Mountain Biking - Hope Brake Questions

I have decided to choose Hope brakes - they get a decent right up & can get them at a decent price.

Appreciate some advice on flwg :

1. I do mainly XC type riding on sometimes roughish trails and tracks and also longer routes into the mountains with some steep climbs and decents & I weigh 175 pounds...
Would the hope Mini's give me enough stopping power on steep decents ? or shud I consider putting the more powerful M4 in the front ?

2. What difference does rotor size make ? see that some put a larger rotor in the front ?
If I go for mini in rear & front what rotor sizes should I choose ?
If I went for M4 in front and mini in rear what rotor sizes should I choose ?

Thanks !!!!

I have decided to choose Hope brakes - they get a decent right up & can get them at a decent price.

Appreciate some advice on flwg :

1. I do mainly XC type riding on sometimes roughish trails and tracks and also longer routes into the mountains with some steep climbs and decents & I weigh 175 pounds...
Would the hope Mini's give me enough stopping power on steep decents ? or shud I consider putting the more powerful M4 in the front ?

2. What difference does rotor size make ? see that some put a larger rotor in the front ?
If I go for mini in rear & front what rotor sizes should I choose ?
If I went for M4 in front and mini in rear what rotor sizes should I choose ?

Thanks !!!!

i do think you should get the M4 front mini rear. My M4 front is 180mm rotor and the rear is 160mm rotor. i hate to brag or anything, but it pretty much like dominates. i am 135, so it is plenty of power. like i said before, is there really such a thing as too much brake power :D

the rotor diameter makes a difference...you could find in a search here. equally and maybe more importantly, is the 4 pistons!!!

i do believe the 4 pistons up front is the ticket for your weight and accasional DH. you'll love them. i went riding yesterday and i don't recall a squeek from them.

let me know if you want any set-up type ideas that i did.

equally and maybe more importantly, is the 4 pistons!!!

Here we go again! ;)

I will argue that number of pistons is not necessarily indicative of braking power. For example, my M3 (BMW, not Intense) has one huge pot, will outbrake most street cars, and is perfectly capable of repeated stops at speed on the track. Now I don't know if that's a function of cross-sectional area of the piston(s) or what, but I'm not sure the more=better rule applies in this case.

I've ridden Hopes (M6/M4 combo) and I didn't get the impression that they were any more powerful than my single pot hayes - they just have a better feel at the lever and look ten times cooler. :)

the extra pistons are for more modulation and so you can run a bigger pad, therefore have more surface area contact. you could run a 2 piston setup with equal disk contact but the calipur would be huge.

BTW would say run a 4 in the front and a mini in the back i80mm and 160mm respectivly. and for the person who rode the 6ti and 4 and said it was equal to you hayes, i dunno what was wrong with them. i run the 6ti and its not even comparable to my old hayes.

I have to agree with the M4/Mini setup. Great combo.

and for the person who rode the 6ti and 4 and said it was equal to you hayes, i dunno what was wrong with them. i run the 6ti and its not even comparable to my old hayes.

Um, that was me in the post directly above yours. And if you're going to paraphrase me (which I prefer you do NOT), you should at the very least take the time to read exactly what I wrote.

i think you would be fine with mono minis front and back.

but if you dont mind the extra weight in the front, i dont know why the m4s would be anything but a plus.

Here we go again! ;)

they just have a better feel at the lever and look ten times cooler. :)

hahaha...i have HOPE radar. i am going to praise HOPE everytime it is brought up :D

i think i lucked out with my brake tabs being properly faced. i almost wanted to buy the tool originally...but everything seems to have turned out well.

Here is a nice site on disc brakes, http://www.hayesdiscbrake.com/hayesu_product1.shtml.

This is a quote from the site (http://www.hayesdiscbrake.com/hayesu_product3.shtml) regarding piston quantity,

"III. Piston Quantity

Piston quantity is relatively unimportant in regards to brake power. More pistons or larger pistons does not mean more power. Total caliper piston area is a more reliable indicator. High pressure systems with small caliper pistons can offer the same brake power as lower pressure/large piston systems. One advantage to having more pistons is packaging. A row of 2 or 3 small diameter caliper pistons on each side of a caliper can offer a large total piston area with a low profile design. Inversely, two piston calipers are usually shorter and taller."

Here is a nice site on disc brakes, http://www.hayesdiscbrake.com/hayesu_product1.shtml.

This is a quote from the site (http://www.hayesdiscbrake.com/hayesu_product3.shtml) regarding piston quantity,

"III. Piston Quantity

Piston quantity is relatively unimportant in regards to brake power. More pistons or larger pistons does not mean more power. Total caliper piston area is a more reliable indicator. High pressure systems with small caliper pistons can offer the same brake power as lower pressure/large piston systems. One advantage to having more pistons is packaging. A row of 2 or 3 small diameter caliper pistons on each side of a caliper can offer a large total piston area with a low profile design. Inversely, two piston calipers are usually shorter and taller."
here is another nice site on disc brakes:

http://www.hopetech.com/

"III. Piston Quantity

Piston quantity is relatively unimportant in regards to brake power. More pistons or larger pistons does not mean more power. Total caliper piston area is a more reliable indicator. High pressure systems with small caliper pistons can offer the same brake power as lower pressure/large piston systems. One advantage to having more pistons is packaging. A row of 2 or 3 small diameter caliper pistons on each side of a caliper can offer a large total piston area with a low profile design. Inversely, two piston calipers are usually shorter and taller."


this is a contradiction of itself...read it again :rolleyes:

I use M4's front and rear and use 200mm discs F & R. Mind you- that is on a Tandem, which does need the ultimate braking. The 4 pot caliper does give better modulation over the 2 pot systems.

Only point I will make is that if using large discs on the front- think about 20mm axle. I also use the sintered pads, which may not be too good on a lighter bike or in wet conditions, but so far these harder pads give us sufficient braking in all conditions.

Only point I will make is that if using large discs on the front- think about 20mm axle. .
An excellent point to make at that. If you're going to 8" you need the 20mm or you're playing with fire

Thanks for the advice !

M4 up front 180mm and mini in rear 160mm is the way I will go based on advice here.

mx_599 - thks pal - if I need help I will let you know...

i think you would be fine with mono minis front and back.

but if you dont mind the extra weight in the front, i dont know why the m4s would be anything but a plus.

+1

I run the mono mini up front, and in the rear both on my FS rig, and my SS rig. They are, in my opinion, a fantastic set of lightweight brakes.

http://www.hopetech.com/images/new/mono_mini_caliper_disc_1.gif