Great video. I actually replaced those seals last night in fact on the Tech 3 lever. Stupidly I didn’t realise the difference in the seals and I ended up breaking the primary seal whist installing it in the secondary seal location. I ended up running the bigger seal on both locations and the bigger seal was noticeably baggy. I put it back together and bled them hoping it would work. To find the exact same issue you had in your first video. New parts on order now and lesson learnt. Jim- uk
Brilliant. Good explanation. I was looking at buying hope brakes and I think the aftersales has just confirmed me wanting to still buy. Thanks for the video
Hi, Leonard! First of all thanks for this video series, saved me a lilbit troubleshooting for myself, cause got this same issue about frontlever going allthe way down like that, slowly but forsure :) . Question: do you happen to know, does the main cylinder have threads inside, so that i can explode it smaller pieces, so i can change the primary and secondary seals?? ( due the covid situation Hope techsupport hasnt answered to me, so i turned to you ). Thanks.
I don't know if it has threads, because Hope sent me a complete piston/cylinder assembly with seals already installed. I would guess that it does not have threads because I would expect Hope to show that on the exploded drawing that I show in the video. And just based on how the part looks, it appears to be one piece. I'm guessing that the seals are just stretched over the end of the piston and into the grooves.
Leonard Nick Yeah, thats whati was thinkin too, seals are just so thic ,that it feels impossible to stretch them over.. but i gues i have to try.. Thanks !
I'm wondering how common this problem is. My Tech 3 V4 front brake setup came brand new with the same problem. I've got new seals I'm going to put in soon, but it feels pretty crappy to have to do anything to relatively expensive brand new brakes. It's definitely made me much less likely to buy any other Hope parts. I wish I would have called Hope before buying the $5 seal kit, I'm in the US too and figured it was faster to just order the seals from a US distributor. Thanks for the helpful videos.
Sorry to hear you're having the same problem Henry. You're right that it isn't great to have issues with a high end brake like this, but it might have just been a bad batch of seals that affected some brakes. The problem does not seem to be widespread, and like you, only my front brake had this problem. The rear has been perfect since day one. Hope was very responsive to me, which definitely helped. For what its worth, since replacing the seals in my brakes they have been excellent, so hopefully new seals will correct your issue too. I did another video describing how to change the piston/seals if you need it.
I only purchased a front brake, so I don't have any experience one way or the other on a rear Tech 3 V4. I had another bike that needed to inherit my XT front, so I bought the Hope setup looking for more modulation. I can feel their potential, I may regret going to a 203mm rotor once they're working properly, it may be too much for me on my XC bike now that I've lost 45lbs. May have to scale back to a 180mm.
The modulation is very good with Hope brakes, especially if you are accustomed to Shimano. I used to run XT M8000 front and rear and they felt very on/off compared to the Hope. The Hope felt good with organic pads, but I switched to the sintered pads so there was less initial bite and now I like them even more. I can feather the brakes very lightly and only apply a small amount if I need to, opposed to the XT where there was nothing at first and then all the power came on at once.
LJ Nick that's exactly the type of description that I read repeatedly and why I, like you, ordered a setup for my front when I needed a new front brake.
Don’t let the brakes put you off. Their brakes are fiddly to get perfect, but the hubs, crankset, stem, headset, bottom bracket and various tools I have bought for them have all been great and worked first time.
I have a set of tech4 v4. Myn feels spongy when i first squeeze them but as i keep pumping them they get firm. Ive bled them like 5 times. Its only happening to the one brake (rear) everytime i bleed them they feel good again then after 2-3 rides they go spongy no oil seems to be leaking any where .... any ideas what the problem is ?
@@LookasMTB I contacted hope they recommend me to take apart the lever and check the master cycliner seals. Havnt done it yet will get back to you once I do, or you let me know if you solve this issue
If you're a lighter rider the E4s might be enough, especially if you use big rotors, although I've never tried them so I can't say for sure. Hope brakes in general aren't regarded as the most powerful brakes - the modulation and feeling of the lever is great, but other brands are more powerful if that's all you're looking for. I never felt that the V4s were lacking in power, but I was only using them on a trail bike and had the bigger rotors too. For racing enduro or downhill, I would definitely go with the V4s, especially if you're a heavier rider.
