Podcast: Chatting with Hope Technology's Head of Sales & Marketing, Alan Weatherill by downtimepodcast

47 Comments

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justanotherusername (Feb 20, 2019 at 5:53)

Liked listening to that - Great company in so many ways.

Opens you eyes to investment too, spending £1million every year on new machinery, I wonder how many independent machine-shops in the UK are doing that.

downtimepodcast (Feb 21, 2019 at 0:55)

I'm glad you enjoyed it @justanotherusername, it's definitely impressive what Hope have built... the machine shop is crazy!

ledude (Mar 2, 2019 at 15:56)

@justanotherusername I'm confused, your location states BC, but you always talk about your experience from the UK, fess up - who are you really?

justanotherusername (Mar 3, 2019 at 1:36)

@ledude: why do you care lestalker?

JOHN8LAZE (Feb 20, 2019 at 6:37)

Thanks a lot PinkBike!!! I thought I'd listen to this while I work now I'm 3 hours behind schedule because I just sat and listened to this without working then read a load of other articles and it's all your fault!!!

downtimepodcast (Feb 21, 2019 at 0:56)

opppps, sorry @JOHN8LAZE, I'm glad you enjoyed listening though!

SickEdit FL (Feb 20, 2019 at 7:07)

Will they release stronger brakes?

mikelee (Feb 20, 2019 at 8:51)

SickEdit totally agree. They need to make a brake with more power. My v4 are just about ok on my trail bike. I love the brake and it’s awseome reliability but they do lack power. With pistons sizes the same as a guide I can see why. If they upped the piston sizes to match saints they’d have the best brakes and would clean up.

Archimonde (Feb 20, 2019 at 9:33)

@mikelee: I would actually just like that the pistons need les maintenance. Unless they are frequently cleaned/lubed the lever just gets spongier and spongier.

bman33 (Feb 20, 2019 at 10:21)

I have ran Hope Tech3/E4 on my trail bike and the V4's on my DH bikes for 3 years plus. I live in Colorado, the DH bike does endless bike park laps and a few races per year and a Whistler trip. The trail bike hits Moab a few times a year and is ridden pretty hard locally. Zero issues with either. I keep up with maintenance (but nothing excessive) and bleed yearly . I am 168 pounds and see no power issues. I run 200 mm rotors on the DH bike and 200/180 on the trail bike.

mikelee (Feb 20, 2019 at 11:52)

@Archimonde: I can’t fault them for reliability it’s just the power. They’re not really weak but not strong enough for me.

mikelee (Feb 20, 2019 at 11:57)

@bman33: glad they’re good for you. I’m 190lb and an ex elite level dh racer and for me they just lack power. I have to think more about braking places as I have to brake earlier than I’d like. Saints are the best brake power wise but have issues regarding the bite point always moving. I’m now using a 223 rotor on the front and that’s alot better. I can now brake hard and late as apposed to long and early. I think braking styles play a big part too. I do love the brakes,just need more bite.

bman33 (Feb 20, 2019 at 12:31)

@mikelee: You are a bit heavier. I never raced elite. However, I did race semi pro/pro open DH and Slalom for years on the US circuit so mine are getting a pretty good workout. Sounds like you solved your issue with 223 rotors though.

spencer81 (Feb 20, 2019 at 16:07)

What size rotors are you running with them? I run v4 with 203's on my dh, perfect brake power for me, also have e4 on my "Enduro", run 203 up front and 180 out back, although I do feel the e4 could do with a slight bit more power, what I find with hope brakes is that they need to be set properly, my front will chuck you clean off the bike with one finger if you let it @mikelee:

aps62 (Feb 20, 2019 at 23:19)

@spencer81: I agree with Spencer. Hope’s have plenty of power if you set them up properly and carefully. I know that comment annoys some people cos it implies they are not doing their maintenance, but I was one of those people who thought they have a lack of power. Then I watched the videos about set up Hope have on their website/YouTube and got mine sorted. Powerful and modulation and reliability. I’m only making this comment to rebalance my Karma cos I had grumbled about Hope brakes before I was good at dialling them in! Just watch the set up vids and do what he says...

spencer81 (Feb 20, 2019 at 23:29)

i didn't mean to cause offence by teaching people how to suck eggs btw, but I've helped quite a few people dial in their hopes now and their always surprised by the results

mikelee (Feb 20, 2019 at 23:54)

