Hope: New Rims, Stems and More - Core Bike 2014

 Never!! HOPE FTW

www.pinkbike.com/photo/8707406

 I'll buy Hope anything!!! Also, shoulda put a DVO Emerald on that custom green Demo 8!!

 @Barnseyhcxc

Avid's brakes are actually manufactured by Tektro, but I know what you mean

 uh....Formula. Magura simples

 got me some hope m4 races and they are the most reliable and most consistent brakes I've ever owned! Always good to see hope expanding and developing new products

 But what else did Avid make ? - Formula now make forks, as do Magura - fair enough. But they don't make headsets, pedals, BBs, Stems, Chainrings/Bashes, Hubs, Lights, seatposts, clamps...need I go on....and all made in the same factory to very high standards. Britain should really have had it's own 'Campagnolo' since way back....maybe now Hope will see a British groupset become a reality, although as I've mentioned above, there are some areas definitely not worth trying to compete in, i.e. gear systems.

 Totally agree with your original comments.

Would be nice to see them develop their brakes more, and become market leader again, as it feels as though their current ranges a bit out of touch, and are essentially just Mono minis underneath the (sort of) new (tweaked) designs.

I'm also still f*cked off with them after putting out a design competition for their new team bike, rather than commissioning a proper graphic designer. From a premium UK manufacturer, with such a strong emphasis on beautiful engineering, it's somewhat of a kick in the teeth, to turn around and do that!

 Yeah, I think Hope cranks would be cool, but as a company, the move to design and outsource rims is wise. Their hubs are their bread and butter, and every wheelset sold laced to somebody else's rim is a lost opportunity. That stem!! Oh my that 35mm stem has me drooling. The brakes are gorgeous, but lack in outright stopping power when compared to a certain Japanese brand.....

 @Tristan. You are clearly a man who has no experience with the latest range of Hope brakes. The levers are the best to date- more powerful and more ergonomic than the levers of old yet still retain the great adjustability. They are arguably the best brakes on the market right now.

 The back up hope give is second to one in my experience , I had an old set of original m4's which needed a caliper half to go post mount , they asked me to send the brakes in and they supplied the caliper half , new pads and a rebleed for NOTHING , they were just happy some one is still using the old M4's !

 @bigburd

Hope have awesome customer service / back up

I've owned one of their lights for some years, its been back a few times with electrical issues and its always been sorted free of charge with no fuss

my last, very positive experience was for a very notched freehub body on my Pro III road rear hub

www.pinkbike.com/photo/10360053

they replaced the freehub body free of charge, again with no fuss.

 @hampsteadbandit that is some nice notches so much power!!

 @hampstedbandit , yep they are an awesome company , I'm in the market for new brakes , wasted 5 years bleeding avids every few weeks , my moneys going back to hope this time.

I also have a pair of the original proII hubs that I got way back in 2003 , been through 5 Dh bikes ( 4 of which cracked ) and a hardtail , still on original bearings with only 2 times a year strip down and regrease , only thing that went wrong was the freehubs pawls gave up last year , which was also sorted fast.

 @james1306

ha ha, I wish!

 So, apart from Hope and Shimano, with any other 'brakeset' you are kind of Hope-less.

 I love hope, a really serious mid-sized company with quality items and good ideas, and can run rings round other larger brands besides (such as our beloved avid).

 There should just stay what there good at, And keep it British. I'm running 3 raceface atlas cranks due to the craftman ship. But I'd agree, where's a nice chainset to match the UK stuff.

 The chaindevice arouses me.. HOPEfully no moving parts though

 @Diabolicus A company like hope could produce a new drivetrain and have it well recieved within the cycling community. They make very nice parts!

 Everyone's asking for a good uk made crank. There already is one, they also make some of the hardest wearing chain rings in the world. How has everyone forgotten about MIDDLEBURN! The RS8 has been a X-type crankset for some time and they've been making intergrated single rings that replace the spider long before raceface I e13. My set have been spinning in a hope bb for 2 years with no issues at all, even if I did have a issue they're lifetime warranty... Now just got to wait for them to make a narrow wide uno integrated ring.

 Right, so you are saying that because they are CNC'd and not forged, they look old school and must be basically the same brake as ten years ago?

Thanks for letting me know you are a moron, it means I do not need to waste any time on you.

 I mean, the performance has nothing to do with it obviously. They perform 50x better than old hope brakes but they look similar so they must be outdated and underperforming.

