Scored some Hope RX4+ brakes!
 

I was finally able to locate a pair of Hope RX4+ calipers in the desired spec (i.e. the new flat mount “+20” models) from R2 Bike in Germany after quite a bit of searching which even included contacting Hope USA who said they haven’t gotten an order from home base in England since May of ‘20 or something crazy like that, #covidtroubles.

Anyway, I pumped to get them installed, and have an extra tank of propane for the garage heater in case it doesn’t all go to plan, which is also the reason I’m tackling the job in the dead of winter instead of waiting until the warmer weather of prime riding season.

I surprised to find Hope included a syringe and connector with each caliper, a very nice touch.

I’m hoping the Hope’s yield a little more power from the hoods handhold, but I’m excited for the bling factor just as much, I won’t lie!


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Hope Tech RX4+ hydraulic brake calipers
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I got them put on this morning without any difficulty, and my initial impressions are very good.

I used both the front and rear FMF +20 and FM +20, which fit with 160mm rotors without needing any adapters, which I like.

Some folks reported difficulty bleeding the rear, but following the suggestion in a Hope “how-to” video to bleed it while dangling unmounted, it went just as easily as the front.

Setting the alignment is a little fidgety, involving working each pair of pistons (prying against the pads with a flatblade screwdriver) in order to create equidistant spacing from the rotor.

I’ve only done a quick 2 mile shakedown run, but feel at the levers is already more affirmative than the Force calipers, and using the provided red pads— they came with two sets, red and blue, which are organic and metallic sintered, I guess— front brake squeal is largely eliminated, at least for the timebeing.

One thing for sure: there’s not much pad clearance at all, so don’t these if that’s a concern for you.

I’m very happy with the looks! They’re just a tad darker than the Paul bots, bit tie things together regardless.

I’ll report back once I’ve got some miles into ‘em.


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Hope RX4+ purple calipers


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So are these the SRAM DOT fluid ones?

yes. There’s a “D” on the large bore caps for that type, and an “M” on mineral oil variants.

Those are HOT.

I am also a fan of those propane tank heater attachments

It turns out I’m getting slight brake rub front and rear. As I mentioned earlier, there was not much of any pad clearance going on, and I futzed with aligning the caliper and the pistons quite a bit, so it’s probably an issue with caliper compatibility with the thickness of the SRAM Centerline X rotors. I earlier called Hope Tech USA and the suggestion from them was to make sure I didn’t overfill the systems. I just know went through to check that and, while it did help somewhat, it didn’t fully fix things up. Hope further indicated I may need to use their rotors, which are— apparently— thinner than the SRAM Centerline X units (~1.65mm vs. 1.85mm).

I’m pretty confident I’ve done everything right, like fully seating the pistons, so unfortunately I’ll probably have to shell out for a pair of rotors. I’ll call Hope in the morning and see what they have to say. It seems like the kind of thing (rotor thickness maximums) they really should call out somewhere; maybe I missed it.

So very close here, but no cigar just yet!

Thanks! With all the nooks, crannies, and machine marks, I’m starting think they’re going to be a royal PITA to clean… :rolleyes:

Their rotors are way too expensive, for what they are. And on top of that, they're thinner than SRAM or Shimano rotors, so you get to replace them sooner? That's poor design.

No thanks.

sometimes we do things because it’s worth it. Assuming you’ve installed new pads as well and perhaps some more bedding will calm down the current rubbing.

Hope Tech UK got back quickly on my inquiry, and suggested the same given how little rubbing there is, after going through some of the other possibilities. Kind of surprisingly, they did not mention rotor thickness at all.

I’m going to do a quick re-bleed on the front today because I accidentally mixed up the levers and calipers while checking fill level hastily last night and didn’t do the operations in the right order. Then, I’ll do some bedding in and try to get a good ride in on Thursday and make some decisions from there.

I’d hate to have to throw down for new rotors right now— lots of expense in home renovation, travel, and a new car— but if it’s a quick solution to the problem, I will, because the brakes do look sick!

Just sand the pads a hair before replacing the rotors, probably need to buy like a dozen pairs of pads before you recover the cost of rotors if that is the issue

That was brilliant; the wheels spin freely after a super quick sanding of each pad face.

Thanks for the tip!

I’m having this same rubbing issue. HopeTechUSA also suggested not to over fill (push the piston all the way back into the caliper before you finish bleeding). Any other tips? Super frustrating.

Those look awesome... In fact, all those purple bits look awesome! Enjoy...

Were you racing this in PA yesterday? Saw one just like it with all the same purple bling and looked sharp.

What? Just like it? No, I wasn’t in PA yesterday, but I wanna know who the sick bastard aping my style is… 😉

Mount Davis Gravel Grinder?

Nope, Carpenter Cross.

Was curious if you just shave the pads and that's that? I'm having the same issue with some swissstop rotors. I've bled and done everything correctly.

yeah, a few seconds of sanding the pads and that was that for me!

Do it face down on sandpaper on a flat surface to keep the pad face level, of course.