Hope RX4+ Caliper [Rider Review]

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Upgrade your gravel bike braking power with Hope RX4+ calipers—MTB-level stopping control meets gravel versatility. Here's what our rider experienced!

Overview

Some things in life are meant to be fast and some things in life are meant to be slow.  In my case, I wanted better braking performance on my gravel bike so I can actually slow down in time.

I got a good deal on my Nukeproof digger, and it came with SRAM Rivals (2 piston).  However, I found that the braking was lacking, especially compared to my MTB on some downhill gravel sections. As for my riding with my gravel bike,  I ride gravel, single track, and road.  Therefore, I opted to find some MTB-ish brakes, and the Hope RX4+ seemed to be the best bet.  Another bonus of using these HOPE brakes is that I didn’t want to switch out the entire braking system, so I opted to switch out the calipers and was able to keep the SRAM levers.  Luckily HOPE makes calipers compatible with both Shimano (mineral oil) and SRAM (DOT 5.1), so I was able to swap out the calipers without too much hassle. 

Bleeding

HOPE also provides a syringe along with the HOPE-compatible port; however, you will need an SRAM-compatible kit/syringe for the lever.  You also get both a metallic and resin brake pad pair, I actually opted to go for the resin for the type of riding I wanted to do.  Also, make sure that you have all the tools, such as a brake cable cutter, barb insertion kit/tool, and of course, the necessary brake fluid.  image.jpeg

Performance

It may be a combination of resin, the new Hope RX4+ calipers, and a fresh bleed, but man, these things grip and stop so much better.  I have 45mm wide Pirelli Cinturatos, and the braking is as close to my MTBs as I can get with something with a drop bar.  These calipers may be an overkill if you’re doing flat gravel, but on the chunky single track, it’s more than ample

I was able to test out the brakes on some steep sections, and I can confirm that the brakes feel much better than the SRAM rivals that were previously on.  It really gave me the confidence of riding a gravel bike, but the stopping power of an MTB trail bike.  It’s almost like if my gravel bike turned into something of a “downcountry” XC/Gravel bike.  The modulation of a 4-piston caliper is noticeably better, too; you can feather the brakes and bite down hard when you really need to stop.    

My biggest gripe is that the pistons don’t seem to retract fully (or as much as the SRAM rivals did), and I did get some brake rub on the front.  I probably have to realign the calipers again, but it is work and time-consuming to find out during my ride. 

Final Thoughts

All in all, I have no regrets about buying these brakes and I highly recommend these brakes to whoever wants to turn their gravel bike into a more MTB-like single track muncher.  If you pair these brakes with the right rotors and tires, you can pretty much handle all the non-downhill single tracks.