Hope brakes

loudog

I'm going to treat myself and upgrade the brakes on my Whyte 905.

I'm gonna splash out and fit some hope brakes, and I'm wondering which combo is going to be best. I have had hope minis in the past, which were fine, but I am riding a lot more trail centres these days.

I'm torn between the E4's and X2's, or a combination of the two.

My riding these days are mainly trail centres. Lots of Wales riding, Afan, CYB etc, Jump parks, and general XC.

Are the E4's overkill? Have you wished the X2's had little more?

Or do I go X2 rear and E4 front?

Opinions please...

cooldad

Shimano XT

nicklouse

Formula (letter of choice) one.

loudog

Cheers guys, totally useless!!

RockmonkeySC

Hope are OK but Shimano are equally good (or better) for considerably less money.

cooldad

LouDog wrote:

Cheers guys, totally useless!!

Nope Hope are pretty good. Just better out there for the price.

pigglet

Funnily enough I was having exactly this conversation on a ride yesterday!
I have a hope E4 & 203mm rotor on the front of my 29er with a 180mm X2 on the rear.
For a start the feel that you get from the hope brakes is significantly better than shimano IMO. You can feel the breakaway point so much easier.

Yep a shimano deore caliper on a 180mm rotor will stop you fine but for me they are just not as progressive as the hope's so when it's steep and loose the hopes mean harder braking and less lock-up for me.

The guy I was riding with yesterday is quite a bit heavier than me and after coming down a steep descent said he daren't use his front brake as it kept locking up. He's a novice rider and his technique needs improving for sure but I let him try my bike and he couldn't believe the difference.

To demonstrate it to good rider who didn't believe my argument I simply let him try and endo my bike with the deore front brake and then put the hope on.

I suppose it depends on what you are used to and how much you are prepared to spend on your bike. I'm used to riding and racing enduro and superbikes where front brake feel is really important. I have hope brakes all 3 of my bikes.
The other thing I like about the hope stuff is it's build like a tank and every component is available separately. Looking at some other brake master cylinders they just look like they would smash in a big off (as my mates rear formula did on his Zesty) the hope master cylinder is compact and out of the way.

If you don't want to splash that much cash straight off......
Try upgrading to a 203mm & 180mm rotors first and see how much difference that makes for you, it should make the brakes feel more progressive and less snatchy for a start.

I think brakes are quite a subjective thing, see if you can try a few before you buy???

Or if you are just censored to the bling, it's got to be the Hopes 8)

Thewaylander

If you prefer a more progressive level feel than Shimano go Formulae or the Sram Brakes..

All these manufactures make more reliable products in my experience, every I've know with hope brakes have had no end of issues, not unlike the old pro 2 hubs with all the snapping axles.

.blitz

LouDog wrote:

Are the E4's overkill?

The E4s are powerful stoppers with a solid feel which gives loads of modulation but can be fatiguing on sustained draggy descents. They're fine on my big bike (they replaced a set of Zees) but imo OTT for trail riding

On a 905 I'd go for the X2s any day

mac-cos

Had the X2s for a while moved them from one bike to next and found the E4s a massive improvement in controllable stopping power, admittedly the E4s were new and the X2's 2nd hand but they had been fully bled with new pads . Usage is mostly trail with some steep but gnarly down hill (more slow thread between the pines than speed use)

The Rookie

One persons 'nice and progressive' is another's 'lack bite'.....

I really like my old M765 levers, have tried a new M988 and prefer the older lever feel FOR ME.

POAH

get Zee from bike-discount and spend the savings on hookers and coke

RockmonkeySC

Zee are ott for a trail bike. I have a set on my DH bike and for that they're brilliant but a bit on or off for xc use. I prefer my Deores for xc riding.

POAH

I prefer Zee to the sinlge piston for trail riding

russyh

I have had and still have zee, slx and St brakes in recent months. I would still change back to hope as I prefer the feel. Shimano brakes are break but feel very binary to me. I run zee brakes currently with smaller rotors than I usually would and I like the feel, but still prefer my old hope brakes. Never had any issue with any of my hopes, bleed was simple I did buy a second hand set of team green m4's which had stuck cylinders. It was an easy job to strip and rebuild. Parts were cheap and readily available. The beauty with shimano is they are so cheap you can just throw them away! At the end of the day as others said brakes are a personal preference, saying one is better than another is a moot point. They all lock up the wheels, it just depends on how you want them to feel or react when in use.

loudog

Nice one and thanks for all the input guys. Like I said originally, I have had hopes before (on 3 other bikes) and have always preferred them so the only issue for me is whether X2 or E4. I think I have made up my mind. I think I'll go for a combination of the 2. E4 up front and x2 on the rear. Can always swap a caliper if I feel I need 2 of either. Yes, Yes thats what i'll do!