[Closed] Shimano or hope brakes?

Hope for bling.

Shimano for plain working well and no fuss.

shimano, it just works

Shimano.

Easy to set up
Easy to adjust (no shims needed)
Easy to replace pads
Easy to bleed
Powerful
Great feel
Never go wrong
Mineral oil for blood

It is [i]absolutely inconceivable[/i] that anyone will disagree with any of that.

i have hope mono mins and shimano xtrs. Hope work well although the lever pivot can get notchy. I prefer the feel of the xtrs but they do tend to pump up more on long downills.

i love my shimano brakes... I have no other makes... Whereas the hope m4's and minis ive had in the past have allways seemed a bit weak on the power side of things, and then just stopped working altogether.

I second shimano being easy to bleed. I had one where i just had to tap the hose, and the air bubbled up to the top. It went from pulling to the bar to feeling perfect again, just from that. It was also my fault, as id forgot to re-tighten the hose at the caliper end after adjusting the angle...

0hope are the easiest brake to bleed.

In the woords of stuartie c

hope are;

Easy to set up
Easy to adjust (no shims needed)
Easy to replace pads
Easy to bleed
Powerful
Great feel
Never go wrong

Hope if you want a good spares back-up. Shimano if you don't want to need spares.

Hope if you want them to last for ever - shimano - don't rely on being able to get spares now let alone in five years.

Feel is a part of it as well IMO - hopes have a softer lever feel = more modulation = less initial bite. Shimano harder lever feel = less modulation = more inital bite. Thats a matter of preference. Hope pads last thousands of miles as well.

so you guys like shimano then?? 😆

I am tempted as the shimano's are fairly cheap and i have a big bottle of shimano mineral oil sitting there! Do they benefit from floating rotors?

EDIT: Tandem jeremy...thats always how i have found hopes too! I've only ever had to change pads because of accidental contamination, never through wear!

Hugh

Hope pads last thousands of miles as well.

Even the Superstar ones?

Oh almost forgot the main reason I'm switching all my brakes from Hope to Shimano.

Shimano brakes have never attempted to kill me in Verbier.......

just ordered some saints.
hopes are underpowered.

Shimano, just for the lever shape

shimano for me, although I think magura are non to shabby.

bombadillo - even the tech v2s.... I beg to differ

I had the 775's on my old bike & they never caused me any trouble. Plus the modualtion was excellent.

I now have tech m4's on my newer bike and love them too so I would say it comes down to looks/cost.

Oh almost forgot the main reason I'm switching all my brakes from Hope to Shimano.

Shimano brakes have never attempted to kill me in Verbier.......

what happened?

Ok guy's, i can get the hopes for a really good price but it still works out a fair chunk more than the shimanos, how is the pad life on the shimano's?

oxnop - i think most of the people oin this thread have not tried the new tech hopes

Total brake loss one time too many. 😯

ianpinder - Member

oxnop - i think most of the people oin this thread have not tried the new tech hopes

I have.

hugh b

if your rubbish at braking then some hopes can over heat, shimano are less rpone to over heating. TBH i have over heated both my m4s and a pair of the servo wave xts so niether are better. the only brake i can't 'cook' is the tech v2 vented

stuartie_c - Member

"Hope pads last thousands of miles as well."

Even the Superstar ones?

Nope - HOPE pads - wouldn't touch cheap pads

In fairness I borrowed RHS's bike with vented V2's on and they were fine.

Wouldn't want to cart all that weight round for everyday riding though.

Ian. All the guides at BV must be rubbish at braking then. 😉

agree with tj, so far my hope pads are under 1/2 worn, and i have done 3 weeks in the alps on them 3 cwm carn uplift days and various push up days. where as my friend went through 2 sets of pads in 3 weeks in the alps. I weigh 26st my friend weighs 14 st so its not like i was lighter on the pads

I weigh 26st my friend weighs 14 st so its not like i was lighter on the pads

😯 seriously.

I will never move away from Hope, great brakes, absolutely fantastic backup, I've just got my rear mini back from Hope as I couldn't bleed the bugger for love nor money after an accident.

They returned it to me after having them for only two days, fully bled with new seals, a brand new set of pads, a brand new length of braided hose and connectors all for £46 inc return postage.

Try getting that kind of service from Shimano or Magura.

Explosion In a Spaghetti Factory - totally rubbish lol.

To be honest, I would never use m4s or x2s in the alps, but then niether would I use saints, 'the ones', or any magura brake. the only brake i would use is the tech moto with the vented disc which is what I have.

However my friend used m4s in the alps and never had a problem.