@@sebastianbarker4139 The E4s might be just fine with that setup, and they are a little less expensive and a little lighter, if that matters to you. I'm slightly heavier at about 70kg, although I wasn't racing enduro. What brakes do you have now?
@@sebastianbarker4139 You're right, they should feel great coming from 2 piston brakes. Shimano brakes are nice, although they have a very on or off feel, not really any modulation. Some people prefer that feeling, but I have always liked more modulation. You will probably notice that more than anything - they probably won't "feel" like they have as much power, because they don't instantly lock up like Shimano can, but the lever has a much "softer" feel. You can gradually pull the lever in further and further to apply more power, and they will eventually lock up if you want them to. Regardless of which one you go for, I would not get the braided brake hose, I don't think it is necessary. It is on my bike in the video (because V4s come with it standard) but after the video I replaced them with regular black hoses.
Junior Sabino They are both great brakes, and it really depends on how you prefer your brakes to feel. Some people say the Saint actually has a bit more power, but the power comes on all at once. Hope has very good modulation, so you can slowly apply more and more power if you like. I prefer the modulation of Hope, so they are better for me, but Saint may be better for you if you prefer more immediate power.
Great video. I actually replaced those seals last night in fact on the Tech 3 lever. Stupidly I didn’t realise the difference in the seals and I ended up breaking the primary seal whist installing it in the secondary seal location. I ended up running the bigger seal on both locations and the bigger seal was noticeably baggy. I put it back together and bled them hoping it would work. To find the exact same issue you had in your first video. New parts on order now and lesson learnt. Jim- uk
That sounds frustrating! But I’m glad the video was helpful. Good luck!
Brilliant. Good explanation. I was looking at buying hope brakes and I think the aftersales has just confirmed me wanting to still buy. Thanks for the video
Steve Copeland Thanks, I’m glad it was useful to you. After Hope sorted me out with a new seal, the brakes have been perfect. Cheers
Hi, Leonard!
First of all thanks for this video series, saved me a lilbit troubleshooting for myself, cause got this same issue about frontlever going allthe way down like that, slowly but forsure :) .
Question: do you happen to know, does the main cylinder have threads inside, so that i can explode it smaller pieces, so i can change the primary and secondary seals?? ( due the covid situation Hope techsupport hasnt answered to me, so i turned to you ).
Thanks.
I don't know if it has threads, because Hope sent me a complete piston/cylinder assembly with seals already installed. I would guess that it does not have threads because I would expect Hope to show that on the exploded drawing that I show in the video. And just based on how the part looks, it appears to be one piece. I'm guessing that the seals are just stretched over the end of the piston and into the grooves.
Leonard Nick Yeah, thats whati was thinkin too, seals are just so thic ,that it feels impossible to stretch them over.. but i gues i have to try..
Thanks !
I'm wondering how common this problem is. My Tech 3 V4 front brake setup came brand new with the same problem. I've got new seals I'm going to put in soon, but it feels pretty crappy to have to do anything to relatively expensive brand new brakes. It's definitely made me much less likely to buy any other Hope parts. I wish I would have called Hope before buying the $5 seal kit, I'm in the US too and figured it was faster to just order the seals from a US distributor. Thanks for the helpful videos.
Sorry to hear you're having the same problem Henry. You're right that it isn't great to have issues with a high end brake like this, but it might have just been a bad batch of seals that affected some brakes. The problem does not seem to be widespread, and like you, only my front brake had this problem. The rear has been perfect since day one. Hope was very responsive to me, which definitely helped. For what its worth, since replacing the seals in my brakes they have been excellent, so hopefully new seals will correct your issue too. I did another video describing how to change the piston/seals if you need it.
I only purchased a front brake, so I don't have any experience one way or the other on a rear Tech 3 V4. I had another bike that needed to inherit my XT front, so I bought the Hope setup looking for more modulation. I can feel their potential, I may regret going to a 203mm rotor once they're working properly, it may be too much for me on my XC bike now that I've lost 45lbs. May have to scale back to a 180mm.