 Also, Shimano have always been market leaders. Always. They have never needed to surpass hope. Formula are on a level equal to hope in the UK. Both are much larger companies.

 mj46 - I'd forgotten about Middleburn - maybe Hope don't want to tread on their toes by producing another 'UK crankset' ?
The RS8 looks nice: www.middleburn.co.uk/cranks_rs8_x_type.php
The non drive-side pinch bolt looks interesting - similar to Shimano, but not fully split.
I'd not realised that Middleburn do hubs as well - they look nice...

 Tristan - I'd love to know what are the technical innovations that have taken place with brakes over the last 10 years. Have there actually been any significant breakthroughs in lever/caliper pistons etc? (Hint - would make a brilliant PinkBike tech-article !!) I'm not aware of any, and in the case of Hope, they've certainly played it safe and evolved their brakes slowly, but surely as we say in the UK. Following bad experiences with newer Shimano and Hayes 'minimalist' reservoir designs, I'll certainly be sticking with Hope's open design as it just feels like the correct way to bleed brakes.

 So what have Shimano and Formula updated in the last ten years that nobody else has? What power figures are you going on here too? because no more power than C2's is total and utter bullshit. Pull more 'facts' from your brain please, because so far you have done nothing but claim zero improvement with no proof. There is no unified standard for disk brake power tests and nobody has done a back to back brake dyno test for years.

Your unsubstantiated claims mean squat all. You are basing your argument on opinions and bias from your experience with their older brakes and the appearance of their new ones. Quit talking shit, go out and actually ride some of their new products and then come back to the table and continue arguing.

And finally- Formula, Reliable? Pah. We have a pile of knackered formula levers in the shop. Want a replacement that's anything older than current catalogue model? You have to wait 4-6 weeks to get one shipped from Italy only to find that halfway through production of that model they changed their tooling and measurements so you then have to wait another 4-6 weeks until they ship you another part that actually works. And what innovation are we talking about here? the innovation of horrible lever ergonomics? Or the innovation of extremely tight pad spacing meaning that your rotor rubs as soon as you go through a muddy puddle?

Shimano have a couple of innovations, yes. But nothing astounding. Ice-Tech is nice, but has little real world performance effect in the UK. Everything else is something other people are doing in their brakes. Ceramic pistons are used by Hope and have been for years, Servo wave can hardly be called an innovation seeing as 50% of the users don't even like it. What else are we talking about here? Magnesium lever bodies? Hayes did it ten years ago.

You have again proved that you know literally nothing about this matter and nothing about Hopes latest brakes.

 Good point charge, What mountain bike actually did a back to back Dyno test this month as it happens, those showing most power were Hope evo 4 and hope tech 3 x2, both at 115nm, formula 98nm. So if they were this powerful in the old c2 days they had their god given right to chillax for 10 or so years lol. Shimano xtr 110 AVid 109 Magura 90 I think that was on high load test though not thermal fatigue

 Do you have a link to the What Mountain Bike test Sewer? Would like to take a look. I have an old C2 and XC4 hope in my old parts bin. Still work like new, and believe me- neither has even half the power of my new E4's, regardless they are still awesome old brakes. Would love to do an old school hardtail build to put them to use to be honest.

 I don't buddy, I downloaded it last week. I'll take some screen dumps and sticvk em on my profile tomorrow for you mate

 Charge262 - I wanted to say the same thing about Shimano, i.e. what have they done - or anyone else for that matter that makes Hope seem behind the times ? I had XTs in about 2005, and liked the way you bled by opening the reservoir top cap, squeezed the lever while turning the bleed screw on the caliper, while keeping the reservoir topped up etc..I then got the next gen XTs in 2008 but the servo just made them feel mushy and weak, so they had to go. Then in 2011 I got the latest XTR brakes and could never figure out the bleeding process. I ended up doing it via a syringe at each end, total faff. I then got Stroker Aces, and while powerful, again, I hated the 'minimalist' reservoir design. So it was such a relief when I finally got my V2s. I even replaced some other s**t brakes on another bike with really old Mini Monos off eBay, and they're awesome ! so easy to do maintenance on them, and they're more powerful than I expected. Wish I'd gone with Hope since the start...As for Formula - I once saw a rider's brake lever hanging by the piston - the lever pivot had unscrewed itself and fallen out ! We got him going again with a couple of cable ties, but what a load of shite ! All shiny sculptured levers and weak as crap !