TBH my friend has slx brakes and I really like them. you can't go wrong with either the hope or the xt. It really does come down to price/looks, however like other people have said you won't be able to rebuild a shimano brake in 2 years time, but you will a hope brake.

however like other people have said you won't be able to rebuild a shimano brake in 2 years time

you won't need to. 😈

i haven't tried the new hopes but shimano are outstanding, infact with todays disc brakes your hard pushed to find a real dud.

They returned it to me after having them for only two days, fully bled with new seals, a brand new set of pads, a brand new length of braided hose and connectors all for £46 inc return postage.

Probably get a new Shimano caliper for that.

Shimano,my XT's are great____ they don't look great___ but they just keep working

had problems with hope like lazy pistons, leaky pistons

my mate even cooked a brand new set of 08 m4s on the first descent

ok guy's, thanks for the help. I have had a good look at both and stuck with what i have always known and liked, gone for the hope x2's with floating rotors!
I have never had a problem with any of my hopes (touch wood) so i figured that was the logical thing to go for, i was being tight really and thought i might be able to save a bit of ££ by going for xt but seeing as the pads are twice as much and may not last like hope pads i figured i might as well pay the money, fit and forget!

What's total rubbish?

Or should I not argue with you cause you is a big bloke. 😉

Excellent choice!

Don't listen to these Shimano fan-boys.

No, wait...

I just bought some Hope Tech V2s. I wouldn't buy them again, I'd buy the shimanos that I borrowed off a mate while waiting for the Hopes.

Hope that helps - I'm not a fanboy of either, I've genuinely used both and can say I'd prefer the Shimanos both as regards fitting and usability

stuartue c - really a whole caliper for 46 pounds. i dont think so, a deore lever and caliper were 90 in freeborn

tails - you will need to if you crash

hugh b if you still have chance go with m4 front and x2 rear

Love my '08 Mono Minis, pads have lasted 12 - 18 months so far. 2 years old and they've never needed rebleeding or gone wrong since coming from the Orange factory. I've never even had to realign the caliper.

Got some entry level Shimanos on my Genesis and they're frankly gash. Everytime I remove a wheel the caliper needs realigning and even then they start dragging and squeeking mid ride. Hated them from new. I guess they stop ok but they're a bit "nothing, nothing, nothing ON!!!!"

I appreciate they're cheap ones but still, you'd expect better from Shimano... Everything I have from Hope felt like indulgence and bling at the time but has been really good to me requiring next to no servicing.

stuartie_c - Member

They returned it to me after having them for only two days, fully bled with new seals, a brand new set of pads, a brand new length of braided hose and connectors all for £46 inc return postage.

Probably get a new Shimano caliper for that.

Which won't have new pads, braided hose and fully bled..

Shimano are great, until they go wrong. And spares are non existant. Its either a new lever or a new caliper, assuming of course its available still.

I have a set of old style Saints that are 4 years old, have been used, abused, raced, uplifted and done whole seasons in the Alps which now reside on my girlfriends DH bike. Only now are they feeling a bit tired and in need of retirement. Looks like they will be demoted to her trail bike for the rest of their life. Other than braided hoses, and replacement pads, they have never been touched. Can't argue with that!

Considered the new Saints but they are seriously hefty brakes, (were at the time) very expensive & spare pads are hilariously expensive so were swiftly discounted.

I've been running the new Tech M4's on my DH bike, and the difference in power over the old Saints is huge. I also like the fact that you can actually buy spares for them should something go wrong. She will probably end up with a set of these also, for convenience and pad stocks. Considered the V2's but they are somewhat OTT, unless you have some extra padding to carry around, or can't ride/brake properly...

Shimano.

Hope gave up the ghost on me in Alps years back. And this year my old Saints got to the bottom of a long rocky Alp descent working fine. Three others had boiled brakes. All Hope. Nuff said for me.

Which won't have new pads, braided hose and fully bled..

No but you can easily reuse all the parts from the old caliper; pads, hoses, banjos, seals. OK you'll have to shell out for a new barb and olive (£2).

stuartue c (sic) - really a whole caliper for 46 pounds.

Have a search on ebay for "shimano xt caliper" - M765 caliper £33 + £12 postage from USA. Functionally identical to M775 caliper but silver rather than black. And the prices of these will likely come down whereas a Hope rebuild will likely go up (speculating here).

would have said shimano last week but my xt's have a leaky piston after 1 year but not an awful lot of use.

new calliper it is then!

