New brakes

[Rawry]

Hi all,

I am looking to upgrade the brakes on my Trek Rail and have been looking at the Hope 4 V4 brakes. What is the general opinion and what would the price be to supply and fit at a bike shop?

Cheers,

 

[irie]

Hi all,

I am looking to upgrade the brakes on my Trek Rail and have been looking at the Hope 4 V4 brakes. What is the general opinion and what would the price be to supply and fit at a bike shop?

Cheers,

What calipers and levers are currently on your Rail?

 

[Rawry]

What calipers and levers are currently on your Rail?

Shimano slx

 

[irie]

Shimano slx

What's the problem with them?

 

[Rawry]

What's the problem with them?

I would like something with a bit more stopping power

 

[irie]

I would like something with a bit more stopping power

Fit larger rotors.

Trek Rail with Shimano M6100 levers, M6120 calipers, and RT76 203mm rotors. Went to Swissstop Catalyst Pro 220mm rotors. Single finger braking, huge improvement.

 

[Barnicles]

Fit larger rotors.

And try different brake pads. The SLX are a decent brakeset.

 

[Rawry]

Fit larger rotors.

 

[irie]

And try different brake pads. The SLX are a decent brakeset.

Yes, they are.

 

[theremotejuggernaut]

Are your Slx calipers 7120s?

If so, they should be capable of giving plenty of power...

If you've got standard resin pads and cheap pressed steel discs then a set of sintered pads and proper discs will make a huge difference.

I've got Deore 6120s and with some XT ice tech discs, the brakes are stupid powerful.

For a bike shop to supply and fit, you'll be paying full RRP for whatever brakes you want plus say, an hours labour at the going rate.

 

[Rawry]

Fit larger rotors.

Trek Rail with Shimano M6100 levers, M6120 calipers, and RT76 203mm rotors. Went to Swissstop Catalyst Pro 220mm rotors. Single finger braking, huge improvement.

Is it a simple job to fit the bigger rotors i am not to good with mechanical stuff?

 

[Sander23]

Bigger rotors Galfer 246MM Rotor

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

@Rawry It's not a trivial job if you're not mechanical inclined. It's something that can take some research and planning, finding larger rotors that fit your calipers (thickness wise), finding correct post mount adapters for your frame/fork and new rotor size, securing the rotors properly on the hub, learning how to re-align your calipers, have some basic tool set. There are plenty of tutorials on yt that cover these steps which always make everything sound so easy. But keep in mind that brakes are a safety thing, so modifying your braking system has to be done correctly (in professional fashion). You could have your LBS do this for you if you're not comfortable doing it yourself.

 

[Rawry]

@Rawry It's not a trivial job if you're not mechanical inclined. It's something that can take some research and planning, finding larger rotors that fit your calipers (thickness wise), finding correct post mount adapters for your frame/fork and new rotor size, securing the rotors properly on the hub, learning how to re-align your calipers, have some basic tool set. There are plenty of tutorials on yt that cover these steps which always make everything sound so easy. But keep in mind that brakes are a safety thing, so modifying your braking system has to be done correctly (in professional fashion). You could have your LBS do this for you if you're not comfortable doing it yourself.

Thanks a lot i think its best to let my LBS fit them better safe than sorry.

 

[Healy]

I have just ordered hope v4 e4 from the bike shop that I got my bike from. Had them for £172 per end. About a hour labour to fit and about £15 for the adapter for the shifter

 

[Stanpipe]

Hi all,

I am looking to upgrade the brakes on my Trek Rail and have been looking at the Hope 4 V4 brakes. What is the general opinion and what would the price be to supply and fit at a bike shop?

Cheers,

If you are intent on new brakes I would consider keeping the levers you already have and fitting Magura MT5 or 7 calipers with Magura hose. You’ll still need a Shimano olive and barb. Both use mineral oil. Done this myself with xt levers. Never had a more powerful brake.

 

[markloch]

My Rail 5 ('21?) Came with Tektro brakes. I could "1-finger" them fine, but after riding my buddies Rail with upgraded brakes (I forget which brand) I realized the Tektro's neither stopped nor modulated as well.

I won a raffle with gift cards for a local bike store and bought Magura MT5s. Also picked up Magura MDR-P rotors, though kept them at 203mm. I also bought the clamp 'adapters' to hang the dropper lever and shifter off the left and right brake clamps.