 Formula ? And the word good ?
are you serious. Have you used the 2014 formula brakes

 Yeah they produced a brake with an bleed screw that you cant get to without removing the brake from the handlebar. And produced a breather hole that spills corrosive liquid onto your handlebar. Very good

 Grips are made in the UK. Only Rims and Bars abroad. The Hope hoops you can buy use far-east made rims already (Stans) so why does this change anything? Hope will never be just another 'far east importer'.

 iam sure these are sun rims. like the most rims on the market. stans,roval etc its all sun ringle china. and they are good. why making a worst product if a big company with a lot of experience make you a good offer?

 It would cost a fuck tonne to produce rims and bars in the u.k, hope knows what they're doing just because something's being produced in the far east doesn't mean its shit, they just already have the massive machines all set up over their

 I never implied that the new product would in any way be bad it's just a Shame that the old Barnoldswick motto of Designed, Tested, Manufactured here in Barnoldswick UK is being diluted.
m.pinkbike.com/news/Hope-Technology-Factory-Tour-Video.html

 It would cost alot of money to buy the machines required to manufacture bars they're not exactly something you just whack into a cnc machine, if anything its a smart move from hope to help with costs, instead of spending 100k on the machines and selling the bars for like £40 it would take forever for them to recoup costs and begin a profit, + the bars may not even become a big seller as alot of people already have quality bars + the ever growing carbon bar development which race face is holding down firmly right now

 They should have sourced their bars through renthal. Rims I can see having to source from Asia. The beet aluminum bar manufacturer is already in the UK. Carbon bars would have to be Asia as well. Even enve gets their bars done in Asia and they make their rims in house in the states. As long as hope keeps their quality control up I see no issues with outside production. I was most happy to see the increase in poe on their hubs. That was too long coming

 @qbert2000

Renthal don't make their MTB bars (aluminium alloy or carbon fibre) in the UK, they are outsourced, their aluminium alloy MTB bar uses manufacturing technology that Renthal do not have in their UK factory


their braced Moto bars do not use the same tech as their MTB bars, and hence their braced Moto bars are still made in the UK


I am liking Hope because I have been riding and selling their products for years, but their product range expansion does lead to a fear, perhaps unfounded, that they will not retain their core strength of hubs, lights and brakes, and start to weaken their focus in an effort to expand the range

I also see this starting to happen with Thomson (my other favourite domestic manufacturer) who are now doing bars and even frames, when for years they only did stems and seatpost (their seatclamp was a shock to many of us who have been riding Thomson for years!)

its often said its better to a "master" of a trade, than a "jack" of all sorts

 hmm, i thought i saw an article showing renthal made their aluminum bars in the uk but outsourced the carbon bars. as far as doing too much, yes it can be worrisome but at the same time the small guys who have developed a good reputation can expand their market and stay in the game by increasing their range of products. as long as the quality stays then it is a good thing. hopefully thomson and hope do that.

 @hampsteadbandit and some of their moto bars are made by Neken in France (or at least used to be)

 This is all very easy for you to say, you don't own a small bicycle parts manufacturer. Nor do I. Offering more options is a way to grow the business and I understand the desire to do so. The rims are a no brainer, they should have done it years ago. Why sell wheelsets with somebody else's rims? Why not take a cut?

 I'm sure I read somewhere that Hope aren't actually going to put the bars into production (I think it was their Facebook page). So if that's true, I guess it would only be the rims that are outsourced!

 I completely agree. When I purchase a Hope product I am expecting a certain level of quality. Purchasing another companies product and putting your name on it risks your reputation, not theirs... A batch of bad rims, for example, could damage the reputation of hubs and brakes.

 They have been selling "Hope Hoops" for ages with Mavic and Stan's rims, both good rims. They know how to pick them. Difference is this time, they get to pick a similar rim only get it straight from the factory and paste Hope on it instead of buying from Stan's. They are simply cutting out a middle man IMO.

 "cost a f*ck tonne" ?! lol

 "tough decision to outsource it to the specialists in the Far East as they have so much expertise with this kind of metalwork"

Marketing bullshit, every company which starts producing something in Asia uses the exactly same excuse...