The modulation is very good with Hope brakes, especially if you are accustomed to Shimano. I used to run XT M8000 front and rear and they felt very on/off compared to the Hope. The Hope felt good with organic pads, but I switched to the sintered pads so there was less initial bite and now I like them even more. I can feather the brakes very lightly and only apply a small amount if I need to, opposed to the XT where there was nothing at first and then all the power came on at once.
LJ Nick that's exactly the type of description that I read repeatedly and why I, like you, ordered a setup for my front when I needed a new front brake.
Don’t let the brakes put you off. Their brakes are fiddly to get perfect, but the hubs, crankset, stem, headset, bottom bracket and various tools I have bought for them have all been great and worked first time.
I have a set of tech4 v4. Myn feels spongy when i first squeeze them but as i keep pumping them they get firm. Ive bled them like 5 times. Its only happening to the one brake (rear) everytime i bleed them they feel good again then after 2-3 rides they go spongy no oil seems to be leaking any where .... any ideas what the problem is ?
Mine are the same , have you found the solution???
@@LookasMTB I contacted hope they recommend me to take apart the lever and check the master cycliner seals. Havnt done it yet will get back to you once I do, or you let me know if you solve this issue
I just added another video describing the piston replacement: ua-cam.com/video/FfBRZHmaRAc/v-deo.html
Do you think Hope E4s are not powerful enough for enduro? Should I buy the V4s instead?
If you're a lighter rider the E4s might be enough, especially if you use big rotors, although I've never tried them so I can't say for sure. Hope brakes in general aren't regarded as the most powerful brakes - the modulation and feeling of the lever is great, but other brands are more powerful if that's all you're looking for. I never felt that the V4s were lacking in power, but I was only using them on a trail bike and had the bigger rotors too. For racing enduro or downhill, I would definitely go with the V4s, especially if you're a heavier rider.
Leonard Nick I’m probably about 65kg and run a 203 rotor front and 180 rotor rear, would this be okay do you think?
@@sebastianbarker4139 The E4s might be just fine with that setup, and they are a little less expensive and a little lighter, if that matters to you. I'm slightly heavier at about 70kg, although I wasn't racing enduro. What brakes do you have now?
Leonard Nick shimano deore, very basic 2 piston brakes, so I think e4s will feel brilliant in comparison to them!
@@sebastianbarker4139 You're right, they should feel great coming from 2 piston brakes. Shimano brakes are nice, although they have a very on or off feel, not really any modulation. Some people prefer that feeling, but I have always liked more modulation. You will probably notice that more than anything - they probably won't "feel" like they have as much power, because they don't instantly lock up like Shimano can, but the lever has a much "softer" feel. You can gradually pull the lever in further and further to apply more power, and they will eventually lock up if you want them to. Regardless of which one you go for, I would not get the braided brake hose, I don't think it is necessary. It is on my bike in the video (because V4s come with it standard) but after the video I replaced them with regular black hoses.
Great video!
Please make one dedicated to tech3 lever disassembly.
Thanks.
I need to change my brakes, you would indicate the brake hope or shimano saint, which one you think better ?
Junior Sabino They are both great brakes, and it really depends on how you prefer your brakes to feel. Some people say the Saint actually has a bit more power, but the power comes on all at once. Hope has very good modulation, so you can slowly apply more and more power if you like. I prefer the modulation of Hope, so they are better for me, but Saint may be better for you if you prefer more immediate power.
thanks for help
Please make the video for the piston 👍🏻👍🏻
I already made did, it's here: ua-cam.com/video/FfBRZHmaRAc/v-deo.html
WHAT DO THEY SAY ABOUT HOPE COMPONENTS? "I ( HOPE ) THEY WORK?" THAT IS WHAT MY BIKE MECHANIC JUST SAID TOO ME! RRRRRRRRRR.........!!!!!
you made this video 4 years ago...how have the brakes been since the new seals
I no longer have the brakes, but after replacing the seal they worked great.
@@leonardnick6019 HOW LONG DID YOU KEEP THE BR8KS? HOOW LONG DID THEY WORK?
sexy bike