#!markdown
TL;DR I Highly recommend you buy Hope branded adaptors to go with their
brakes. It will cost more, but you won't have ANY problems.
I may as well weigh in with my opinion on these brakes, considering I just
purchased a set of the exact units that were reviewed here; the Tech 3 E4's
with matching rotors.
First off, let me say that I HIGHLY SUGGEST you purchase the matching brake
adaptors made by hope as well, and no, they don't come in your typical 200mm
front and 180mm rear setups. More on this later.
I purchased a brand new 2015 Specialized Enduro Elite 29er earlier this month
(my dream bike). The stock brakes were the SRAM Guide R's. 200mm front, 180mm
rear. I decided I wanted my dream brake setup (surprise, they were made by
Hope) and bit the bullet on a set of Tech 3 E4's with matching rotors. The
rotor sizes being 200mm up front and 180mm in the rear. I figured I would just
use the stock adaptors that were already made for the same size rotors.
Boy, was I wrong. 8 hours later I was still cursing and swearing and bleeding
the brakes front and rear and Googling everything I could find and more
tinkering and adjusting and swearing. These fuckers would just. Not. Stop.
Rubbing. The alignment of the calipers was off, they wouldn't stop rubbing and
no amount of tinkering would stop it. I had a scheduled ride the next day with
some buddies and I was frustrated beyond belief.
Shortly before calling it a night (at 6am…yes, I stayed up all night messing
with this brakes) and after having exhausted every option I could think of to
fix the problem, it dawned on me. Brake adaptors. It all made sense now…the
calipers arn't aligning with the rotors…constant rubbing…using spacers…I
needed proper adaptors. This is when I also realized the front caliper was
actually digging into the adaptor when I tightened it down trying to align it.
I didn't notice it before because it looked like it had enough clearance. I
was wrong.
I ended up having to purchase a front and rear adaptor for 203mm in the front
and 183mm in the rear and buying another set of matching rotors (203 and 183).
A very costly mistake because I didn't do enough research before hand. Plus, I
simply assumed I could use the same adaptors because 200mm is 200mm and 180 is
180 right? Wrong. Your mileage may very on using other adaptors…but these E4's
are a lot deeper then most calipers so keep this in mind.
Also, they don't seem to make adaptors for 200mm and 180mm rotors. Keep that
in mind as well because as expensive as these brakes are (and they were
definitely pricey), you WILL have invest additional funds for adaptors and
rotors.
Of course when I finally received my adaptors and rotors, everything went
together PERFECTLY in under 30 minutes. No rubbing, no concerns, just perfect
craftsmanship and precision engineering. Oh, and these brakes are fucking
awesome!
Aug. 29, 2015, 6:35 a.m. - Michael England
#!markdown TL;DR I Highly recommend you buy Hope branded adaptors to go with their brakes. It will cost more, but you won't have ANY problems. I may as well weigh in with my opinion on these brakes, considering I just purchased a set of the exact units that were reviewed here; the Tech 3 E4's with matching rotors. First off, let me say that I HIGHLY SUGGEST you purchase the matching brake adaptors made by hope as well, and no, they don't come in your typical 200mm front and 180mm rear setups. More on this later. I purchased a brand new 2015 Specialized Enduro Elite 29er earlier this month (my dream bike). The stock brakes were the SRAM Guide R's. 200mm front, 180mm rear. I decided I wanted my dream brake setup (surprise, they were made by Hope) and bit the bullet on a set of Tech 3 E4's with matching rotors. The rotor sizes being 200mm up front and 180mm in the rear. I figured I would just use the stock adaptors that were already made for the same size rotors. Boy, was I wrong. 8 hours later I was still cursing and swearing and bleeding the brakes front and rear and Googling everything I could find and more tinkering and adjusting and swearing. These fuckers would just. Not. Stop. Rubbing. The alignment of the calipers was off, they wouldn't stop rubbing and no amount of tinkering would stop it. I had a scheduled ride the next day with some buddies and I was frustrated beyond belief. Shortly before calling it a night (at 6am…yes, I stayed up all night messing with this brakes) and after having exhausted every option I could think of to fix the problem, it dawned on me. Brake adaptors. It all made sense now…the calipers arn't aligning with the rotors…constant rubbing…using spacers…I needed proper adaptors. This is when I also realized the front caliper was actually digging into the adaptor when I tightened it down trying to align it. I didn't notice it before because it looked like it had enough clearance. I was wrong. I ended up having to purchase a front and rear adaptor for 203mm in the front and 183mm in the rear and buying another set of matching rotors (203 and 183). A very costly mistake because I didn't do enough research before hand. Plus, I simply assumed I could use the same adaptors because 200mm is 200mm and 180 is 180 right? Wrong. Your mileage may very on using other adaptors…but these E4's are a lot deeper then most calipers so keep this in mind. Also, they don't seem to make adaptors for 200mm and 180mm rotors. Keep that in mind as well because as expensive as these brakes are (and they were definitely pricey), you WILL have invest additional funds for adaptors and rotors. Of course when I finally received my adaptors and rotors, everything went together PERFECTLY in under 30 minutes. No rubbing, no concerns, just perfect craftsmanship and precision engineering. Oh, and these brakes are fucking awesome!