Hope Tech 3 E4 Long Term Review

It has been exactly a year since I started riding the Hope Tech 3 E4 brakes. Over that time, I have ridden over 1,500 miles of trail. From downhill racing in Snowshoe West Virginia, to long days in the backcountry of Vermont, and every local trail ride in between, these brakes have seen it all. It is safe to say these brakes have been thoroughly vetted.

Immediately out of the box, I was struck by the build quality of the brakes. Hope’s in-house CNC machining gracefully bridges the visual appeal of fine boutique MTB componentry and rugged functionality. Nothing is cheap about the E4, in either build quality, or price tag. MSRP for these brakes is $220 per side. The standard rotors I opted for retail from $40-$55 depending on size.

DETAILS
The Hope E4 brakes are CNC machined from 2014 T6 Aluminium alloy with the calipers being created out of a single block. The calipers utilize 4×16 phenolic dual pistons and come stock with Galpher’s Hope specific organic brake pads. The lever body allows for Shimano-I spec shifters to be directly mounted and there are additional mount adapters for other shifter types. In typical Hope fashion, the E4 is available in black, purple, red, orange, blue, and silver color options. Hope also produces colored floating rotors and a braided hose option at an additional cost.

IMPRESSIONS
My first experience with the brakes is still fresh in my mind. Not even fully bedded in yet, the power and modulation of the brakes smacked me in the face and left a sizable smile for the remainder of the ride. A year later, and the E4’s have maintained the same confidence inspiring braking power. Unlike other big name brand brakes, I never had these fade away from me on a long descent.

Thanks to the easily adjustable bite point control and reach knobs, I have been able to tailor the feel of the brakes to my liking. I personally prefer a very “on-off” feel and have been able to find a setting that works well for me. Through some experimentation with the bite point control I’ve seen how versatile the E4’s lever is and how it can easily be set up for a long modulated pull for those who desire it. My biggest pet peeve in previous brakes has been inconsistent lever pull between front and back brake, or inconsistency in general. However, those are problems of the past since installing these.

My current setup makes use of a 203mm front rotor and a 180mm out back. I’ve only had a couple instances of warping, but nothing so severe that the rotor couldn’t be bent back to shape. My only complaint with these brakes is more caused by the design of my frame than the brakes themselves. The calipers are quite large and the rear caliper barely squeezes in the inboard brake mount on my 2019 Commencal META. Commencal have since solved this problem with outboard mounts on their newer models.

Over the course of a year these brakes have been used and abused. The levers have survived countless crashes in which the bike and myself have been tossed violently down the trail. Barring a few cosmetic scratches, they look and feel as new as the day I installed them. Having gone through numerous sets of brake pads I can say that these brakes maintain their power and feel to their dying breath. If it weren’t for the business card like profile of the older pads, you’d have a difficult time telling them apart.

VERDICT
The Hope E4’s have far exceeded my expectations (and previous braking points). I brag about these brakes to anyone who will listen, friends, riding buddies, the mail man. You name them and chances are I’ve mentioned these brakes to them. I value a component that I never have to think twice about once it’s installed on my bike and these definitely check that box. The extent of my worry with these is wondering when I’ll have to buy new pads.

I genuinely credit these brakes in assisting my progression as a rider. No matter how steep the trail, I have always had confidence in these brakes being able to bring me to a stop when needed.

Hope has certainly won me over. In fact, I am planning to install the E4’s bigger and burlier brother, the V4, on my downhill bike.

These brakes have excelled over the first 1,500 miles of their life and I am hoping for more of the same for the next 1,500 miles.