Hope Announces New Tech 4 Brakes
Hope boasts a wide array of products from hubs and headsets to complete bikes, but they're probably best known for their brakes, which enjoy an enviable reputation for reliability and something of a cult following. Today they're launching a new brake lever, the Tech 4. As you may have guessed by the name, this will replace the long-standing Tech 3 and is compatible with all four of Hope's caliper options. Hope has also updated both of their four-piston calipers, the E4 and V4.
For those who didn't know, Hope's brakes are named by the lever and then the caliper; so for example, the Tech 4 E4 is a combination of the Tech 4 lever with the E4 caliper. The new Tech 4 lever can be combined with the same four calipers as its predecessor - the X2 (cross-country), E4 (enduro), V4 (downhill) and Trial Zone (trials) - and there's a choice of standard or braided hoses to tie them together.
Hope Tech 4 Details
• All-new Tech 4 lever available with X2, E4 & V4 calipers.
• Claimed 30% more power versus Tech 3 brakes
• Revised lever shape for more leverage at the bite point
• Hinged clamp reduces weight
• Improved shifter integration
• Updated E4 and V4 caliper with hybrid pistons
• New "racing compound" pads as standard
• Available in Black & Silver with optional Blue, Red, Purple or Orange highlights
• $220-$280 / £175-£220 / €220-€275
• hopetech.com
• All-new Tech 4 lever available with X2, E4 & V4 calipers.
• Claimed 30% more power versus Tech 3 brakes
• Revised lever shape for more leverage at the bite point
• Hinged clamp reduces weight
• Improved shifter integration
• Updated E4 and V4 caliper with hybrid pistons
• New "racing compound" pads as standard
• Available in Black & Silver with optional Blue, Red, Purple or Orange highlights
• $220-$280 / £175-£220 / €220-€275
• hopetech.com
Tech 4 lever updates
Perhaps the biggest update to the Tech 4 lever is a boost in power thanks to an increase in the overall leverage between the lever blade and the brake pad. According to Hope, this results in a 30% increase in braking power for a given force at the lever. This is achieved through both higher mechanical leverage through a change in lever blade geometry and a different hydraulic ratio thanks to a smaller diameter master cylinder. Hope claims the lever geometry offers "a linear relationship between brake pressure and lever force making it easy and intuitive to control the power".
New seals are designed to reduce friction in the hydraulic system; along with roller bearings in the lever pivot which allow for a lighter return spring, this makes it easier and less fatiguing when using the brakes repeatedly on long descents. The Tech 4 also has a hinged clamp to reduce weight compared to the Tech 4, a lower stack height reservoir and "improved shifter integration" with 30° of angle adjustment.
What hasn't changed? The levers retain the handy bite point and reach adjust dials and they're still side-specific, so you'll have to swap hoses if you're from a country where they run their brakes on the wrong side. Hope leave both hoses uncut (1.6 m long) so you'll have to trim one of them down no matter how you run your brakes.
Calliper updates
Meanwhile, Hope's four-piston E4 and V4 callipers have been updated to house hybrid pistons, made of stainless steel with a phenolic insert, rather than being entirely made of phenolic resin (a much softer material). According to Hope, this "allows for smoother movement and less maintenance, while still being able to manage high temperatures without heat transfer during extreme use." For what it's worth, the SRAM Guide Ultimate used metallic pistons, and in my experience, they were far smoother and more consistent than the standard Guide RSC of the time.
All Tech 4 brakes, no matter the caliper style, will now come with Hope's new Racing brake pads. These organic compound pads are designed for minimal bed-in time and maximum power (at the expense of lifespan). For more on how Hope's pad compounds compare, click here.
Pricing & availability
Tech 4, E4 - Braided hose - RRP £205 / €255 / $260
Tech 4, E4 - Black hose - RRP £195 / €245 / $245
Tech 4, V4 - Braided hose - RRP £220 / €275 / $280
Tech 4, V4 - Black hose - RRP £210 / €265 / $265
Tech 4, X2 - Black hose - RRP £175 / €220 / $220
Tech 4, X2 - Braided hose - RRP £185 / €230 / $235
Tech 4, X2 Flatmount - Black hose - RRP £175 / €220 / $220
Tech 4, X2 Flatmount - Braided hose - RRP £185 / €230 / $235
Tech 4, Trial Zone - Black hose - RRP £190 / €235 / $240
They should be available at Hope dealers from the 1st of March.
Update:
I asked Hope how the weight of the Tech 4 compares to the Tech 3 and to elaborate on how the increase in the leverage ratio translates on the trail. This is their response:
I asked Hope how the weight of the Tech 4 compares to the Tech 3 and to elaborate on how the increase in the leverage ratio translates on the trail. This is their response:
 | The overall ratio of the Tech 4 master cylinder is increased around 30% over a Tech 3. We have achieved this with a mixture of hydraulic and mechanical ratio. The bore size has been dropped to Ø9.5mm to increase the hydraulic ratio and the mechanical ratio has been increased with a slightly longer lever blade and optimization of the cam position at bite point. Translating this into a percentage power increase is tricky, variations in pads, bedding in process, type of braking event (i.e., long single stop from high speed or short pull to take off some speed), debris, contaminants, weather conditions, all effect this figure. We are confident users will feel a dramatic increase on the trail and reduced fatigue when coupled with the lighter, smoother lever action. The TECH 4 E4 is 283g complete with pads, mounting bolts, fully bled, whereas TECH 3 E4 is 266g. |
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If both come with long hoses where shouldn’t be any need to swap them round. No matter which side you run your front brake you just need to trim that hose, or have I missed something?
You also have a Gsheet with a lot of data from different levers and master cylinders.
