Hope Technology Tech M4 2010
Reviews / Brakes
161,076
Weight: 279 Grams (caliper, lever and standard hose front brake)
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At A Glance
The Tech M4 has been around for a little while and it has plenty of time in the field. Initial doubts about the fragility of the lever have proved unfounded and as usual the brakes are living up to the usual Hope standards of quality. Out of the box there is the usual awe at the beautifully machined aluminium. And closer inspection revels the new Tech lever, which is now standard across the entire brake range. It features tool free reach and bite point adjust. A machined blade with neat holes to help your fingertips grip and shave weight and also a flip flop body, which means they can be mounted any way you like. The calliper for the M4 has been redesigned and is now a 4pot affair, it is fairly beefy in it’s construction and looks like it should do the business. It is important that you set these brakes up properly to get the most out of them. We spent the best part of an hour getting the pistons to pump at the same time and ensuring there was an even spread from all 4 pistons across the pad. By ensuring the brake is set up properly you will get the maximum power out of them.
On The Trail
The Tech lever is just great, it is your main point of contact with the brake and having so much adjustment makes it really easy to set the reach and feel up just how you would like it. If you want a sharp bite that’s easy, want it to drag a little more you can do that too. Just simply twist the reach and BPC nuts to get your desired set up. Once bled (very easy and simple to do) set up and bedded in these brakes have ample power to stop you when desired. Over long runs they don’t suffer from any kind of fade and feel on the money whenever you need them too. Over the last month the only time we noticed a loss in power was on a particularly wet downhill course. The harder you pull the more power you get at the calliper and even when wet some extra input from the finger and the brakes were behaving as you would expect.
Overall
The Tech M4 is an all mountain trail brake, it has heaps of power and a great feel. Once the initial set up is done and they are bled and bedded correctly they won’t disappoint. Certainly a brake you can put your faith into no matter what kind of riding you get up to.
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This review was in Issue 5 of IMB.
For more information visit Hope TechnologyRelated
By Rou Chater
Rou Chater is the Publishing Editor of IMB Magazine; he’s a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, but his passion for bikes knows no bounds. His first mountain bike was a Trek 820, which he bought in 1990. It didn’t take him long to earn himself a trip to the hospital on it, and he’s never looked back since. These days he’s keeping it rubber side down, riding locally and overseas as much as possible.