@spencer81: set up perfectly fine. I know how to set hopes up. I know they need the calipers and pads centering. The reason they’re weak is due to them having a 14mm piston and a 16mm piston which is the same as a sram guide! A Saint has a 16mm as it’s smallest and an 18mm as the largest which is why they’re so much more powerful. So essentially the v4 is a really well made sram guide. Why Hope don’t increase the power is beyond me. The e4 is even worse with two 14mm pistons! They really have no power. If they work for you that’s fine. But for me they don’t allow the hard,late braking I require. The larger rotor I’m now using on the front makes a big difference. I’m waiting for shimano to finally fix the master system issue then I’ll get the new saints. Unless hope make a proper powerful caliper.

mikelee (Feb 21, 2019 at 0:00)

@aps62: I think the other reason some people are ok with the power is braking style. I brake very late and very hard. Never drag brakes either. Also I’d say another reason is I’m actually riding faster maybe. Being an ex elite level dh rider I can push some speed down even on my trail bike. The brakes are nice just lack real power.

jaame (Feb 21, 2019 at 1:04)

@mikelee: nah, you just don't know how to set them up. Get Spencer to give you a few tips. It will probably help.

justanotherusername (Feb 21, 2019 at 2:51)

@jaame: Come on, this guy has to be a troll, nobody would mention them being an 'ex elite level dh rider' that many times if they actually were....

aps62 (Feb 21, 2019 at 3:00)

@jaame: and he makes a reet good cup of tea he does.

Points taken by Mike Lee. It’s for the Hope marketing department to make the case for Hope brakes, not me! I’m just saying I’m happy with mine, even though initially after switching from Shimano Saints I was a bit freaked out by the difference, but on balance happier with Hope. Anyway, happy riding all, especially those in the UK where it’s not raining this week!!

justanotherusername (Feb 21, 2019 at 3:44)

@mikelee: Aside from my jibe at you I do actually agree, I used a hope setup which in the UK found fine but when out in the Alps exposed some difficulty with late / hard braking which became quite tiring when the tracks are long and steep.

So that does back your point up really, maybe if you are a faster rider / more aggressive on the brakes or ride steep / long stuff and need to brake late they wont suit you.

mikelee (Feb 21, 2019 at 7:48)

@justanotherusername: I’m not saying the brakes are terrible because they’re not. I’m just saying they lack power when really hitting corners at pace. They never over heat or fade etc. They just get to a point where they’re no longer slowing you down much sooner than saints/codes. The v4 is aimed at these brakes and aggressive downhill racing as it’s market target. I’d just like hope to increase piston sizes to match the Saint then I honestly believe it would be the best brake on the market.

mikelee (Feb 21, 2019 at 7:52)

@spencer81: regarding rotor size I’m now running a 223 on the front which has made a difference and brings it to near a Saint brake imo. I’m happy with the power with this set up.

mikelee (Feb 21, 2019 at 7:56)

@jaame: lol tips setting up brakes. Even though hopes are the more fussy regarding set up it’s really not hard. Infact I use their technique for any brake as it gets the best power with both pads contacting the rotor at the same time.

kipvr (Feb 21, 2019 at 5:18)

Love Hope for their product quality.

Neale1978 (Feb 21, 2019 at 5:59)

Have their brakes improved? The new chainrings are great.

sammyfat (Feb 20, 2019 at 5:06)

cool

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wolftwenty1 FL (Feb 20, 2019 at 6:30)

Love the podcast, thanks for putting it out - have listened to nearly every episode. Some constructive feedback, I'd recommend to 'tighten it up' a bit...maybe its a British thing but just seems awkward so much of the time with pauses and kinda rambling about a lot of nothing. Seems a lot of the background, how did you get here stuff is overkill...same happened with Ben Arnott..get to the meat...the first 30 mins were 'cool' but not much beyond that.

