Aug. 27, 2015, 8:30 a.m. -  babyzhendo

#!markdown I have and love these brakes. I came off of Shimano SLXs and while they were quite impressive in their power band once on the brakes, I really didn't like the initial lever bite, especially in treacherously wet or dry conditions. I will be the first to admit that I was fairly terrified the first time I rode the Hopes - they have so much less bite off the line that I was under braking into corners quite badly. Some fiddling with the reach and bite point knobs got them to a slightly more familiar feel, and so far things have been rosy. Loads of power, uber consistent (something the Shimanos were not), and dead reliable. The biggest difference for me, and the one I really think sells these brakes, is the last one. I had 2 sets of Shimano brakes, and both were incredibly unreliable. Maybe it was the pads getting easily contaminated, or maybe it was something to do with bad fluid, but either way, I bled both pairs of brakes at least once a month and would still have either the front or rear lose almost all biting power in the middle of a ride. My riding buddy has had the same issues with his, and he has now gone through 3 sets of rotors and even more sets of pads trying to mitigate the unexpected loss of bite power. This has never happened to me with the Hopes, not once, and they have not been bled for 7 months and counting.