 Exactly, it's not a "tough" decision just want more money that's all. This is how a company's products slowly disintegrate.. Look at hockey skates with ccm and Bauer being almost entirely made in Asia now And Graf is slowly going that route aswell. Use to be if it wasn't made in Canada then it wasn't worth a Fxxk for equipment

 I like Hope and am currently running their Hope Pro II hubs, ceramic bb and jockey wheels. What I like most about them is that they stand by their product. They replaced my out of warranty freehub body for free, because part of it cracked off at where one of the pawl seats in. No questions asked. And all I did was to email them and ask them where should I get new ones from because where I live Hope distributors are scarce. That to me is a mark of a fantastic company. Was the freehub made in Asia? I think not. Do I particularly care? Not really. All I care about is that the company took good care of me, a customer more than 10 000km away. Will their "Made in Asia/Far East" rims have issues? There will always be some in so and so batch. Will Hope have your backs? I think yes.

And by the way, not all things made in the Far East sucks and you guys know that. A lot of good stuff come from Asia. So HTFU :p

 The reason hope outsourced bars was because they didn't have space in their factory, think of how may hubs you can fit into the same space as a few bars. The bars were also released late as when the first batch came in they literally turned round and sent them back saying 'do it again, they're not good enough'. It also on average costs 3X more to produce something in the uk that taiwan etc... so hope may seem expensive but their profit margins are smaller. But whats wrong with stuff from overseas? Probably most peoples bikes are using parts that have come from there, I dont see people moaning at the likes of specialised producing everything from there?

 "The reason hope outsourced bars was because they didn't have space in their factory"
So why don't they build another factory and give jobs to more British citizens?

"It also on average costs 3X more to produce something in the uk that taiwan etc"
I'm well aware of this, that's why I'm willing to pay 3X higher price for a product that says "Made in UK".

"I dont see people moaning at the likes of specialised producing everything from there"
I do, that's why I ride a Rocky Mountain that says "Handbuilt in Canada". With Hope brakes "Made in UK", Continental tires "Handmade in Germany", Thomson and Chris King parts "Made in USA", etc...

I know that most people don't care where was their bike made, but there should be some components on the market for those who do.

 If you believe companies move their production to Taiwan just because of the money, you are ignorant of the facts. Taiwanese products are not just cheaper, but better. The technology in TW factories in unrivalled. For a western company to set up handlebar production facilities and bring a bar to market would be a disaster. Invest a shit ton of money in facilities that already exist here, and the end product would most likely be of a lower quality. Why do you think that a British person, like me, is capable of making a higher quality product than a Taiwanese person? At the end of the day, they are operating a machine, and Taiwan has the best metal product manufacture facilities in the world. If you look at the technology a company like Spank uses as an example, it is unreal. That tech does not exist anywhere else. So to say a company like Hope should make their entire product range in the UK is ludicrous. It would be 3x the price, heavier and weaker. Who's going to buy that? My point is, Taiwanese production is the best, not just cheap.

I am a big fan of Hope though, I have 5 of their hubs and I want to get me one of these rings. It looks a lot better than RF and e*13 to me!

As for Continental being made in Germany... I highly doubt they are. I could be wrong, maybe they have facilities there but I bet you 90% of their line is made in Asia or Brazil.

 Ever thought about the fact that the factory's in Asia are already better(AND cheaper!) in manufacturing carbon!? It's stupid to assume that the asian products suck these days...

 Continental has all of their tyres with the Black Chili compound made in Germany, the rest is either Taiwan or India as far as I reckon (for bicycles)

As for your argument that they made stuff better in Taiwan than in the rest of the world, then I could argue turning it around: if Taiwan is making well something, why can't the rest of the world do it as well as Taiwan ? Do they have special powers of some sort ?

You could make the exact same handlebars in Taiwan and in UK or anywhere else. You just need the machinery, and people to run them. Yes they already have the skilled manpower and the tools there, but nothing stops a company to invest to get them in the US, UK, France, ... Yes the machinery costs are massive, and at first it probably wouldn't make much profit, but it can be done.

Mavic still makes some pretty good rims at reasonnable prices, and they're made in France or Romania (last time I checked), Velocity ones are pretty good too (I've got a set of Blunt 35 rims, made in USA, 35mm at a reasonnable weight and reasonnable price (cheaper than Stan's Flow EX for example) )

 @jaame: I want to support European economy, I don't care whether products from Taiwan are better or not. If we outsource everything to Asia, our economy will eventually collapse. Asia already has higher GDP growth than Europe. Moreover bicycle has been invented in Europe so I don't see a reason why we shouldn't be able to make top class components.

