These are Hope’s new “Spanish” pads, designed to stop the heat-associated problems that lots of riders have been experiencing with their XC4 brakeset. We’re testing them today.

From BIKEmagic member Conrad Wing:-

I have been using the new compound pads since the middle of July, and can confirm that they are superb. The original pads ‘fell to pieces’ after a couple of rides, and were basically pants. I converted from XTR V’s and thought what the hell had I done, £400 out of pocket and brakes that wouldn’t stop for toffee, until the heat build up got so severe that the rear wheel locked.

The new pads however, confirm that these brakes deserve the Hope name (always seems an odd name on a brake!). After two months and 1500 miles of Pennine XC punishment, the pads look like new, and continue to stop the bike on a six pence. There is still a degree of heat build-up on really long decsents, but that is to be expected on a closed system.

I think that this is the classic case of a company placing a product into the market place due to public demand, not quite before all of the problems had been ironed out. Well at least nobody sells ‘Windows Brakes’ – that would be scary, a 10% crash rate every time you used them.

I would just like to reiterate that Hope are a great consumer company, going out of their way to resolve the problems I experinced with the brakes.

See what our members think and have your say.