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Hope Mono m4 Disc Brakes (2005-2006)

Hope have been the god of disc brakes for years but now there under stiff competition from their rivals; Hayes, Avid and Shimano.

The old series of Hope Brakes have been replaced with the Mono series. This Mono series has been running for about the past 2 years, and many bikes have either the mono minis (2pots) or the mono m4s (4pots) fitted. The Minis are purely designed for lightweight XC bikes whereas the M4s are designed for anything from hardcore XC up to the highest standard of Downhill Racing. If you look at Downhill bikes you will normally find a set of 200mm discs or a 200/180mm set up as on my Santa Cruz V10.

Straight from the box, fitted and ready to go the Hopes are good, they take a while to get bedded in but once they are ridden in there are no arguements over these being good brakes.

As with many models of Hopes these have problems. Hopes have notoriously after a while been prone to becoming underpowered, needing regular servicing and bleeding and often complete seal rebuilds. Not good...

Regular use of these for perhaps XC doesnt lead to problems, but even under short use Hopes dont last under hard use for the likes of Downhill. Don't get me started on the Mono 6 Ti Brakes - hideously underpowered for a 6pot brake, suffers from major brake fade and if you search for them you will find all sorts of horror stories about them setting alight on long alpine descents. Because of the growing list of problems with Hopes many riders are now choosing to go for for Hayes or Shimano Saint brakes.

 Please dont get me wrong, Hopes are superb brakes but they do require plenty more TLC and servicing than other rivals. If you dont mind having some regular tinkering to do then be my guest. For normal XC and DHing Minis or Mono M4s will do the job without too many problems, but Hopes are famous for either working well or feeling terrible.

If your in the market for some new brakes test a set before you buy and have a look round for some reviews and opinions on them over anything else.

Scott
bucksmtb.co.uk

Total price :
RRP £129.99 per brake.

Rating:
Good quality, superb stopping but it doesn't work, brake fade is the worst. Good value and good long term quality of braking efficiency but expect some tinkering tasks to keep them sharp. Plenty of competition in the market now so lots of other brakes to look at also.
4 out of 5. Loses out of 5/5 due to the history and reputation of on/off feel day to day. Bit temperamental, but if you get a good set they will last you a lifetime

From:
Any good Hope Dealer