As for Continental, cheaper models are made in Asia (I don't know where exactly), the top end models are made in Germany. The ones I ride (Rubber Queen 2.2 UST with Black Chili compound) were made in Germany and if I need to buy a new set, I'll buy them again.

 The claim that the technology in TW factories in unrivalled is simply untrue. If you introduce price into the equation then it probably is true.

Who makes the machines Spank use ?

 I have a bike made in China (NomadC), groupset made in Japan and Malaysia (Shimano), tyres from Germany (Schwalbe), bars and seatpost from the US (Enve and Thomson), chainring from Canada (RaceFace) and some other stuff from UK (Hope and Renthal), Taiwan (KMC).

I am just happy that there are so many companies out there from different countries that produce good solid stuff. If some companies want to outsource their manufacturing to someone else whom they think they can do a better job, then I just hope (no pun intended) that they'll oversee that their standards aren't compromised. Money can only go so far nowadays... and while we all wish we can support homegrown companies, as a consumer, I'd also like to stretch the dollar as far as I can!

 Alright boys, I know a quality product can be made anywhere. It fucks me off to read veiled racism and the general attitude that if it's made in Asia it must be shit, that's all. Of course if they use the same machines it can be made anywhere. Taiwan has the upper hand because of cost, experience, and the entire supply chain being located here. A lot of shit comes off the island too but that is because factories here are making the entire product spectrum, not just the high end stuff. It's not fair to compare western high end with asian low end stuff. Compare high end of each and you'll likely find that they are both good. Also, raceface chainrings, enve bars and renthal carbon bars re made in Taiwan, Schwalbe is made in Indonesia!

 What racism? If I buy fruit from a local farmer rather than import it from the other side of the planet, is that racism too?
Supporting "your people" is normal and natural, if my computer is broken and my neighbour can fix it, I also won't bring it to a company from another city.

When it comes to quality, whether you like it or not, many European companies still manufacture their high end products in Europe, even if a rich Chinese businessman buys a Mercedes S65 AMG, it will be sent to him from Germany. And similar strategies are used even within Asia, for example Nikon makes their cheaper cameras in China/Thailand/Indonesia/... while the best models are made in Japan.

But don't worry, the world is always changing, 2000 years ago Roman Empire was the civilised world and Germans were the wild barbarians, now Germany is the most developed country and Italians are seen as chaotic and unreliable.

 I found this comment on the recent article about the new DVO suspension. This is a reply from DVO to someone complaining about the asian manufacture of the Emerald fork.

@superdanu: Unfortunately the price would be a lot higher if manufactured here in the States. In Taiwan we can visit all our critical suppliers in a day and oversee our parts being made, in California we couldn't find anyone who could manufacture an upper tube (drawn from alloy tube, machined, honed, gun drill, polish, anodize) and I'm sure the cost would of be astronomical if we did find a local supplier. The same goes for our carbon fiber CTA, the seals, the stanchion tubes, the forged magnesium drop outs, etc. The center of bicycle parts manufacturing is in Taiwan, over the past 20+ years they have made themselves into the offering the highest quality centralized manufacturing environment for bicycles. The result is that todays riders are able to buy the most advanced bicycles ever developed and although some of the prices are seem high, the technology is worth the price. 20 years ago I paid $7,000 dollars for a hand made aluminum bike that was 34 pounds light, fully rigid, and sucked the chain into the chain stays ever shift cause the rear end was crooked.

 if my neighbor can do it why would I have some person I don't know around the world do it? My neighbor has a wife and kids, just the same through his eyes to me. why spend the money elsewhere?

 I agree with you. If your neighbour can do it.

 I was about to reply no it doesn't but went and checked mine as yes it does. Didn't even notice them before

 Do not summon deeeight...

 Big thumbs up to brands like Santa Cruz and Yeti that have stuck to ye' old threaded BB!

 It looks like it could be a frame size small? I do agree with you though...

 Want that cassette converter

 Yeah it looks pretty steep , and thats with the bikes back wheel lower than the front , so if anything it should look stupid slack but the opposite is true

 nope, the back wheel is closer to the camera than the front, and the bars are turned slightly in the clockwise direction. both of these things are making the head angle look steeper

 Better for hucking to flat bro

 This

 "but it is considerable cheaper than getting a headset press"

but then you have a headset press aswell..........

