[Closed] New brake time

Magura.... Not that hard to bleed once you get the hang of it. I find them better in terms of power and lever feel than Hope and SRAM..... Hate Shimano for leaky calipers and general varying performance.

I've had Guide R, RS, Level TL, TLM, Hope E4, Shimano Deore, SLX and XT. My favourite out of them all has got to be the Hopes and the Sram.

I've had my E4s for just over a year and they've been faultless and never lacked power. Like you, the XT I had just felt wooden and crap (the Deore and SLX felt better).

Currently using Guide RS on my new build because I have to internally route them and there's another 3 sets of Sram brakes in the house (makes sense to use the same for bleed kit purposes).

Actually going to be putting my Hope E4 for sale later today with the rotors and caliper mounts.

Hayes Dominion? Heavily reduced at CRC. And universally well reviewed, but never seemed to take off? Maybe it's because they are ugly...

I havent tried the maguras, so cant comment on those. But I have the hope e4 on an orbea rallon and SRAM code RSC on a YT capra. The codes are the better brake, they just have a lot more stopping power.

Both of them have never overheated even on long full on descents, but the codes are the ones I would choose, just because they're more powerful.

Ive had the sram codes for nearly a year now with no issues at all.

FWIW the XT 4 pots are a lot more progressive than other shimanos I've ridden, similar to Guides IMO.

It's personal preference. I love shimano because of the on off feel, others hate it for that. always saint on dh bike and currently newer xt on trail bike.  I don't get on with hopes, don't like that much modulation and i think they are annoying to bleed and set up (cutting hoses for example)

So yeah code RSCs for me , if i was you, not liking shimano

Ive had over the years the following on various bikes

Hope minis
Hope Monos
Hope M4
Shimano zee (leaky)
Shimano XT M8000 (leaky)
Textro (cant remember model)
Sram Level T
Sram Guide R
Sram Guide RS
Sram Code R
Hope E4
Hope V4

Of all the brakes the Hopes have been the most reliable and i have no plans on replacing the Hope V4's that are on my bike

If you like the feel of Hope's then go for them, personally i found the Shimano's on/off feel annoying and used to hurt my hands after a while

Of all the brakes the Hope's were the easiest to fit and bleed for me, gravity bled, very similar to bleeding car brakes

The Sram were a close 2nd, the two syringes make it quite easy

Textro were ok to bleed, little bit messy

Shimano i found the most messy and longest to get a good bleed, lots of trapped air bubbles even after tapping the caliper and flicking the hose, that stupid cup and plunger for the lever

shimano 4 pots over anything else for me although I prefer hope levers. Hope have too much modulation for me. either easy to bleed although hope use DOT fluid.

Thanks for all the comments.

Going to narrow it down to code rsc and hope e4/v4. I like the simplicity of a hope bleed as in just like doing a set of motorbike brakes

Hayes a bit left field so will have a quick look at those

Will see what pops up on the classifieds over the coming weeks and go from there

Thanks
Kwack

I've been really impressed squeezing some friends Code RSC's and from what they say about them. I'm looking to upgrade to them from my Guide RS's. They do seem to be full price everywhere though and not in stock with the larger players, I was hoping theyd appear somewhere discounted over the bank holiday weekend but no joy.

Still using M755s, yep, like getting my money's worth. (I wish they'd bring them back).

I think you need to try them, particularly the Hopes.

The modulation on the Code/Guide RSCs is quite different to any Hopes I've tried, and you either get on with the Hopes or you don't (I'm the latter).

That's what I'd base the decision on, rather than bleed-ease.

I’ve always had guide r’s and recently changed one of the front guide R’s to a Code R as I got a bargain on eBay. It feels pretty similar, just with a bit more stopping power when you grab the lever. I didn’t ever boil / fade the guides (which have been relentlessly reliable) so I can’t see myself doing that to the Code either. The code caliper is a fair bit chunkier than the guide - as is the reservoir on the lever itself.

I got some Code RSCs recently for my big bike. They're fantastic so far - just like a much more powerful version of the Guide RSCs I have on my trail bike. I'm a big chap and the bike's fairly heavy and they have oodles of stopping power.

Good brakes; not silly expensive, pretty easy to bleed, plenty of power and a nice feel. If I was choosing again I'd definitely have them again.

@escrs gravity bleed works with shimano too, very easy

I'm a hope fan, been on evry bike ive had for years. Minis, M4's, X2's, M4/X2 combo and E4's on my last 2. New bike has Codes on them. Was pretty sure I was going to swap them out for E4's, but a fortnight in Finale has persuaded me otherwise. Appeared to have more stopping power and less tiring on the fingers.
Still love hope stuff, but I'll be sticking with Codes for now.

Hard to look past the Hayes Dominion at the CRC price!
Also suggest looking at the Formula Cura 4pots though there aren't many reviews of the 4s about yet it seems.

Very, very tempted by the dominions myself at that price! I'm tempted to hold fire a couple of months as there a new saint groupset on the way this summer and if I could blag a pair of the old brakes on a hefty discount I'd be more than happy. For pure brutal power and ease of use nothing beats saint imo.

That's interesting to hear mrlugz.

Been a long time fan of hope. Coming from m4 the. Tech 2 4 pots I think they are called which are currently doing service on my sons rallon.

I am tempted with the code rsc but then the hope are cheaper and nicer looking.

next question will be any tips on changinf internally routed rear brake cable

Cheers
Kwack