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I have always been a great lover of Hope brakes but I am riding more throughout the winter ... I am finding that they are a little needy. ( Hi have V4s on tech 3 levers - front and back ....)
The pistons have a habit of sticking in one side so you get squealing etc .... once cleaned up they are okay ... but it needs doing every few weeks ...
Is the normal, and to be expected, so quit whinging ... or is Shimano stuff way more user friendly and survives a British winter better?
My Deore brakes went through a few winters no issue. My SRAM Ultimate have done several with no issues. However, I wash the bike after each winter ride and stick the hose on the caliper, so there is no muck on my pistons. I also clean the rotor with brake cleaner after each wash.
It may just be your pistons are always contaminated with mud, grit and brake dust.
Never had issues like that with Hope, it general it's way more reliable than the Shimano brakes.
I guess it could be a duff brake you have with something out of tolerance.
My v4s have had no issues whatsoever.
I'd change the caliper seals. Nice thing about Hope is that you can. Or I'd call Hope and ask, which you can do, which is another nice thing about Hope.
No issues like that with my E4's at any time of the year. zero maintenance so far over 3 years apart from new pads from time to time. Are you a bike washer? I hardly wash my bike at all, just wait for the mud to dry, clean it off with a dry rag, maybe a damp rag for more stubborn bits and steer clear of the brake callipers, suspension bearings etc. Not sure if that makes the difference but seems to work for me.
No issues like that with my E4’s at any time of the year. zero maintenance so far over 3 years
Same but in my case it's been 17 years. One fluid change so far.
No maintenance on my E4s in 2 years aside from a bleed when I moved them between bikes.
I'm going to go against the consensus here and agree with the OP. I liked the performance of the V4 but they were a bit precious. Same issue, the pistons would frequently get sticky, requiring cleaning and relubing to keep them centred. I was using the recommended silicone grease. It meant they often rubbed and/or felt spongy. Might have been the particular volcanic rock/silt where I was riding but I gave up in the end and went for TRP Quadiems - no issues at all with them.
I've always found n various Hope brakes to be robust and reliable.
I've not used the V4 but currently using E4 and had Mr and V2 before that.
The only thing that springs to mind is that the V4, like the V4 is designed to work with a 3 piece laminate vented rotor which is wider than a solid or floating rotor with a single skin brake track.
When used with a single skin rotor, the pistons will come out further to compensate. If it were me, I would maybe try the backing plate of an old pad behind the new ones, or maybe some finned pads to take up the gap and run the pistons further in.
Having said that, I never had any issues with either if my V2 setups and if the OP is using vented rotors, it blows my theory out of the water.
No issues with my V4 and E4 brakes, not been touched since i fitted them last year and still as good as the day i fitted them
Bike is washed after every ride and brakes get a good soaking to clean off any mud/grit etc..
Running Shimano and Sram rotors on each bike with no issues
Id speak to Hope and see what they say
Whoops, sorry ....
I think they are E4s .... off to double check ...
Will monitor over the next few months as I now know they have issues. I will also make sure I clean better after a ride.
Re talking to Hope ... last time I did I found them very unhelpful ....
All the Hope brakes I've ever had (and thats quite a few sets over the years) have been fit and forget (apart from pads). I don't even bother changing fluid.
I will also make sure I clean better after a ride.
What are you cleaning the bike with? SHould be no more more than water near brakes!
Had 4 pairs of Hope's over the years (07 Silver Mini's, original Tech X2s, Tech 3 E4 and Race E4) and they've all been faultless, I only bled the Minis as they were second hand but otherwise they have all been spot on.
My experience somewhere in between. I've run almost exclusively Hope since the days of the first 'open' brakes and had every generation. They need bleeding if you use them on proper descents but if you're not doing it preventively you won't notice until you ride something bigger and they get hotter. (eg I've bled mine in a lake district campsite after coming off the Old Man of Coniston - they'd been fine around the south east of england before that). On the other hand the ancient gen 1 minis on K's commuter can't have been bled for the best part of 10 years but then they just jammed solid.
Sticky pistons happen if the seals dry out - doesn't take long to clean and lube with silicon spray to sort them out but put some serious descending onto them and they need bleeding at least annually and a proper service. My E4s needed a full seal replacement after less than 2 years (but they'd done four weeks of steep, uplifted, riding on top of other use). At 2 years old both front and rear discs were worn well below the 1.5mm replacement point which cant have helped (start at 1.8, replace at 1.5. These were at about 1.2mm).
What I still like about them is they *are* fully rebuildable, you can get the spares, they need no special tools to bleed and are not that fussy so you can do it in a car park with stuff you can buy at any garage. And whatever the age or condition they're still worth money second hand. The ancient Minis went on eBay and fetched enough to pay for a new set of bottom of the range shimano.
Perhaps the pistons need removing, cleaning, lubing etc..
This video shows you how.