disc brake hose and pad compond, merits

[ishaw]

Still waiting for my frame to arrive, so in the meantime looking to bleed the hope mono/m4 brakes I plan to use. Been looking online for hose, and there seem to be options and as this modern technology is a little alien to me at the moment, hoping someone can advise or steer me in the right direction.

Specifically looking for advice on brake hose and pads for the brakes, but also open to advice on trick/updated fittings and also whether floating rotors are worth the extra cost.

 

[Matthews]

Re:

As far as fittings go just make sure you get the right size , most are 5mm but some earlier hope stuff is 6mm , I use SS sintered in mine and like then , they originally arrived with kevlar ones in that didn't bite as well and were really noisy in the wet , floating discs are bling unless you are a dh looney but if they are the right price they look pretty , I run M4 180 on front and mono 160 on rear btw on the Soul so similar to your Scion .
Matthew

 

[Mindmap3]

I find that OE pads tend to offer the best performance. My experience of Superstar and Uber Bike is that OE pads work better.

Hose wise, I've tended to run Goodridge but more as an excuse for colour! The Superstar hose seems pretty good for the money.

 

[ishaw]

Thanks for the heads up on the superstar hose, looks good value indeed. Is it worth the extra for the 5 ply hose do you think? I was thinking of just sticking with black, but the 5 ply doesn't come in black, but 'carbon', anyone know if this is oretty much black, difficult to tell from the pics.

Also, might was well replace the fitting kit whilst I am at it if it is worth it - is it? If so, alloy kits look nice but will of course be softer as they imply on the site - is it worth going down that road or re-using the kit I have?

I will probably need olives etc, so a kit seems better value for money, but can I just re-use what I have if I don't do that, or will I still need olives?

Oh, last but not least. Is it worth getting c-clips to hold the hose to the frame, or should I still with good old cable ties??

Cheers

 

[mattr]

Hope olives *tend* not to be reusable.
If you have a look around, you should be able to get a bag of suitable ones of ebay. (IIRC they are a standard hydraulic part)

 

[Mindmap3]

I use the five ply hose and it's been really good. I use the stainless steel fittings and can't complain. They've easy to set up despite the lack of instructions.

I've never found the c clips much cop as they tend to get lost. Zip ties work really well for me.

 

[Mindmap3]

I'd replace all the fittings for the sake of seven quid for peace of mind.

 

[02gf74]

whether floating rotors are worth the extra cost.

as a wieght weenie, I would say yes - Hope SAW are the top of the pile for performance and weight but are the most costly. QAXAR are the lightest but that is achieved by removing metal from the braking surface and that reduces stopping power.

I can't say I notice any advantage of floating rotors compared to solid (e.g Shimano XT, Avid G3).

Hope and Fomula are the only true floating rotor I am aware of - the others have a steel disc rivetted to an alloy carrier.

Also be aware that some alloy carrier rotors are heavier than their steel counterparts ... so it bould down on how much you want to spend and what you aim to achieve.

 

[Mindmap3]

Rotors can and do make a big difference; I'm a big fan of the Shimano Ice Tech ones. They're actually straight when you get them and do seem to deal with heat better than the standard ones which can go a bit wonky when they get very hot.