I am currently running 8" Hayes hydros on my Heckler and I recently picked up an older bike that has Hope M4s. I immediately noticed that the levers on the M4s were more comfortable and the modulation is much better than the Hayes on my new bike. I was going to switch the brakes btw the bikes until I heard about the problems associated with maintaining the Hope brakes, switching tires, and cost of brake pads etc.
I have not had the time to test the Hope brakes adequately because the bike that they are on is not rideable at the moment. I have heard the "hype" about Hope but I would like to know from people who have experience on this subject to help me out. First of all are the M4s as good as people say and are they harder to maintain than Hayes considering the extra brake pads, open system, etc? How are the M4s for changing tires as well?
I had Hope Mini's on my last XC bike and loved 'em... never any issues, LOVED the levers and was super stoked overall with them...( I know they are a little different than the M4's).
I switched to Hayes when I built up my freeride bike due to the fact replacement parts were easy to find. The bummer was I never ended up liking the performance of my Hayes Mags, even with 8" discs. I was about to convert my Scream over to a Hope bike untill I rode a friends bike with some Hayes upgrades... HOLY CRAP what a difference!!! I ordered up some Goodridge lines, Gravity Racing Components levers, EBC red pads and some Golden Spectro racing DOT 4 fluid. To make a long story short I more than doubled my stopping power and gave the brakes an overall incredible feel. I can't even beleive it's the same brake system! The best part is the amount of confidence I've gained while Dh'ing.
It wasn't cheap, but it was well worth it!!!
Hope that helps you out... or maybe it confused you more, having more options.
I had Hope Mini's on my last XC bike and loved 'em... never any issues, LOVED the levers and was super stoked overall with them...( I know they are a little different than the M4's).
I switched to Hayes when I built up my freeride bike due to the fact replacement parts were easy to find. The bummer was I never ended up liking the performance of my Hayes Mags, even with 8" discs. I was about to convert my Scream over to a Hope bike untill I rode a friends bike with some Hayes upgrades... HOLY CRAP what a difference!!! I ordered up some Goodridge lines, Gravity Racing Components levers, EBC red pads and some Golden Spectro racing DOT 4 fluid. To make a long story short I more than doubled my stopping power and gave the brakes an overall incredible feel. I can't even beleive it's the same brake system! The best part is the amount of confidence I've gained while Dh'ing.
It wasn't cheap, but it was well worth it!!!
Hope that helps you out... or maybe it confused you more, having more options.
Now think of making all those upgrades (minus the levers) to some M4 Monos.... ummmmm....
I had some Hayes with Razor Rock levers and switched to Hopes M4 200/180 on my FR/DH bike and M4 180/160 on my hardtail... won't go back hayes now though. I have developed some squeal in my rear brake of my DH bike, might be because I didn't face the tabs (since our shop doesn't have the tool).
Was it Cheaper then a system of 6ti in front and m4 in back? (about $475 at jenson)
(using this combo because I hear an upgraded Hayes system is comparable to a Mono 6ti system)
Granted the Hayes pads wont make you take a second mortgage on the house.
I had Hope Mini's on my last XC bike and loved 'em... never any issues, LOVED the levers and was super stoked overall with them...( I know they are a little different than the M4's).
I switched to Hayes when I built up my freeride bike due to the fact replacement parts were easy to find. The bummer was I never ended up liking the performance of my Hayes Mags, even with 8" discs. I was about to convert my Scream over to a Hope bike untill I rode a friends bike with some Hayes upgrades... HOLY CRAP what a difference!!! I ordered up some Goodridge lines, Gravity Racing Components levers, EBC red pads and some Golden Spectro racing DOT 4 fluid. To make a long story short I more than doubled my stopping power and gave the brakes an overall incredible feel. I can't even beleive it's the same brake system! The best part is the amount of confidence I've gained while Dh'ing.
It wasn't cheap, but it was well worth it!!!
Hope that helps you out... or maybe it confused you more, having more options.
Now another question, Where to find the things you mentioned above online?
Goodridge lines, Gravity Racing Components levers (Saw them on the site, but the pics suck, I cant really see what they look like), EBC red pads and some Golden Spectro racing DOT 4 fluid.I'm looking to up the power of my Mono6's Info Please?
Thank you!
Now another question, Where to find the things you mentioned above online?
Goodridge lines, Gravity Racing Components levers (Saw them on the site, but the pics suck, I cant really see what they look like), EBC red pads and some Golden Spectro racing DOT 4 fluid.I'm looking to up the power of my Mono6's Info Please?
Thank you!
I rode with a guy at Plattekill over the weekend that did the upgrade to his Mono6's with the same luck!
I was able to source most of the parts thru our distributor...(I work at a shop), however speedgoat has most of the items on their site. If you deal with an LBS they should be able to order the hoses, levers and pads. The fluid was a little tougher so I sourced it thru a motorcycle shop... the cool thing was, they also had Golden Spectro fork oil in stock as well.
I've been riding the same set of Hayes for four years now. I've ridden hopes on mates bikes and I'd never trade my hayes for any of them.
Try fixing a sticky piston when you've got four of them in one caliper. You've got to hold three back while you pop the fourth one free with the lever. Hopes seem to make more noise, more often than any other brand of bike brakes I've ridden.
EBC brake pads aren't a match for the original hayes sintered metallics. The reds are extremely fast wearing, where the hayes metallics last for years.
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