O rings/seals, air in the system or possibly sticky pistons, nothing that can’t be fixed.

No dont bin them!! – I had this problem with some old V2s I bought this year. Changed everything to try to fix them – bled over and over again but in the end it boiled down to the way I was setting up the calliper.

Instead of just pumping the lever with the bolts loose til the pads bite on the disc, then doing them up you have to be a bit more savy. You need to make sure both pistons come out the same distance. First of all lube both pistons with brake fluid to try an get rid of as much sticking as possible but still one will likely some out faster than the other so……

1, Push both pistons all the way back in to the caliper (leave pads in)
2, Centre the caliper by eye so that the disc sits bang in the middle
3, do up the bolts
4, slowly pump the lever to bring out the pistons – when (not if) one piston starts to come out quicker than the other, hold that piston back with a flat screwdriver behind the pad
5, When both pistons have extended to the disc spin the wheel – if you still get a little rub then undo the bolts, squeeze the brake and do back up.

This worked for me with a set I was about to consign to the bin – now they are awsome.

Also if the pads you have are not worn evenly its better to get some new ones before you start.

Tough things is, I have a comparison with my old tech M4s which are like a rock, which makes it even more frustrating.

Jedi, what you on now then?

ndthorton – good to check, I have followed the hope videos in the past, but always good to make sure.

dirtydog, Immediately after a bleed, they are great (still not M4 good, but pretty fabulous), but if left over time (say 1 week) or during a long ride, it becomes a lever pull to the bar scenario. if I do multiple pumps, they are back to strength, but obviously doing this every time I need to brake is far from ideal! 😯

(although i did post once that when the front brake just failed at a Lac Blanc day, I reckon it made me a better rider as I stopped braking stuff and just rolled it!)

Its begining to sound like an air getting in issue. Bearing in mind i replaced the diaphragms, is likely a caliper or lever issue? ❓

I shall call hope and compare answers! 😉

Cheers folks,
Kev

dirtydog, Immediately after a bleed, they are great (still not M4 good, but pretty fabulous), but if left over time (say 1 week) or during a long ride, it becomes a lever pull to the bar scenario. if I do multiple pumps, they are back to strength, but obviously doing this every time I need to brake is far from ideal!

Does sounds like trapped air, possibly rising into the lever (assuming bike is stored upright). I’d be tempted to try a reverse bleed i.e pushing fluid up through the calipers then bleed as per instructions.

I bought some xt 1 finger jobbies – Awesome!

Well, a wee update.

Call to hope said that the fact I had to pump them up, suggested that something was going on with the pistons in the calipers. Like when you change pads and have to push the pistons back in, and you have to pump the levers to get things back to normal.

They suggested to pump the pistons almost all the way out, check the seals, clean them, silicon lube them, and pump them in and out a few times to get the silicon into the seals.

So, this has been done, and I have to say it feels remarkably better. Time will tell though.

Thanks all for the input.

Kev