Hope Minis - no power

365punter

Hello, here's another brake related question (I've tried searching but nothing has seemed to help!)

I've got Hope minis (the two piece calipers, not mono) front and rear and a few weeks ago I lost all decent braking power - i.e. it won't do stoppies or even skid the rear wheel unless all my weight's over the front.

The rear lever pulls all the way back to the grips and the front lever almost goes back to the grips (there was no gradual change in lever operation, the brakes went from ok to rubbish overnight). When I bleed the brakes I put a thick spanner in between the pistons to stop them popping out. The levers don't go back to the bars when they're squeezed then - they feel good - but when I put the pads back in and put the wheel in the levers have gone rubbish again!

I've tried cleaning the brakes with brake cleaner (evil stuff that says it bad for the environment so hopefully it can shift any oil/grease) but the brakes are still useless.

I'm getting very annoyed with the brakes now - any advice would be great as I'm not a big believer in the abilities of my LBS!

Splasher

When you bled the brakes, did you finish by topping the resevoir right up and replacing the diaphragm so there was no air in. The fact the brake is solid with the pistons right in and poor once they extend again makes it sound like insufficient fluid.

JamesB

Agree with splasher ---you have to really fill the main reservoir right up, with it horizontal and then gently roll the diaphragm back on, fluid will spill over but that is OK!

Hope`s instructions also suggest gently `flicking` the lever before topping up to remove any small bubbles; if in doubt either get their instructions off the website or give them a ring; I`ve found them really helpful in the past. Good luck

365punter

Thanks for the replies. I've always filled the reservoir as much as i could, with brake fluid spilling out when I put the diaphragm back on. I'll try this again though but making sure the reservoir is horizontal - i think it's at an angle on the handlebars normally.

365punter

Well I checked the main reservoir and diaphragm and they were all ok. Since the front brake lever wasn't going all the way to the bars I decided to put new pads on to see if that made a difference (after cleaning the rotor). The new pads changed everything - the lever felt good and I almost went over the handlebars checking them out - so all good then! Changed the pads on the back and I got the same result there.

Why did that happen? The thickness of the old pads looks similar to the new ones? I know that they might've been contaminated and that's why the brakes were rubbish, but why would the levers go all the way to the bars when there was still loads of pad left?

Anyway, not too bothered as I've had the brakes on since March and I ride the bike every day so I can just about handle that kind of pad life.

allthegearnoidea

i try and clean my pads regurly on the bike to avoid them getting glazed! often take them out and give them a rub over some corse sandpaper and do likewise witht he disc!
somehow am on my original pads 4 years down the line! they are getting a little low now mind! but cant be too bad hey!(hope mini's btw!)