The new Hope XC4 pads look similar, but work a whole lot better.

They work. Without a doubt, the new pads from Hope work far, far better than the old EBC pads.

The new pads are made in Spain by motorcycle trials brake pads people Galfer.

“When we were doing all our motorbiking, that what we used”, said Woody at Hope. So when they needed brake pads for their XC4 system which was being troubled by inconsistent performance, the place to go was obvious.

The original XC4 pads were made by British company EBC. EBC have made the pads for all of Hope’s brakes, but it was only the XC4 that was the problem. The pads were inconsistent, and didn’t last well – the pads would crumble in the wet. Not good.

Hope needed a fix and Galfer helped them sort it. The new pads are far more positive and certainly so far from our tests and from the reports of other BIKEmagic members, they work far, far better than the EBC pads.

XC4 is a great brake, but it’s really for racers – XC riders who ride XC rather than
race it, should perhaps look to one of Hope’s Open brakes instead

Woody says that people should be aware that the XC4 unit is really a cross-country race brake. “It’s for lightweight bikes. For racers really.”| People using them for extended (dare I say extreme?) cross country riding might be dissapointed. The closed system WILL still heat up under extended downhilling, though the Galfer pads have noticeable reduced this tendency.

The pads are an inbetween compound between the old green and the gold. There will be only one compound as the Gold EBC pads generate too much heat for a closed system. If people want the adjustability at the lever for brake positioning, then they have to have a closed system, and that means that under certain circumstances the brakes will pump out.

More news is that Hope may go to new spring system like the Shimano, where the spring is outside the pads, rather than like their current system where the spring clip runs down the centre. That’ll be a rolling modification if it occurs.

Anyone with any problems should give Hope a call on 01282 851200.

Don’t hassle them too much today as there’s only Woody there to answer the phones!