At some point I might go "Shaguro" and get Shimano levers as @Stanpipe did.

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

Another vote for magura. I'm using Magura MDR-P 220mm rotors front and rear with MTX Red Label Race ceramic/kevlar pads and Magura MT5 calipers and levers. Great braking performance on my full fat.

 

[Stoneilove]

Hi all,

I am looking to upgrade the brakes on my Trek Rail and have been looking at the Hope 4 V4 brakes. What is the general opinion and what would the price be to supply and fit at a bike shop?

Cheers,

If your budget allows it then id say get the Tech 4 V4 alongside the V4 floating rotors, for me the best brake on the market right now, by far the best for progressive power and for dealing with heat on DH nothing else comes close imho

 

[Enduro4me]

I’d put my $ on Magura

 

[Stoneilove]

I’d put my $ on Magura

I have the Mt7Pro and the V4 is easy 30% more powerful and tons better at dealing with heat.

 

[Rawry]

If your budget allows it then id say get the Tech 4 V4 alongside the V4 floating rotors, for me the best brake on the market right now, by far the best for progressive power and for dealing with heat on DH nothing else comes close imho

What size rotors have you put on i am thinking 220 front & 200 rear?

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

What size rotors have you put on i am thinking 220 front & 200 rear?

220F/203R is generally a good base for full power emtb, all mountain/enduro use. Rotor size depends mainly on your weight and riding type and style. Heavier riders will benefit from larger rotors e.g 220F/220R. Lighter Trail riders would be fine with 203F/203R. But it's not just the size that counts (well, sometimes ). The brake pad material you use plays also a critical role in achieving ultimate stopping power.

 

[jcismo1]

A personal experience for me, after I installed 203 mm Shimano IceTech rotors and the IceTech finned metal pads front and rear on my Orbea M10 Rise, was as follows. I used the XTR series spacers also. After riding it a few hundred miles, I took the rear caliper off, to bleed the brakes. The mounting bolts were BENT! I checked the front ones also, only to find that they were bent also. I weigh about 180# and I was on the brakes pretty hard on a few rocky and technical decents. Anyway I put the Galfer 180’s back on, along with the purple Galfer ebike pads and I don’t notice any less braking performance. All I can say is, I’m sure glad the seat stay didn’t snap, from the extra force exerted on it.

 

[KGA109]

There are a ton of good options - your SLX 4p brakes are good, but where all e-bikes suffer is the rotor. Its crazy to think that we use the same 1.8mm thick rotor on a 50lb eMTB as we do a 21 pound XC bike.

Check out TRP's 2.3mm thick rotors. They WILL work in your calipers; tolerances are tight but go thicker and bigger on the rotors. I'm biased, but brake pads make a big difference too. Rotors + brake pads will be a big upgrade without swapping your brake set entirely.

 

[Frankie_r]

Hi all,

I am looking to upgrade the brakes on my Trek Rail and have been looking at the Hope 4 V4 brakes. What is the general opinion and what would the price be to supply and fit at a bike shop?

Cheers,

If you have the budget, go for Hope. I don’t have them but whoever tries them says they’re amazing…

 

[Stoneilove]

What size rotors have you put on i am thinking 220 front & 200 rear?

I am running 220 front and rear.

 

[E-MAD MALC]

If you are intent on new brakes I would consider keeping the levers you already have and fitting Magura MT5 or 7 calipers with Magura hose. You’ll still need a Shimano olive and barb. Both use mineral oil. Done this myself with xt levers. Never had a more powerful brake.

Done exactly the same as you
203mm rotors back and front
Got used to them now, I had to go easy initially otherwise I would have been over the bars

 

[mtnbikerva1]

Code RSC and HS2 220 rotors will give you only stopping power you could want. And right now you can find them at a super low price.
easy to find replacement brake pads at any bike shop or online.

 

[2WheelsNot4]

Yes, they are.

Until you get a leak in them, or the clamp or lever develops issues or the incredibly small bleeding port gets chewed, then you've got to throw all or lever/caliper in the dustbin for want of a £3 part easily available from Hope..

Plus we've moved on from Henry Ford and his colour schemes.