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Hope Tech 3 E4 brakes opinions

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Hope Tech 3 E4 brakes opinions
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flag Jekyll-Steve
Posted: Dec 17, 2018 at 19:12 Quote
Does anybody run Hope Tech 3 E4 brakes? I’ve read a bunch of mixed reviews but want to know what everyone here thinks. I've been running Sram Guide RS (stock on my bike) and they are a little light on the power. I'm an aggressive trail/enduro rider so looking for some more power with a little modulation. Any other brakes you all like? Favorites?
flag thunder-nuggets
O+
Posted: Dec 17, 2018 at 21:29 Quote
skip hope. they have no power. they only look good.

get maguras or shimanos
flag yobilly
FL
Posted: Dec 17, 2018 at 23:10 Quote
Jekyll-Steve wrote:
Does anybody run Hope Tech 3 E4 brakes? I’ve read a bunch of mixed reviews but want to know what everyone here thinks. I've been running Sram Guide RS (stock on my bike) and they are a little light on the power. I'm an aggressive trail/enduro rider so looking for some more power with a little modulation. Any other brakes you all like? Favorites?


I have two pairs on two different bikes. I have never had a problem with them. I compared them to a set of zee disc brakes and the zee's grab faster and if not careful will throw you to the ground in a heartbeat. The Hopes are plenty strong and can also cause you to endo over the bars. They are however not as grabby as the zee's. More progressive and will still lock up when needed. Since I installed the Hopes, I have not gone back to the zee. My Hopes are a lot less noisy little to no screech when grabbing a handful of brakes. Don't get me wrong here. The Zee brakes are excellent and definately get the job done. Once you get used to the sudden grab, They are as good as any other top tier disc brake.
flag mcozzy
Posted: Dec 17, 2018 at 23:53 Quote
My mate had them to try something different. He though them weak. I tried his bike & though they were weak also compared to my saints. He has saints now.
flag tkdbboy
Posted: Dec 18, 2018 at 0:08 Quote
I have V4's.

It's all personal preference.

Some people like the on / off digital feel.
Some like a more analogue feel.

I've only ever used Codes and Elixirs so my experience in different brakes can't give a good enough comparison.

I find my V4s powerful enough for my braking needs , very reliable and the modulation is crazy good.

You may aswell go the V4's as the only difference is that one set of pistons on each caliper is like 2mm bigger.

Remember that your brake pad compound also is a factor in stopping power
flag Jekyll-Steve
Posted: Dec 18, 2018 at 0:19 Quote
mcozzy wrote:
My mate had them to try something different. He though them weak. I tried his bike & though they were weak also compared to my saints. He has saints now.

Were you not able to lock them up? As much as I do like the power of the Saints, I hate locking my brakes up with every lever pull. They are so damn touchy when I rode them on a friends bike. I've never actually owned Shimano brakes. All the bikes I have bought always came with Sram. I'm sure I would get used to them though if I did go the Saint/Zee way.
flag Spangoolies
Posted: Dec 18, 2018 at 13:43 Quote
I used to own a set of hope m4's that were truly amazing, so easy to service and constant reliable performance. Used them in the alps fro a week with hope gold pads and they performed better than all of my mates shimano's and SRAMs. There wasn't a day that someone wasn't having problems with their brakes except me. Bought a new (used) bike recently with new hope tech 3 e4 brakes and to be honest my first impression is they lack power compared to my old m4's. I'm maxed on the bite adjust and still find I'm pulling the levers to the bars to get a good stop on a fast decent. Same size rotors as my old brakes too. But I've yet to take a good look and give them a good bleed, maybe try different pads as I'm determined to get them working the way I want as they look great and hope components have done me proud over many years.
flag markg1150
Posted: Dec 18, 2018 at 14:43 Quote
high maintenance compared to shimano. the pistons and calipers get sticky quickly and easily , giving you a weak brake with a long sloppy throw you can't tune or bleed out. so have to keep on top of them cleaning and re lubing wise.
Decent pads are hard to come by. only the red official hope pads and ebc make decent pads that work for them. The red ones are awesome. but don't last long.
I put a stopper behind the bite point adjuster to keep them supper quick engaging. same as putting a longer bite point adjuster screw. but that's what I like.
Had to rebuild 1 master cylinder and 1 caliper in 3 years of use and will need to do the same again soon on the other one. parts were dirt cheap and it was easy but not something iv ever had to do with a shimano.
After all that (or when there brand new) they are brilliant. I can stand the bike on its nose with one finger with excellent control, feel and grip on the lever.

