|
Check the Latest News!
iBikeRide.com
life is an adventure or nothing at all
| Latest Blogs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Mini Chat |
|---|
|
Latest Message: 2 hours, 10 minutes ago
You have to login before you can chat! |
| Related Items |
|---|
| Hope Mono 6 - Short review |
|
|
| Mountain Bike Kit Reviews - Braking | |
| Written by Weelk | |
|
Hits 115
Thursday, 31 January 2008 Just wanted to share some first impression thoughts about my recent birthday present :). I’ve got fed up with my previous Hope brakes Mono M4 (8). Four pots, two piece callipers and decided to make myself a birthday present - new brakes – instead of investing more money into old ones. Old M4’s did have a serious problem with temperature handling and the original Hope black hoses were more like garden hose – just too soft. Too much braking power wasted on expanding hoses. The rear one was the most annoying because of hose length – spongy feel like dipping your finger into the butter. BTW new Goodrich hoses for front and rear well over £40 so no point for an upgrade. Also horrible to bleed with those micro bubbles stacking in the master cylinder. As they getting smoking hot you can squeeze the lever down to the grip and yeah it makes you go slower :). I’ve sold them on ebay for a good price and went shopping for new ones.
Hope Mono 6
Door bell... And here they are. Wicked! Ripped the parcel apart with banana smile on my face and a spark in the eye, like kids on Boxing Day :) Wow dude... Hot suff. Not very well packed with thick terrible plastic bags, but who cares :) First - the rotor came out. Saw like shaped 203mm with aluminium inner part. Perfectly cut with laser plotter. Bolt flanges to centre the rotor on the hub. HQ Torx (star) bolts. Mmm smells like factory :) Second - the brake itself. Moto lever, one piece six pots calliper and Hope braided hose (as standard) joining all together into the powerful braking device. If you look at it, it’s easy to say that Hope got themselves a new machines and improved their CNC machining technology and also design. One concern – brake liquid in the plastic bag ???? What the hell is that ??? Sticker on the bag calmed me down saying it is normal, probably due to the airless filling process.
Moto lever - Love the design and features . Split bar clamp allows hassle free fitting, Integrated reservoir and master cylinder. Adjustable lever reach. New to Hope Moto lever is ability to adjust capacity of the master cylinder by the red adjuster. That allows you to control how far the brake pads are from the rotor. I’ve got it rather tight to shorten the bed in period. Cool thing is that Hope programs CNC machining heads not only for machining process but also for a surface design, creating eye catching patterns. What’s different and surprising? I think this is the only lever to be fit after the gear shifter not between the grip and the shifter. If you use i.e. rapid fire shifters like Deore you gonna need to get the display demounted. Hope provides black vinyl stickers to cover shifter’s display socket to protect from dust, water etc. To be honest gear display is just a fancy gadget for a advanced biker and you not gonna miss it.
Six pot calliper – Again huge progress from in comparison with old models. Machined of one solid billet of aluminium; lighter (no steel joining bolts); stronger; stiffer; prettier. Now it has pistons made of phenolic to improve calliper temperature isolation and reduce weight. Three black bore caps for servicing (looks like it is not going to be the easiest task – I mean to pull out the pistons); two large brake pads covering around 10% of the rotor rather than on for each piston on my old ones (should be cheaper). All this sounds like good catapult J Fitting the brakes. They come with adapters of your choice. I use Boxxer mount (front) and traditional IS (rear). Terrifyingly easy to fit not like old ones where I use to mess round for hours with spacing washers. Easy to adjust. The first ride. I wasn’t expecting much and definitely not to see sharp fangs biting my disks. So, wiped the rotors with acetone (to degrease it) and went for a short ride. Well I was right. I could feel huge power coming out of the master cylinder but not being transferred onto the rotor. As you know, every new brake or brake pad, need some mileage to bed in. The brake will gradually gain braking power until it gets to its top performance. After a few rides the front one is just perfect. I like it to have a short stroke with early bite point and so it is. Lever has a perfect modulation. Still waiting for the rear one as it takes much longer for it to bed in, as it’s used for only 20 to 30% of braking. Pros: design; feeling; finish; adjustment; braking power; modulation; HOT! Love it so far. Cons: I’ve got them from chain reaction, unfortunately on one Hope Moto lever the master cylinder’s shaft (adjuster screw) - that allows you to adjust the lever reach – came with faulty allen key socket. I did manage to adjust it and didn’t bother to send it back and wait for the new one. Give a kid a toy and then try to take it away J no chance. I rather buy one of those shafts for £2.99 if I need to. Gear shifter display has to come off – Down side if you cannot live without it.
Haven’t tried them wet or muddy yet. I couldn’t get them smoking yet (matter of time and terrain) I will let you know if I do :)
WARNING – DO NOT GIVE IT TO YOUR GF OR WIFE FOR A RIDE – THREAD OF FACEPLANT IN MOST CASES Ps sorry for my English – working on it :)
|
|
| < Prev |
|---|
|
| Members Online |
|---|
|
No members online Guests: 4 |
 |
|
|
|
|