Hope’s big V2 calliper offers serious power and heavy-duty survivability when used with their super-adjustable Tech lever.
The bulky lever takes up a lot of bar space and you'll need SRAM's MatchMaker adaptors for a properly neat shifter sync, but the independent lever reach and bite point knobs work superbly.
The long drilled lever blade adds extra fingertip power and it's super-smooth in feel, with clear fine feedback control. The metal braided hose resists uplift/crash damage better than a plastic one and the Tech Evo V2 comes with a heavy-duty spider rotor as standard.
The big pad area and big piston mean plenty of power and long drag heat capacity, and for really heavy users there’s a triple-layer vented rotor available for £91. The brake is heavy even with the normal rotor though.
This article was originally published in Mountain Biking UK magazine, available on Apple Newsstand and Zinio.