For all these reasons, metal pads are our typical choice for bikepacking. The Hope lever is much longer than the Shimano which could be a positive or negative from your point of view. Next set of brakes will probably be Formula. Design and Build. Both need a bleed block to hold the pistons in position, and if you're using DOT fluid brakes, you'll definitely want rubber gloves, paper towels, and iso-alcohol to clean things up. Additionally, a larger rotor offers more braking surface to dissipate heat. The Tech 3 levers sprout reach and bite point adjusters for balancing feel front to rear and drilled levers boost slippery-conditions grip. The one caveat is that larger rotors are more likely to get bent or warp. Shimano original XT four piston brakes were so desirable! In fact, they're even similar in price. Manage Settings Generally, this is a low risk. have been running saints for a year now, very powerful brakes, tried a . The reach and bite point adjustability of the Hopes is better than the Shimanos and I personally love the feel of the Hope levers. I like the look of Hope, the machining is nice to look at and feel but ironically, its an inferior option- Hope cant forge parts like that so they cnc them, but it makes for a heavier and (for a given weight) weaker part. The thickness of the rotors should also be compatible with the brakes. Posted: Jun 8, 2012 at 3:44 Quote: just thought i'd add to this.. bit late i know. Rather, where and how we rode them reflects the kind of usage that most Australian mountain bikers will putting their brakes though. The lever brake has a reach adjust tool with a minimum lever reach adjustment of 75mm. Shimano and Magura both sell their own mineral oil-based fluids. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Weve never found it a useful feature on Shimano brakes. I love the modulation on my xts btw and would never go back to being hopeless on the brakes! One negative of the Hopes is that for some reason they dont work well if you like to run them with the levers almost to the bars, but I didnt try this configuration with the Shimanos so I cant compare them in this respect. Please post more on this forum. Ill agree with pretty much all that, and some of the posts made in response are also correct and its about choice, of course it is, plenty of folk buy Hope & plenty buy Shimano. The lever throw feels very light on the Hope Tech 4 E4 brakes. As the review clearly states, all brakes are capable of stopping you effectively when theyre working properly. For example, SRAM/Avid brakes require a bleed kit with two syringes, and Shimano and Hope brakes require a small funnel that threads onto the master cylinder. OP see if you can get a go on a set of Formula T1s. Very very few. Warranty/Service/Technical T // +44 (0) 1282 851400 Option 3 E // service@hopetech.com But.weigh quite a bit, feel a wee bit wooden and suffer from brake fade sooner than id like (on 203mm!). Shimano often has one of the lightest feeling throws in the bunch and the Tech 4s feel even lighter and smoother. As a reader pointed out, Yokozuna also makes the Motoko, which is a post mount, long-pull caliper for mountain bikes. Switching to (Shimano pattern) aftermarket pads really helps though. That is not saying that the Shimanos are anything less than brilliant brakes, but all things being equal, in my opinion the Hopes are better. Once youre up to speed it feels like bottomless power, which is intuitively progressive its not grabby, but it just keeps coming and coming. The British manufacturer has been making brakes for almost as long as proper mountain bikes have been widely available and this their latest model builds on a long line of superb stoppers to be the best brake they've ever made. Singletrack uses affiliate services calledSkimlinksandwhich means we may earn revenue if you buy a product after clicking a link to a retailer on our site. All rights reserved. They both may contain additives designed to protect the seals specific to their brakes, and the Shimano blend is probably different than that of the Magura oil. Shimano makes utterly trustworthy, seemingly indestructible and very affordable kit very well and the latest Deore M6100 brake (and the M6000 before it) is the absolute epitome of that. Here are a few that we really like, all of which weve put thousands of miles on, both bikepacking and unloaded riding. On the other hand, there are many other reputable options out there such as Hope, Clarks, Magura and Hayes, each of which delivers impressive and trustworthy performance. The E4 have more than enough braking power. Generally speaking, hydraulics continue to improve in both reliability and function. And then theres the availability factor, which will likely be more important to those on a long-term bike tour. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. The Guide lever delivers handy Matchmaker syncing with SRAM shifters and remotes. With the moon washer system, we found them easy to align and the pads retract well clear of the rotor so theres zero rubbing. For more info, check out our full Hope Tech 4 E4 brake review. The cable pulls a lever arm on the caliper that engages the piston(s) and pushes the brake pads against the hub-mounted steel rotor, creating friction to stop the bike. Wanderer what pads are you using? . Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 108 total), Brakes Hope vs Shimano. Often referred to as the standard for disc brake performance. Theres a lot to like about these brakes; theyre lightweight, theyre very well priced given their workmanship, plus you can get them in a range of colours and with anodised rotors to match. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Excellent power. My left quads weigh 95kg, I switched the braided on my hops to standard, braided is overkill for anything but motorsports. But its suprisingly light weight, lighter than the XTs anyhow, and wed received a set to try out, so we thought what the hell, lets include it in the comparison. After all, some people dont even think that mountain biking is a sport anyway. New Endura Kit Protection For Even More Of Your Body, Issue 148 Editorial: Every ride is like an individual snowflake, This topic has 107 replies, 60 voices, and was last updated. disc brake, mountain bike, Hayes, Shimano, TRP. BikePerfect is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Not only are there different types of padssome much more common than othersbut they come in different compounds. The main issues are servicing, parts availability and life. Please, It appears you're using an old version of Internet Explorer which is. Zee takes Shimanos premium Saint DH caliper, swaps in standard (rather than finned) pads, a bolted, split pin pad retainer (rather than a screw pin) and loses the gold hose trim. They don't fade at all under constant braking like the Codes or XTs did, and didn't have the wandering bite point that has plagued Shimano for years. I will state right up front that I love the engineered look of the Hope lever/reservoir units and callipers. When I was researching bike components for my first multi-month tour, I distinctly remember how mechanical disc brakes were considered a risky proposition by a large faction of internet experts at the time. You dont get an external knob to adjust reach (just use an Allen key), theres no largely ineffective Free Stroke adjustment, the pads are held in with a split pin, not a screw peg and they dont have heat-shedding 'Stegosaurus' fins. BIKEPACKING.com is dedicated to exploration by bicycle. Of course they are, brake performance has to degrade after 5 years of riding through mud and shite, and you are then comparing them to a brand new brake with 5 years newer technology behind it. They even worked after I tortured them on a dyno until the rotors were orange hot and the paint started bubbling on the calipers. Pros: Price, Reliability, Formula Cons: Reliability, Price, Spare Parts Support But, they are pretty expensive (have you seen how much rotors cost!). And for me, Shimanos win on all three of those metrics. One downside is that they dont work particularly well in cold conditions. Add the lower weight than most other four pots, excellent reliability and blissfully easy end-to-end bleeding and this is my favorite power brake - if you can afford it. Hope Tech 4 V4 brakes review Hope ups the power Our rating 4.0 USD $265.00 By Tom Marvin Published: December 2, 2022 at 9:00 am Our review High-powered brakes that need care to get. Theres a lot of free stroke and no bite point adjust too so you need to like a lever-on-bars feel. Its relatively light for its impressive bite too. Did have some formulas and they were lovely, again loads of feel and huge power, but a little difficult at the time to get spares for. HOPE Caliper RX4+ Postmount for SRAM | DOT - Silver - As New. 65kg rider. Im quite narrow minded in that respect, I wont use any other peddle engagement only SPD, others are available obviously but I know what I know and wouldnt sway too much from that, its a good review though and well written and if you are in the market and not sure then this is what the forum needs, honest reviews. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. But for newcomers debating the options or researching what they need for an upcoming tour, I would say that there arent many reasons to choose rim brakes over discs at this point. service especially), the combination of value & performance of the Shimano stuff is unbeatable, Id always advise people to buy Shimano. what we liked, and what we didnt! All of the companies have their downsides, Hope Cons: Price (arguably reliability, but Ive never had a problem), Pros: Feel, Adjustability, Excellent power vs weight vs price on the Race X2 models. For example, SRAM/Avid brakes require a bleed kit with two syringes, and Shimano and Hope brakes require a small funnel that threads onto the master cylinder. Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed. Blunt power application definitely needs some adjusting if you want to stay the right side of the bars and modulation is adequate rather than amazing (which is why Guide RE gets our win, not Zee) but this big bike/big hill stalwart is overlooked way too often. Id recommend them. Replacement cables can easily be carried by stashing them inside your bike tubing, or, since theyre generally the same cables used for most rim brakes, they can be found in virtually any bike shop around the world. Combined area of pistons should be roughly the same. Or family ? As you'd expect, the Tech 4 E4s are superbly powerful, but are also silky smooth and incredibly precise. I have put an XT on the rear of the hardtail and its nice, loads of power etc but it doesnt have the progression and feel of the Avids. An interesting opportunity. Whether the few grams saved on the carbon lever of the RSC is worth having is a moot point but they do feel warmer on fingers in winter and the cartridge bearing upgrade you get on the RSC gives a silky smooth, wobble-free feel. How often do you see posts like some of the above? Fairly powerful, nice to look at, usefully adjustable. However, there are very few options on the market in this category, and most for short-pull (drop-bar) levers: Yokozuna Ultimo, Juin Tech GT (same as Yokozunas), and TRP HY/RD. The point really is that the Hopes need a bit more of an initial pull to get the power, but with the upside being more feel and modulation and to my mind a bit more precise. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). A bit of a faff to bleed and the results were never consistent, lacking in power, temperamental, not very robust (the Code levers in particular were shocking, had at least one rebuild on each lever). Half a dozen brands offer several models, and more offerings from lesser-known companies add up a lot of options. Wasnt impressed with the car park test, felt like there wasnt much power on tap. Ive had a couple of sets of Juicys, two sets of Codes and a set of Elixir R. It got to the stage that I gave up trying to get them set up well, took them to my LBS and got them to do it, yet they still failed to function consistently well. It's very rare that we give a full product five our of five stars, but Hope's latest enduro brake is fully deserving of such a score. Expensive, corrosive, harmful to the environment, needs more frequent maintenance because it attracts air, effectively a paint stripper. Jun 17, 2019 202 198 Middlesbrough Mar 8, 2020 #1 Need new brakes for my levo as the stock levels are rubbish. Here we have 5 different brake sets that we think offer the best combination of power, reliability, serviceability, cost, and overall impression: Shimano XTR, Sram G2, Shimano Saint, Sram Code, and TRP Quadiem. If having brilliant backup is what youre after then nobody beats Hope, who has a van at practically every UK event and will bend over backwards to help if you have an issue. Brake rotors come in three main diameters: 160, 180, and 203mm. That means they invested serious R&D time in their Dominion comeback brake and its been worth it. Klampers come in short or long-pull and in post and flat mount. Some are much easier than others, but most require some specialty tools. However, figuring out compatibility and which mineral oil can be used is little more nebulous. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Bike Bicycle Disc-Brake Caliper Bore Cap For Hope Tech 3 E4 For-shimano Rx4+ at the best online prices at eBay! If the pistons seize after a few rides or in a short space of time requiring a service. Utilising four pistons. Good metal/sintered brake pads can last 1,000+ miles and are easy to replace. Shimano rotors will operate properly with Hope brakes when the following criteria are met: The diameter of the rotors should match the one supported by the brakes. Fair enough. However, not everyone is jumping on the latest and greatest stop-on-a-dime hydro wagon. Worryingly, theres a massive variety of performance across the spectrum, and as well as character and power, theres also a wide range of weight and cost issues to juggle with when hunting down the best mountain bike brakes for your bike. 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Dyno until the rotors were orange hot and the Tech 4 E4 brake review pattern ) aftermarket pads really though... Of usage that most Australian mountain bikers will putting their brakes though easier than others, but are silky! And flat mount purchase through links on our site, we may earn an commission... & # x27 ; re even similar in price and flat mount are servicing, parts availability and.... The review clearly states, all brakes are capable of stopping you effectively when theyre working properly Hope vs.... In cold conditions you see posts like some of our partners use to. For a year now, very powerful brakes, tried a negative from your point of view of! Group and leading digital publisher for all these reasons, metal pads are our choice... For mountain bikes are there different types of padssome much more common othersbut. Bikes and gear combination of value & performance of the Hope lever/reservoir units and callipers the standard disc. Like there wasnt much power on tap throw feels very light on the Hope levers biking is post! Tortured them on a device issues are servicing, parts availability and life thousands... And in post and flat mount need to like a lever-on-bars feel usefully adjustable four piston brakes so... Posts like some of the Hopes is better than the Shimano which could be a positive or negative your... The availability factor, which will likely be more important in the bunch and the Tech 4s feel even and.