And for those who don't know aside from mechanical leverage (lever blade length and pivot locations), you can also influence brake power with hydraulic leverage. Basically you either need a smaller master cylinder piston area, or a bigger caliper piston area if you want to increase power in your system. With the different experimenting I did so far it feels that hydraulic leverage yields more results that mechanical leverage.
All brakes in left or right configuration are supplied with rear hoses fitted (1.6m) as standard so reducing the stocking options required."
So your thinking came true
You mean on the outside of the opposite grip, minimum 800mm bar of course.
In the list of mineral oil brake brands: it used to be just Shimano, Magura and Tektro (as far as I know). Formula has joined, Trickstuff uses theirs and for those who thought Tektro wasn't cool enough there now is the TRP brand name.
Can someone here please claim Trickstuff brakes sucks because of their choice of brake fluid? Then I'll make some popcorn..
I have been an automotive tech for 17 years and have seen maybe a handful of techs bleed the system with pressure blenders (closed systems). My entire career I have gravity bled brake systems with the cap off the top of the reservoir for sometimes well over half an hour, as do the majority of red seal technicians I have worked with.
Never had an issue, this is a normal way to bleed dot brake systems.
The issue with hygroscipic fluids is when they are left open to the elements for long periods of time (I.e the brake fluid bottle having a faulty seal and being used after sitting open for days). People's fear of dot fluid is silly and so greatly unwarranted.
Agreed on the fear of water contamination of DOT from an open bottle on a shelf. Be interesting to see some comparisons of boiling point open container half full for a month on a shelf vs. Freshly opened. Personally i don't like DOT because of the paint remover aspect, and tge smell and texture, as well as difficulty recycling it.
As for performance (as in boiling point number) I'm not sure how much it matters. It seems the majority in WC DH racing seems to be on mineral oil brakes (Shimano, Magura, TRP, Trickstuff) and fewer on DOT (Hayes, Avid, others I might have missed) and both seem to do the job.
So indeed, I'm not so much anti-DOT but for my purposes mineral oil is just more convenient. People who want Hope-like brakes but with mineral oil probably would be happier with Trickstuff brakes.
From the consumer point of view, I've heard that argument more often but I don't quite get it. Usually I just bring a small disc brake service kit when I'm on a trip (or even a spare set of brakes on a longer trip). As usually you don't just need oil when you urgently need to bleed your brakes away from home, but also the connectors etc. So yeah, if I'm bringing all that I could just as well bring a tiny bottle of oil for my brakes.
Look, in this discussion I'm not against Hope using DOT fluid. Just merely countering some reasons why mineral oil wouldn't be a good idea. I never had issues with it, it's being used in top level mtb competition as well as some crazy MacAskill moves. At the end of the day, you need to be able to trust your brakes. If you can't, for real or nonsense reasons, then they just won't work for you. Be it on the hill or in the workshop. If it are the brakes that are scaring you, get other brakes.
Not sure whether it is a typo in your post though. From my understanding it is DOT which absorbs the moisture and degrades whereas exactly because mineral oil doesn't absorb the moisture, it allows the water to pool in the caliper.
epicbleedsolutions.com/blogs/articles/dot-brake-fluid-vs-mineral-oil
I'd say what's important is that the brake is designed to perform under the foreseeable conditions. If a DOT4 brake (Hayes?) is designed to also stay below 140degC (wet boiling point) when used hard then you'll be fine. In my previous post I used Magura as an example. If the brake is designed to work under demanding condition with a fluid that boils at 120degC, ingression of water with a boiling point of 100degC won't hurt much under normal operating conditions. If Shimano merely designs their brakes to stay below 280degC (which is what their oil boils at) then you'll have issues when water pools in the caliper.
See, I think there could be two reasons for a brake bleed. One is there could be water in the system. In case of mineral oil it is in the caliper, in case of DOT it is in the entire system. You'll notice this when you reach the boiling point and get a vapor lock. The other is that there is air in the system, which makes it feel inconsistent and spongy. You'll notice this at any temperature and obviously a reason to bleed the brake (or chase the air to the reservoir and then top up the reservoir). But these still are two different things. Air in the system (at low temperature) isn't more likely with one oil type than with the other. Lower boiling point (water or degraded DOT) is something you'll notice when you least want it. But when you want to fix it, in case of mineral oil you can catch it in a syringe whereas in case of DOT you really need to replace all oil.
Just take care when bleeding your brakes. Don’t leave dot oil on something it will mark. I’d rather that then having to constantly replace the fluid in my brakes.
all dot brakes i used required a bleed once in 3 years (didnt really require, but i did anyway) and fluid was always clear.. maybe it is just that shimano sucks consistently, idk.. probably trickstuff mineral works fine, but is it really relevant for 99,9% people?
Finds out, not the much it seems.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/22147870
Another comparison picture of the tech 3 and 4 side by side
The other 10% are claimed to come from the Pad-mixture.
@Afterschoolsports: Calipers silver or black.
Thanks hope……
Oh, wait…
I am currently running a set of Galfer organic pads in my Hopes. I have a set of Galfer metallics, but I haven't bothered putting them in, the organics are fine out here in the desert.
Pads, rotors, both...?!
175 GBP = 210 € and 175 BGP = 234 Usd
I didn't.
The V4 caliper is not compatible with all direct mount 180mm forks due to the large piston design and variation in mount positions. We recommend running the V4 caliper with the correct mount and a 200mm rotor in this application.
The V4 caliper is also not compatible with the 2021 Commencal Supreme DH frame 200mm Direct Postmount
I hated so much my Shimano Saint and wanted a lot more modulation so that's really my kind of brakes but not the same for everybody....
guess that is where additional power comes from
Yeah no shit - this is how brakes work