No but you can easily reuse all the parts from the old caliper; pads, hoses, banjos, seals. OK you'll have to shell out for a new barb and olive (£2)

So your old tat bolted to a new caliper that still needs to be bled through.

Not to mention that this caliper has to be scourced from the USA.

Bonus.

Good choice. Just gone for the same myself.

I accept hopes seem to be more susceptible to heat ( perhaps because of less meatl to absorb it?) - although I have to try really hard to cook the ones on the tandem - but this is greatly reduced if you bleed thru with fresh fluid annually - old fluid absorbs water which lowers the boiling point. Since I started doing the annual bleed thru I have never overheated a set - and the tandem puts far more heat intot eh brakes than a solo - old school M4s with 203 / 185 discs.

Those who have had overheating - had yu bled thru with fresh dot 5.1 in the previous year?

I've bled those Saints I mentioned once in four years. Never missed a beat. I like other Hope products, but wouldn't touch their brakes even if they were free.

Kingtut:

"Which won't have new pads, braided hose and fully bled."

Why would you want to replace the hose if there's nothing wrong with it 😕 XT calipers do come with pads, which are very effective.

Only criticism I have of my XTs is that one of the pistons was slightly sticky from new, which needed a few minutes of work to clear up. Other than that they've been flawless, for general riding about or for fort william uplifts.

Why would you want to replace the hose if there's nothing wrong with it

Because it's a nice touch, good customer service - the thing that so many ****nuts on here complain they don't get.

That said there may have been something wrong with it for all I know.

Just thought I'd let you all know the OP has made his/her decision, so we can stop arguing. 😀

Just thought I'd let you all know the OP has made his/her decision, so we can stop arguing.

But someone on the internet is wrong etc..

The only person who is ever right on the internet is sat behind your keyboard, obviously 😉

I always wonder when these "whats best" posts pop up & folk answer with this or that opinion on such & such a make what their maintenance schedule is like? I mean nothing is going to work for ever if you dont look after it properly..

Personally, Ive had Hope, Shimano & Magura & its not easy to tell them apart. The Hopes have the best feel, the Shimanos are a bit wooden & the Maguras Ive only had for a short while. Ive cooked both the Hopes & the Shimanos in the Alps & elsewhere & just spent the w/e riding my Maguras in Moab with no probs. IMO there isnt much difference between any of them but the crucial factor is how you look after them.

^^^^^^^exactly what i was going to say^^^^^^^^

Yes hopes are good, i like the feel, not everones cup of tea, but i like them. Yes the customer service and spares availability is great, but yes you will need it at some point. Yes shimano are pretty invincable - can't really complain about the performance of mine. I love magura's build qaulity but i find for me the lever feel is a little mushy, the powers there, i just prefer the feel of the hopes.

I think if i wanted some brales today i'd have hopes, as although you may need the availability of parts etc these [i]are[/i] accsessable and i love the way hope will do their upmost to get you the parts no matter where you are in the world (well that's what they did for me, so they'll have my brake cash money so long as they make brakes that work)

I had some slx brakes for a week in the Alps and they never boiled or needed new pads. But the rider and the conditions probably had much more influence than the brakes though so there is not much point me posting this brake is great! The most important thing about brakes pads lasting is the conditions and how much you drag the brakes and the same goes for boiling as well.

Of the two: Shimano if you want to be sure your brakes will work when you squeeze the lever. Hope if you want nasty gold coloured stuff on your bike. Simple.
Personally I ditched all my Hopes for Avid BB7s. Huge improvement. BB7s since replaced with Juicy 7s. Even better.

It depends really
If you want your bike to stop no fuss... Hope
Bear in mind this is STW therefore most of the keyboard riders on here think the black at laggan is hard.
If you want to be pickish do as TJ said, but then considering how slow he rides I am not surprises he cooks the DOT inside.

i find avid bb7 with a 200mm rotor far more powerfull than any of the other brakes.
just not fashionable i suppose.

Magura...

Marta or Louise...

Love em

Put some cheap Shimano brakes on my wifes bike as an upgrade from V's and they work fine.
Much more attached to my original hope Mini's though 🙂

got shimanos on both bikes because i could get them cheap. I would have had hopes, but couldn't afford them at the time.

New build will have hopes on it though 😉

Hope if you want nasty gold coloured stuff on your bike. Simple.

Strange, the last 2 sets of hope brakes I bought have no gold bits on them, and work superbly. As others have said, pretty much all modern hydro brakes work very well, as long as they are set up correctly. The only ones I'd actively avoid are juicies.

Nice reliable, powerful Shimanos or weak, spongey, unreliable hopes?

Obvious choice really.