Slow down. Take a brake. What to choose?

[SuperDS]

Without starting this thread sounding like an offshore oil rig worker trying to sell his cousin's bike, I'll get right to the point:

I need to decide what set of brakes to get for my MTB next.

 

Background:

 

I am built for going more downhill than up - around 100kg.

My bike is a 150mm/130mm travel black mongrel weighing more than 14kg.

I like the more technical stuff and not averse to my bike's tyres leaving contact with Mother Earth on occasion.

 

I currently run Shimano XT M8000's on a 203mm front and 180mm rear rotor which give me reasonable stopping power but lacks modulation and brute force when it is really needed, and I feel holding me back a little in terms of confidence to push the boundaries a bit more.

 

The shortlist at the moment contains:

TRP Quadiem's 

Hope Tech3 E4's

Formula Cura's

and possibly TRP slate

 

I'm not a big fan of SRAM brakes due to previous bad experiences therefore I won't consider these as an option for now.

 

At the end of the day I'll need to way up performance, reliability, ease of getting spares, backup and repairs but also value for money, as there is a significant difference in price between some of the options on my list. I am not asking any of you to choose for me, but would appreciate if anybody with proper experience with any of the listed brake sets above to impart some of it to educate my eventual leap.

 

Greatly appreciated!

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

If I were in the market for a new set, I'd get the quadiem but swap the standard pads for the sintered. Reportedly a major difference in stopping power, and they're the cheapest of the lot. They look *** cool too.

 

2nd would be HOPE. If money were no object and I HAD the budget for hopes, tho, I'd get them in a heartbeat. I love my m4's.

[DieselnDust]

SRAM Code

 

Forget the last past. They’re full stop

[Rigardt@Scott]

Can't comment on many of those options except that I went from XTM8000s to Formula Curas. I love them, good price, excellent stopping power, excellent levels of modulation. Pads last long, and in more than a years worth of use I have not had to ever bleed them - feels as good as the day I installed them.

 

Description of my bike, weight, and riding style is the same as yours

[DieselnDust]

Can't comment on many of those options except that I went from XTM8000s to Formula Curas. I love them, good price, excellent stopping power, excellent levels of modulation. Pads last long, and in more than a years worth of use I have not had to ever bleed them - feels as good as the day I installed them.

Description of my bike, weight, and riding style is the same as yours

 

And they’re very well priced

[porqui]

So many questions/requirements.

 

Go and have a cup of coffee with droo at Stoke.

 

Worth your while - don't forget to talk about brakes too.

[SuperDS]

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

I have settled down my penchant to purchase in the past few years and don't tend to feel the need to change every season to the latest and greatest. That said, when a component doesn't perform or simply doesn't feel right, I'll go for other options. That means that if I find one that is perfect for me, I will probably stick with it until it dies of natural causes, even if it is one of the cheaper or less popular ones. 

 

I have no misconceptions about Hope brakes' good reputation and are very eager to have a set, but will the perceived potential difference in durability and quality offset a price tag double that of its closest rival?

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Thanks for the replies so far.

 

I have settled down my penchant to purchase in the past few years and don't tend to feel the need to change every season to the latest and greatest. That said, when a component doesn't perform or simply doesn't feel right, I'll go for other options. That means that if I find one that is perfect for me, I will probably stick with it until it dies of natural causes, even if it is one of the cheaper or less popular ones.

 

I have no misconceptions about Hope brakes' good reputation and are very eager to have a set, but will the perceived potential difference in durability and quality offset a price tag double that of its closest rival?

Hopes are just.... Yeah. So well made. So good to the touch. So... Perfect.

[SuperDS]

So many questions/requirements.

 

Go and have a cup of coffee with droo at Stoke.

 

Worth your while - don't forget to talk about brakes too.

 

It was actually that same bugger who started it all...

 

He has given me good excellent advice already so far, but I want to bolster my eventual decision with more evidence.

[SuperDS]

Or more relevant, I want enough real world evidence as an excuse when my better half finds out how much I've spent if I buy the Hopes  !

[DieselnDust]

AFAIK sram , shimano , formula and Trp all make their calipers ( some levers aswell) out of composites 

 

HOpe for instance make it out of one solid billet of alloy which is then precision machined , same as the lever 

 

Hope is just .....people with hope brakes would understand 

 

I don't know of any composite calipers in any high performance application. Shimano and SRAM are made by TRP and these calipers are forged and machined.

Composite doesn't dissipate heat as well as aluminium. Only the levers of some are composite.

[Me rida my bicycle]

Brakes are just there to slow you down let go and hold on you will be much faster to the end or hospital but faster is faster. Hahaha

[Patensie]

Really happy with my hope tech x2s. I weigh only 70kgs an there is plenty of extra power.

[V18]

Same story as OP. Went from XT m8000 to hope tech 3 e4... I now understand what modulation means. Rode klipberg with them. Steep. Loose. Fast. Couldn't believe I didn't listen to Myles for so long.

[Duane_Bosch]

I have TRP Slates and if I could wind back the clock I would have rather bought Cura's. The power from the Cura's is just bonkers.

 

The feel from the slates is great but they do lack power.

 

I've had 3 sets of Hopes and loved them.

[Psyrax]

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