Hope on Their New Tech 4 Brakes & Sweating the Details

Hope has been making mountain bike disc brakes for longer than just about anybody, and earlier this year they launched their new Tech 4 lineup of brakes. So we sat down with Hope’s design engineer, Sam Gibbs, to talk about the new brakes & what changed from the prior Tech 3 models; how to choose the right brakes, rotors, and pads for you; and along the way we go pretty deep on the finer points of brake tech and all the tradeoffs inherent to designing them.TOPICS & TIMES:Sam’s role at Hope (1:39)New Tech 4 lineup (3:55)The Tech 4 lever (7:48)Caliper design & piston materials (17:18)Brake design & tradeoffs (21:57)Choosing the right brake for you (32:28)Rotor sizes & heat management (39:11)Brake pad options & tradeoffs (42:18)Sam’s Big Idea (53:32)RELATED LINKS:Introducing: Blister LabsThis Week’s Gear GiveawayBecome a Blister MemberBlister Mountain Bike Buyer’s GuideGalfer on MTB Brake Tech (Ep.81)FanatikOUR OTHER PODCASTSOff The CouchGEAR:30Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.