Hope E4 or V4 for downhill/park

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Hope E4 or V4 for downhill/park
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flag rickberg82
FL
Posted: May 11, 2021 at 11:00 Quote
My shimano Zee rear brake is leaking/getting air in the lines (I believe through the lever). It results in extremely inconsistent level pull and sometimes a serious lack of power. Sometimes, a very slight pull will be enough to nearly lock up the rear wheel, but then 5 seconds later, pulling it to the bar will only result in a minor slow down. It gets to be pretty sketchy sometimes.

Anyhow, I figure I'll go ahead and replace it/upgrade and am really eying the Hope V4s in red. So far I can't find any, but have found a few of the E4s. From what I can find, basically the only difference is that the E4s have two "small" pistons, whereas the V4 has one set of big and one set of small pistons, which gives more power.

I'm about 155lbs without gear and mostly ride park with runs lasting about 3-4 minutes. Take the occasional trip up north and do some more "real" downhill riding. Will the E4s be powerful enough, or should I wait for the V4s to come back in stock or just get something else?
Thanks
flag formalitet
Posted: May 15, 2021 at 13:22 Quote
Hi!

Don’t have any experience with the E4 but I do ride the V4’s and I heard the breaking power is about the same.

I mostly ride park and the runs are about the same times as yours so I figured I’d give you my 2 cents. They don’t have the bite of Shimano so if that’s what you like I wouldn’t recommend the V4s. You’d be better off with Magura M7 or some Saints.

They do however have an incredible modulation and feel to them. You can configure them to perfection and if bleeded right they won’t fade at all and have a really consistent biting point even during really long runs.

I did change my pads to trickstuff and it made such a difference when it comes to breaking power and I’d suggest anyone running Hope give it a try when their pads are finito.
flag rosemarywheel
Posted: Jun 1, 2021 at 17:06 Quote
I absolutely love the Hope E4's. Fantastic brakes, I do recommend.
flag TylerJamesHall
O+
Posted: Jun 4, 2021 at 10:09 Quote
Went through almost the exact same decision when buying Hope E4s ultimately to replace the Guide RS brakes. I'm more on the enduro-ish side of things with a Commencal Meta, but these brakes certainly have better modulation (even before adjusting bite point / reach). Power is there, though I think the pads that shipped with the brakes (organic maybe?) aren't noteworthy. Could be that I'm still in the bed-in phase. I have a box with some Galfer pads I'll toss in if I'm not pleased after my next few rides.

Related note - Rotor size has a decent impact on the ability to slow down quickly. I chose to up the ante +20mm in the rear and fully expect the change there to be a large contributor to the improved braking performance.

Think the primary difference in E4 vs. V4 is related to performance on long, sustained descents and the ability of the caliper to remain cool. But for me, the ability to get E4s with a 7-week lead time was better than waiting for marginal gains of V4s and no ETA.
flag rosemarywheel
Posted: Jun 4, 2021 at 16:36 Quote
TylerJamesHall wrote:
Went through almost the exact same decision when buying Hope E4s ultimately to replace the Guide RS brakes. I'm more on the enduro-ish side of things with a Commencal Meta, but these brakes certainly have better modulation (even before adjusting bite point / reach). Power is there, though I think the pads that shipped with the brakes (organic maybe?) aren't noteworthy. Could be that I'm still in the bed-in phase. I have a box with some Galfer pads I'll toss in if I'm not pleased after my next few rides.

Related note - Rotor size has a decent impact on the ability to slow down quickly. I chose to up the ante +20mm in the rear and fully expect the change there to be a large contributor to the improved braking performance.

Think the primary difference in E4 vs. V4 is related to performance on long, sustained descents and the ability of the caliper to remain cool. But for me, the ability to get E4s with a 7-week lead time was better than waiting for marginal gains of V4s and no ETA.

Doeds anyone here actually use anything other than 200mm rotors? unless you are a DJ or XC person worried about weight, why would someone want a 180 or smaller?
flag TylerJamesHall
O+
Posted: Jun 5, 2021 at 5:47 Quote
A lot of bikes have a bias in the front with a 200/180 setup or something similar. Most of your stopping (not necessarily braking) is done by the front, similar to setups on most cars. Square setups like I run now 200/200 aren’t any less effective, though it’s easier to control bias on a bike than in a car.

While upgrading brakes and rotors, it made sense for me to size up. But on my frame (Commencal Meta), you also can’t fit Hope calipers without going up to 200 or 203.
flag gotohe11carolina
FL
Posted: Jun 5, 2021 at 14:02 Quote
I have both E4 and v4. I prefer the v4 with the thicker rotors. Not terribly much to choose between them though. Both are very similar in terms of feel or power though. I run 200f 180r on my dh bike but I’m using Hayes dominions on it (they are the best feeling, most powerful brake I’ve used).
flag tall-martin
Posted: Jun 5, 2021 at 14:27 Quote
I have E4 on my full suss and V4 on my hardtail.

The E4 were absolutely fine for a couple of weeks in Whistler. A bolt broke in the frame so my bike was in the shop for a morning and I rented a DH bike with codes. The E4 were as good.

The V4 are on my hardtail as they came up second hand when the hardtails brakes needed replacing and I still haven't got round to swapping them on to the full suss.

The V4 have a wee bit more power under full panic braking.

If you ride a load of park, I'd spend the extra and get the v4 with the thicker rotors.

Who wants to be thinking, "I wish these brakes were better" when pinning it down a run?

How much to fix one tooth/ broken bone? Less than fancy brakes!
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