I’ll start this off by saying i’ve got a lot of love for Hope brakes, both in terms of thier feel and stopping power but also thier awesome spare parts availablility. I’m struggling to think of another brand within cycling who make as many small parts available for such reasonable prices. If you’ve got a 10 year old brake and need a seal, piston, or bushing, they’ve got you covered.

I’ve had the Tech4 on my big bike for a little while but have just fitted another set to the hardtail. This seemed like a good opportunity to put one brake on and grab a few comparison shots for anybody interested in the differences between the two.

I’ve been running the Tech3 E4 for a couple of years, both on a bigger trail bike and on my hardtail. They’ve been super reliable whether thats spending a week swinging off them in Innerleithen or loading the hardtail up with bags and dragging it round a big bikepacking loop. Their modulation and lever feel is spot on, and they perform as well at the end of the run as they do into the first turn, though if you’re reading this you probably already know that. The only negative i’d say was that I found on big days out on steep trails they do need quite a firm pull to get the best out of them, this can contribute to a bit of hand fatigue, espeically with weak little hands like mine. When Hope released the Tech4 I wanted to give them a go and see how (or if?) they’d managed to improve on the outgoing model.

The new brakes have a revised leverage ratio, longer lever, and roller bearing at the lever pivot. You’ll immediately notice that the lever feel is way lighter than the old brake, I’ve probably had 5 or 6 rides on them now including some steeper stuff in the valleys, and they are definitely easier on the hands. As with any brake it took a few runs to start to adjust to the difference in feel and on the first run I had a couple of sketchy moments pulling them harder than I needed to. Once familiarised with them the feel is great and they do offer noticibly more power than the Tech3. It’s pretty hard to verify Hopes claim of 30% more power without setting up a lab, but that definitely feels about right to me.

Another new feature of these brakes is the green ‘Race’ compound pads. They ship with these alongside a set of the older ‘All Round’ red backed version. The green pads definitely take less bedding in than the red and feel sharp right out the box, but I am expecting them to wear more quickly. The E4 caliper itself hasn’t changed, but Hope have switched to a new hybrid style piston which is stainless steel with a phenolic insert for heat management. As with all brakes the old pistons could get sticky over time and need to be popped out and cleaned. Hope claim that the new piston design should result in smoother movement and lower maintenace. These new pistons and brake pads are the same size as the old, so if your older E4’s need replacements you can go for an upgrade.

As far as styling goes I’m sure people will have mixed opinions but I like the larger flatter reservoir shape, and as much as the new levers are LONG, they look great. One drawback of the lever length is it does mean you’re likely to find yourself running them a bit further inboard, and with that also moving your shifter and dropper lever. Depending on the other parts you’re using you mind find this to be iritating, but with my setup of a Wolf Tooth Remote Light Action dropper and Shimano XT 11spd shifter things arent too far out of reach.

I think Hope have made some great changes over the outgoing brake. Whether or not you think you need them is up to you, but if you’ve ridden the Tech3 in the past and not gotten on with thier firmer lever feel, or love them but just want a lighter lever and a bit more power on tap, I’d definitely vote for giving the Tech4 a try.