Hope Tech 3 E4 Brakes: Rider Review

Based out of the UK, Hope Tech makes some seriously cool looking products. Everything they do seems to stand out and feel special. Just look at their E4 brakes, they are arguably some of the best looking brakes on the market. In this review, our customer Russell picks up a set for himself. Check it out!

Overview

The Hope brakes are replacing OEM Shimano Deore Brakes on my 2016 Trek Fuel EX 8. The Shimano brakes never gave me the confidence that I could really grab and lock up the back end in a controlled way. In fact, most of the time the Shimano brakes would not allow me to lock up at all. I know that locking up the brakes is not the best way to stop, but sometimes that's what you want.

First Impressions

I've had the Hope Tech 3 E4 brakes for about 2 weeks now and have 4 hours riding time on them. First impressions for the Hope brakes are good. They look amazing and match my red and black motif perfectly. The workmanship on the whole system is second to none. Hope makes all of the components for there brakes in house. Including the screws. This gives them complete control over the quality of each component. The adjustability on the bite point and reach are great for getting the perfect fit for your brake lever. As far as stopping power, WOW! These brakes are amazing. The modulation is perfect. I'm still learning how to feather them to get perfect control but I've already experienced a few nice drifts around tight turns. And when I want to lock that back wheel, it's as easy a little more squeeze.

If you want to listen to a great interview with one of Hope's longtime employee's Alan Weatherill (number 5 I believe) then check out Downtime podcast from Feb 15. It's a great insight into a company with over 30 years making bike brakes and other components. My favorite line is that anyone can make a set of brakes that will lock up the wheels. The challenge is to make them do it in a controlled way so the rider gets to choose when that happens.

Installation

Installation of the brakes was a breeze. Since my Trek has external cable routing I didn't even need to disassemble the cable. Speaking of cable, it's only about 4 inches too long for my bike. Not enough to worry about initially. I'll trim them down when I need to bleed them or move them to my next bike. Another great plus was I got the SRAM direct mount for the shifter which cleaned up the cockpit a bit more. The bike looks great!

I also went ahead and picked up the matching Hope rotors. 180 up front and 160 in the rear. Red anodized of course! They installed without a hitch and compliment the calipers nicely. I also know that the system was designed together for flawless operation. So far only a tiny bit of squeaking here and there, I attribute that to not bedding in the brakes. With time I am confident those little chips will go away.

Final Thoughts

I want to also thank Worldwide Cyclery for being such a great vendor. I have made use of the tech support more than once and they have saved me a ton of money with coupons and free shipping. They are my go-to vendor now!!