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justanotherusername (Feb 20, 2019 at 6:57)

Being from the UK, I like the way it isn't so 'tight', you get more personality and its more natural rather than some kind of rushed, polished TV type interview.

wolftwenty1 FL (Feb 20, 2019 at 11:26)

@justanotherusername: Fair enough. I suppose its what happens when an engineer interviews mostly engineers and throws in funny British sayings.

downtimepodcast (Feb 21, 2019 at 1:15)

Hey @MikeyMT, I'm stoked that you're enjoying the podcast, and thanks for taking the time to give some constructive feedback, I really appreciate that. Podcast format is a tough one, and there is no right answer or format that suits everyone. Personally, I feel like we all spend too long in front of screens, and we are also always in a rush for things. Even a good 3 minute edit struggles to hold peoples attention these days. That's why I created a podcast, as you don't need to be attached to a screen, and you can be doing other things at the same time, so I hoped it would mean people slow down and take some time to enjoy listening and hearing peoples stories, as well as getting some great info that would help them with their own riding. That's kinda where the name Downtime came from, it's about gravity based riding, but it's also about taking time to relax and enjoy listening to someone tell their story. I could edit the episodes down on occasion, but I wanted to keep it raw and natural, so it's like you're sitting down with us for the conversation. I also think that helps you get to really know the personality of the guest, which is important to me. Everyone is different and finds different parts of the interview interesting, so I try to ask good questions, but I don't want to filter/edit the answers just for my own personal preference if that makes sense! The background also serves a number of purposes... It helps the guest relax, and if they are relaxed then that means we get better, more open answers to the later questions. It helps me get to know the guests, on almost all occasions I've never met the guest before and have a minute or so ahead of hitting record, so it's nice to start with some basics. When we have a guest on for a second time (Katy Winton for example) we don't re-cover that ground. I feel like my interview skills are improving as I do more episodes, and I'll continue to work on that, so hopefully there will be some sharpness that comes from that. I hope that you enjoy the podcast enough to stick with us, but I totally understand if it doesn't work for you. Cheers, Chris

downtimepodcast (Feb 21, 2019 at 1:16)

@MikeyMT: haha, I can't deny that, I am definitely an engineer and British!

DH-Angel (Feb 20, 2019 at 8:08)

i stopped buying hope products after terrible customer support!

privateer-wheels (Feb 20, 2019 at 11:02)

Would love more info. Did you deal with them directly? I find Hope service to be great. I have dealt directly with them on numerous occasions in the last 10-15 years and they have always been easy to get along with, and very generous with providing advise and spare parts to get me running again. One of few companies that actually are pleased to deal with an end consumer and will send spare bits over seas quickly to get you up and running and not tied up with local shops and distributiors.

BertRoot (Feb 20, 2019 at 16:32)

I have had phenomenal support from Hope for all sorts of things over the last 15 years or so. Always been pleasant and quick to respond to queries.

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pigman65 (Feb 20, 2019 at 5:59)

PB, please put a transcript with this sort of stuff, i didn't have 53 minutes to listen to Bryceland, and i do not have the time to listen to this.

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justanotherusername (Feb 20, 2019 at 6:04)

You want PB to do a transcript of an interview that wasnt even made by them and only shared through this website?

There have been loads of Hope factory visit articles and similar, if you cant be arsed to listen or 'dont have time' then that's that - Do you drive a car anywhere, travel in any way with your phone? Then download the podcast and listen.

Do you read transcripts of TV shows, Documentaries or similar?

No matter what is provided (and completely for free) nobody every seems happy!

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pigman65 (Feb 20, 2019 at 6:12) (Below Threshold)

@justanotherusername: it was a request, wind yer neck in, i'm far from unhappy about it.

justanotherusername (Feb 20, 2019 at 6:15)

@pigman65: So your unhappy 'request' makes you look like a bit of a brat so I have to 'wind my neck in', nice one.

tiagomano FL (Feb 20, 2019 at 6:16)

@pigman65: why don't you simply hear it while you drive, or are waiting at the doctor or something?
personally i mostly hear them while riding my road bike

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plan4 (Feb 20, 2019 at 6:27)

While you’re at it Pinkbike... could you please shovel my driveway?! There’s about 6” of snow on it and I just don’t have the time.

justanotherusername (Feb 20, 2019 at 6:30)

@plan4: When they are done, can you ask them to provide a transcript about how they did it, I don't have time to listen to you talk about it.

pigman65 (Feb 20, 2019 at 10:02)

@tiagomano: ok, Thanks for your input
@justanotherusername judging by the small amount of comments, no one else has the time either, enjoy your office job

justanotherusername (Feb 20, 2019 at 10:26)

@pigman65: no office job here, sorry to burst your bubble though. I do own a car and headphones though....

nickkk (Feb 21, 2019 at 8:55)

this has to be up there with the most embarrassing comments ever seen on this site. nice work, I'm actually impressed.

Shiny-side-up (Feb 24, 2019 at 3:49)

@nickkk: Quite