10 year old hydro disc brake vs new modern

[hokoman]

I don't ride mtn bikes enough to remember how the feel of my first gen xt brakes compared to last version of xtr that I had (they are like 6 years old too), so the question I have is how much has hydro disc brakes advanced? I'm getting ready to put together my wife's new bike, and I came across this listing for a set of Hope disc brakes with the pink flowers. I have the same rotors on one of my wife's bikes and she loves them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2007-Pink-Ho...AAAOSwnK9ZVEwH

This would be going on an Elephant NFE with a Jones type bar (I emailed Jones to see if they would make a Ti version that was scaled down just a tad bit for my small wife, have not heard back).

TIA

[Mr Cabletwitch]

If you're worried they won't work well enough, they will work fine. If you don't want to spend that kind of money the new stuff from Shimano is really really hard to beat even at the deore level. If the pink matter and money is no object the only other thing to be sure of with those Hopes is to make sure you can still get parts.

[pdmtong]

I have a set of similar era Hope mono ti six piston 203/185 on our full-suspension tandem. They still work great and stop great. Of course newer models deliver the power without needing six pistons, so of course technology has improved.

Before you buy these pink brakes, call Hope to see if you can still get replacement seal kits and pads. Obviously, those are critical for future life.

The pink will still stop great, might not be as easy to set up or micro-adjust, but the aesthetic attraction is obvious. those are pretty sweet.

[peanutgallery]

They've changed a lot, a 10 year old brake pretty dated - especially one full of DOT fluid for all that time. Things improve like modulation, bleedability, etc. Even SRAM has sort of figured it out

For the kind of money the seller is asking for you have many options that are new...and come with new pads...and won't require a rebuild.

PS: Never trust an ebay seller that uses that kind of hyperbole in a product description

[benb]

Can't offer exact experience but my MTB is ancient.. the original brakes I had on it were from 2006, I replaced them in 2012.

There was an improvement but it's really hard for me to say the 2006 level brakes ever held me back.

I replaced the shock at some point too and I am riding better/more aggressively these days but I think either set of brakes had plenty of performance for the way I ride today. The shock was a monstrously huge performance improvement. (And old Sid XC -> Monarch RL)

I'm actually not really a fan of the way the bike companies are doing proprietary brake fluid. That is really all "mineral oil" is. They're bypassing the brake fluid regulations required for DOT fluids. They can claim it's "better" than DOT but they don't have to list the specifications for it and they are not subject to testing for manufacturing consistency. It probably means the brake fluid is more profitable for them. I'm happy to use non Shimano brakes that use DOT fluid, my brakes have the same fluid in them that I used on the race track for my motorcycle back when I was doing that. Good enough for braking from 130mph with a 500b load, good enough for braking from 20-40mph with a 200lb load.

[Dave B]

I had those (not the pink ones) and loved them. They worked great. Me personally if I had that budget I would buy them in a heart beat.

[gdw]

Shimano's current brakes are excellent and the XT versions with rotors are half the price of those Hope's. Replacement parts are cheap and easy to find and they're so easy to service that a trained chimp or local bike shop teen wrench can handle the job. The only reason to buy the Hope's is to make your wife happy...... which might make them the smart choice.

[CiclistiCliff]

Just stay away from those things. Buy any set of shimano hydros and they'll work better, be easier to service and actually work.

[macaroon]

Those Hope brakes are very average and are way over priced. THe only reason to buy them would be the "bling", infact that's the only reason to buy Hope brakes full stop.

Hopes of that era and older were poor compared to the competition. Mono 4, Mono 6, Minis, whatever; not as good as Shimano or Formula were.

I think the brakes of choice these days are the SRAM Guide brakes, although Shimano Deores are nice and cheap and work well.

However, if your wife doesn't ride steep/fast trails and you want to splash the cash on some average brakes, then get the Hopes as they look cool!

[macaroon]

Try here for some Hope brakes; you'll probably get some cheaper.

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/lis...pe&category=15

[Villgaxx]

i'll add my vote: the shimano juice brakes work so well and are priced right.

[weisan]

It's interesting to compare older version disc brakes. So, the only disc brakes I have messed with so far are the old ancient Avid BB7s. For the longest time I wasn't really impressed with their performance until I followed the instructions on this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62Yn3xd6kcY&t=389s

Since then, it has worked really well considered its vintage. We are now in Durango vacationing. For the last two days, I have been taking the ski lift to the top of the Pajarito Mountain and doing fast speed downhill mtb and I had been really pleased with the performance of the BB7s even though by today's standards they are like former downtube shifters compared to modern STI shifters. However, in this context, I prefer them to rim brakes.

[Ronsonic]

I recently picked up a set of Shimano SLX M675s for like $110 from overseas and they work brilliantly. Have none of the bike-jewelry bling of those Hopes, but work better than the things of the past.