 25GBP vs 10EUR home made headset press...

 aubbie - it is really hard to find a BB system and crankset interface that does not require a specific tool to come with it... One more is not going to melt the polar caps tomorrow

 Gear range is critical with a 1x[9,10,11] setup. Existing 11-36 is not enough range for most folks with a 1x setup. For me, when riding downhill, 36x11 is a good gear; I won't spin out and can put plenty of pedals in when needed. I can get away with 34x11 riding down, and spin out on some sections. So that's what I ride, but I do suffer a bit with 34x42 on the climbs. OK, I'm not fit, but do climb proper hills (900-2000m vert on a typical ride).

Ideally, for climbing I'd like to go down to a 30 chainring. Unfortunately with a 11-42t cassette, I'd spin out massively with 30x11 on the way down. A 10-42t, or even better 9-42t cassette would work for me though. Unfortunately though, SRAM are a bunch of money grabbing c*nts and no X9 level 11speed groupset has been released yet. These hacks are good in the meantime, though I'm so annoyed buy SRAMs greed that I'm seriously going contemplating a lifetime boycott.

 My plan as it stands is to go 34t with my 11-36 cassette. I will keep the 2x parts as spares for when I go to do epics but as it stands I haven't had the need of the granny ring more than a handful of times and then it was down to laziness! Plus I want to trade that weight saving and cable/bar space for a dropper post. I see that as a good move for what I ride most of the time and if it doesn't work out it hasn't cost me very much (relatively speaking). I think I am sold an if a 40t sprocket becomes available then maybe that too if I cant manage.

 All mountain doesn't exist anymore remember? Everyone rides enduro now lol get with the times!

 It all moves so fast, i just can't keep up. I'm thinking about going back to retro mtb at least I knew what stuff was what back then. Why do they have to make it all so complicated...

 How about a saddle?

 Bro hug, feel sorry for you ahahha

 That would be an enormous diversion from what Hope do now. The rings shown here are the first geared parts which we have seen from them (to my knowledge, I may have missed something) They don't make any shifters, derailleurs or other moving parts, the pinion was first shown at Eurobike in 09/10 I think and even dedicating everything to that one product it is only now fully coming to market several years later. Developing something that complicated for such a small market could easily kill a company as small as Hope if they weren't careful. It would be a huge risk.

 rohloffcommencal - buahahah, what is wrong with German complex engineering?

 Let'SRAM this joke into the ground.
Seriously though. Now some turd is gonna say "I see what you did there"

 If you perceive it as a joke, it seems so much probable I am joking all my life. Honestly if I were joking, you would possibly lie under desk and sound like a seagull. Next time I'll try to mark it especially for you.

 I'm only going for 1x11 for the 10t high gear. I'm the minority, but I would be happy with 1x9 or 10, when a good cassette with that range comes out.

 I don't think they'll have a fight in court. Narrow wide has already been in farming ind. I think that pr was mainly for licensing arrangements. I hope a review comes out soon of said product.

 AAAAANd then I took a second look at the Demmo. It has a green anno kit.

 Xc rims

 The "enduro" rim is 23mm

 I must have it!!

 N'duuurrrrghrroooooo !!

 23mm internal DIAMETER. (Rather than width, for those that are still confused).

 Will have to wait till more user reviews are done with this rim cause they remind me of WTBs which were prone to taco.

 Too bad my old rims won't work for 'nduro!

On a serious side: did I miss it, or does the Article fail to mention in which sizes these rims will come?

 if you read the rim closely it says 650b for the enduro one

 Yes, but is it the only size? Or do they also offer 26" and 29"?

 I would say it is really simple to make 26", 27" and 29" rims with the same cross-section. Just add a bit and make the hoop bigger What I would really like to know, what do they weigh? If it is much more than Stans, I will pass.

 if it reads the way i take it the bb actually threads together to pull itself into the frame. but you need the tool to do it. it's a good idea as most people don't have a headset press at home. but i wonder of it means it can't be pressed in

 head set press = vice

just wrap something around to make it soft jaw

 Very unpatriotic of you to say, but true

 I find hope stuff pretty underwhelming to be honest. I'll use their hubs because the price is reasonable, interchangeable axles and they're pretty well put together (plus now the 40t ratchet) but all their other stuff feels clumsy these days. Back in the early 00s and 90s cncing everything seemed cutting edge but I don't think they've innovated enough. The shimanos still aren't perfect but they're a hell of a lot better than hopes offerings. I don't care where stuff is made, only if it works. One other thing you do get with Hope though is superb customer service.