but I'm Gona get shimanos new 4 pots from now on. less maintenance, less cost to buy, more brake pad options at lower prices. I like the shimano bite and feel almost as much as my hopes anyway.
flag PapaGordo
Posted: Dec 18, 2018 at 15:36 Quote
Definitely agree with Markg1150. I am running Hope E4s on 3 of my bikes and I do need to stay on top of maintenance otherwise the pistons do get sticky. I rarely have to bleed them but I clean and lube the pistons about once per month. The process is simple and does not take long. It is just part of my normal maintenance routine now. I will say I did not have these sticky pistons when I lived in Arizona where its hot and dry. I didn't have to start cleaning pistons until I moved to the PNW. I also prefer the sintered pads. I burn through the organics way too fast.
flag Jekyll-Steve
Posted: Dec 18, 2018 at 19:09 Quote
Well I knew at some point I would be paying for aesthetics but they DO need to perform. After reading all these opinions (mostly negative), I think I am just going to pickup some Saints or Zee's (probably Saints). The Magura MT7's seem nice too but it seems like you can't go wrong with ol' trusty Shimano. Thanks for the help!
flag tkdbboy
Posted: Dec 19, 2018 at 0:26 Quote
Formula Cura are worth looking into also
flag thedad71
FL
Posted: Dec 19, 2018 at 1:34 Quote
I currently have Hope on my Yeti, Saint on my Zerode and Guide on my Specialized. I have had Formula, Magura MT7 and a variety of SRAM.

Love my Hopes and would not change them, great modulation and power when needed, can custom colour them as well, although expensive.
Saints on my Zerode are perfect, loads of power, relatively inexpensive, nice lever, less modulation though.
Dont like the Guides, very grabby, squeal a lot, lever is uncomfortable

However if i was to purchase another set brand new i would go with the Magura MT7's, perfect combination of power, modulation and feel.

Again just my experience, would like to try TRP and the Cura's though.
flag JimmyGrand
Posted: Dec 22, 2018 at 13:40 Quote
I have different combinations of Hope brakes on all my bikes, and my favorite caliper/lever combo is the Tech 3/E4. I find them easiest to bleed and the power is okay, I can´t really feel a huge difference in power between the E4 and the V4, but the V4 definitely stays cool better than the E4 - the E4 still does a great job though.
I normally run them with Hopes own floating rotors, but in some occasions I´ve found that the power is way better with Shimano XT IceTech rotors. I haven´t ridden the XTs long enough to comment on their cooling ability, and the Hope rotors are really great in that aspect.

I´ve tried different brands, Shimano, Formula, Magura, Avid, Guide, etc. It´s pretty easy to find a more powerful brake than a Hope, and I believe it´s possible to find one that has as good a modulation aswell. What I really like though is the availability of spares, and by that I mean availability of every single components inside your lever - you don´t have to buy a kit with loads of shit you don´t need, you just buy the part you need. I have only ever needed one spare though - a lever blade that broke in a crash - other than that I´ve never needed any. I do my own maintenance, but I don´t really spend any time on the brakes, only when totally rebuilding the bike(happens once a year mayby).

I choose Hope brakes because they look on point, I can get spares easily, the pad life is really good and they´ve never ever let me down on any of my bikes.

I´d get 200mm rotors though, 180mm are good for most stuff, but when it really gets hairy, 200mm are worth the extra weight.
flag Pothead78
FL
Posted: Dec 23, 2018 at 5:06 Quote
I have E4s on a Mondraker Dune, they replaced a set of guide r which had problems with the lever sticking in hot weather. Personally I'm a fan of the Hope's but I'm a pretty light rider, if you ride DH or a lot of long descents I'd probably go for v4s instead. The E4s have much better control/ modulation than the previous sram guides or shimano slx on my hardtail, but they don't lock up easily, I prefer this but I have heard people say they don't like Hope's for this reason. The bite point and reach adjustment do actually make a difference to the lever feel, probably the only brakes I've used that I can say that about. Hope's do get a bit noisy in the wet tho
flag burnedface
Posted: Dec 23, 2019 at 15:52 Quote
Hope took £600.03 out of my account around a week ago. Fault with their systems, rang them up, refunded me within 5 days, gave me a set of free wheels for the trouble.
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