Feel free to hijack with component related questions/advice/wank
My initial question is this:
Everyone bangs on about XT Brakes. Yes they are good. How do Hope brakes stack up against XT? Who would buy what? Has anyone on here used Hope brakes? Am willing to shell out the $ for a decent set that wont feel like dogshit after a few months, and will have mad stopping power.
Opinions?
I am a strong advocate for Hope brakes - I have used them on plenty of my bikes (downhill and xc) and it ihas now gotten to the point where my mountain bikes don’t feel right until I have them equipped with hope stopping power. Having said that, I have never used XT brakes so I am useless for that comparison. I just know what I like.
I can’t see that you can go past slx,xt for quality and ease of use.
I do like the new avid guide stuff but $$$ unless this is a serious race bike just go slx
Have XT’s on the 429C, have raced them for a couple of years.
XT just works.
You don’t need brakes on a fixie, dude.
The #SOTB is strong with this one
Can’t compair with hopes but my slx and xt felt the same, however my xtrs shit all over the slx/xt… If you’re clocking some high speed it’s always good to have high power brakes…
Also xtr has crabon levers and is lighter 
But seriously slx is 99% the same as xt
Only diference is slx have a split pin and dt have a screw that holds the brake pads in and some slightly cosmetic appearences. Internals are the same from memory.
Yeah, another one for XT (though I haven’t tried Hope).
Any brake system that can be easily worked on at home, with no chance of corrosion if I spill some brake fluid, is a win for me.
Not to forget they also work well.
Yeah. Xt/slx are almost identical. Xt has a free stroke screw that often does nothing. As mentioned the xts have bolt to hold pads in slx has a split pin but I think the slx calliper has the threading for the bolt.
Shimano are good, cheap, reliable, easy to work on and the rotors and pads are good and cheap.
Another +1 for XT.
Same reasons as mentioned previously. Good initial purchase price, parts readily available and they work very well.
I like the adjustable lever reach, I change the reach quite regularly depending on what I’m doing.
Never ran Hope.
Hope hubs and XT or SLX brakes on pretty much all my bikes.
Also a fan because mineral not DOT oil.
Would like to put a set of Guides on my fat bike because SRAM on bike already.
What mike and moccos said.
Cheap and easy. The setup for shimanos is super quick and very easy. Maintenance is negligible and parts are easy to come by.
If you are racing/riding fast then i can see why you might want to explore the higher end options, but if you are asking this question then SLX (or maybe XT) is for you.
Another XT fan. haven’t used SLX but have XT on all my bikes except for my current one, and XTs are the next thing I will get.
I had early Hope Monos on an old DH bike which were great, and have used various Hayes brakes over the years as well, which worked well when swapped out to braided cables.
FWIW - Formula C1s are shit.
OMFG they really are.
I’ve been using SLX’s on my XC bike for a year and they haven’t skipped a beat. Plenty of long brake burning descents and the modulation is nice on the 1-trak.
Avid Juicys are pretty ordinary too
Praise be here. Any other brake you have to do some sort of ritualistic incantation to bleed and even then there is no guarantees.
I’ve heard Hayes brakes squeal a bit, great name tho haha