 I had a set of mono6's on a Foes bike, they were good brakes. Back in the day, top shelf but modern day Saint brakes.... Whoa! There good

 I have tried Shimano SLX's and they were terrible. SRAM Trail XO's; average. Avid Elixir 5's - no words describe how poor these brakes are. I have Hope Race Evo M4's - great modulation, very powerful, lightweight, quiet, perfect one-finger lever design & position and so on. I currently run Hope Tech 3 E4's - a step up even on the Race Evo M4's in terms of power and the adjustability is second to none. A friend is running Hope Tech 3 X2's and cannot believe how good and powerful these brakes are compared to the offerings from the two S's. I spoke with a bike mechanic to a pro team on a ride in October. He likes his Shimano Saint brakes, which he runs on his trail bike, but he spends time adjusting the pistons and therefore the bite point using a bleed syringe regularly. I'm also in the middle of refurbishing a set of 2002 Hope Mini brakes. The machined parts are like new and only the seals, one reservoir screw, brass lever barrels and levers need replacing after 11 years of riding and abuse! We all have our personal preferences and favourites, but if you are subjective enough and know how to set up brakes precisely [Hope's four piston brakes require finesse in this respect]. I ride with a large group of dedicated riders, all year round in the Pacific NW. There's nothing quieter and less troublesome than a bike equipped with Hope brakes. Period!

 The older slx brakes before the update a year or so ago (maybe more now..?) were crap, you're right. The newer ones are one of the best brakes for the money you can buy. I would say THE best.

 The SLX brakes I had were from 2010. I've read good things on the new ones and their XT's too.

 Hope have made red anodised brakes in the past - but they're limited edition, so might never had arrived in lovely Brazil. But you can sometimes find nice ones 2nd hand, for example:

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hope-M4-Special-Edition-Red-Front-Mountain-bike-Disc-Brake-Braided-Hose-Union-/201027943223?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item2ece32fb37

Alternatively, Hope do sell replacement caliper piston bore caps in all colours, and you can definitely get red colour for Mono, V2, X2, M4.....almost everything....

 Yes Diabolicus., I have found some to sell on the internet but have not found the X2. I found some M4 red and many green V2. I don't know why HOPE didnt anodized at a lot of colors as it does with the cubes and other pieces. Regards from Brazil.

 You mean this one? www.velozine.nl/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/EB12_Day01_Hope-Crank-Ring-Cha.jpg

 I am drum n bass!

 It stated it as a three piece...

 ohh... wow... my bad!

 It did originally say two-piece, mainly because I can't count.

 Thanks God, I thought I'd gone mad!

 I'm pretty sure the four-piece stem is shorter than 45 mm. I'd says 30 mm.

 I'm pretty sure the guys at Hope know how to measure.

 They did that 3 months ago. Pro2 is now 40 poe and quieter than before.

 Hubs pro2evo are still slow and noisy. Shame everything else about them I love

 Just phone Hope up and ask them - they're really nice guys, they'll tell you if the new purple range has started shipping out to shops/suppliers yet. It might be too early still ? If this article is about stuff shown at a bike show you'll have to wait a few months.

 Cool,thanks for that!

 Cycle sports uk has them advertised for sale already. I saw it this weekend when I ordered my new wheels (hope hoops in blue). Now I am bummed to hear I could have got hope rims too. I am a hope fan.

 The purple stuff is very limited. Get down to your LBS and get some ordered- it's the only way you will guarantee to get it.

 Anyone know when the 42t sprocket will be available?

 Really? I want them for myself.

 I was wondering how you knew it was 42. Then I used my eyes. :-) Good spotting.

 Ohlins shock, comes stock on new demos, and is specially made/tuned for them. Pretty sure you cant buy them off the shelf either

 if you were watching anything before the season DH then you would scene this, plus on the team bikes over the last world cup as well

 

 Specialized team were using Fox shocks over the last World Cup, Ohlins shocks only feature on the 2014 bikes

 ^ False. Specialized factory riders used the Ohlins shock, Brosnan (Monster Energy Specialized) used RockShox and Gwin used Fox.

 Ah, i was thinking of the Monster Energy Specialized team

 E aí Macaco Brasileiro, o que que rolou com os Levers do Cedric?? Say BM, as Cedric levers???

 Awsome!!!

 I spoke to a man today who said these hope parts will be available sometime soon as in before the end of march

 really?