Hope has invented the first customisable mountain bike brake in its new EVO, letting you choose your preferred calliper, pad material, hose and even lever blade.

Called the EVO Brake, there are three new callipers dedicated to gravity, trail and XC, and three lever blades with varying shapes and lengths to suit your riding.

The standard lever gets a more hooked end, for security on rough terrain

As far as I know, this is the first time anyone’s let riders choose a lever blade design, and could well fix the achilles heel some of us found in the brilliant Hope Tech 4 the EVO replaces.

That’s not the only headline on Hope’s new squeeze though, we’re promised around 6% more power over the outgoing brakes, a slimmer calliper to fit around and inside frames better, and a stiffer but more modulated feel. Add all that up and you’re looking at one of the best mountain bike brakes going.

The GR4 gets bigger pistons for more power, with 6% extra grunt over old Tech 4

Hope EVO Brake need to know

• New EVO brake range includes GR4 for gravity, TR4 for trail use, and X2 for XC
• New master cylinder used across all three new brakes, while callipers vary
• GR4 is 6% more powerful than the old Tech 4, with bigger pistons
• Choice of three lever blades, with different lengths and shapes
• Prices from £215 an end for X2, to £250 for GR4 with braided hose

The master cylinder is the same across all three new brakes, leaving you to pick the calliper power and lever feel

Hope says the EVO is an update to both the business end of its Tech 4 at the calliper, and the master cylinder and lever. To me that sounds like more than an update then, given there’s not really much left of a brake, barring the hose. What’s on offer are three new brake options then…

The EVO GR4 is a four-piston brake that’s aimed at e-bikes or gravity riding. It’s the most powerful stopper in the Lancashire brand’s lineup, and uses a stiffer one-piece calliper and a slimmer profile to fit into more frames.

There are larger pistons inside the calliper too, the bigger pair is still 18mm as on the Tech 4, but the smaller ones are 1mm bigger at 17mm, which doles out a 6% increase in power. Hope also says the pistons are effectively freer moving now, after adding in a secondary guide bush and sliding guide.

Hope’s vented rotors won’t work with the new EVOs, the idea being to improve stiffness

The GR4 doesn’t work with Hope’s vented rotors though, and that’s deliberately so as to improve stiffness. The brand’s floating rotors really do ‘float’, with the steel and alloy parts connected by a rivet that allows for 1 degree of movement. Removing that float would probably improve the response times when you’re hauling on the levers.

The TR4 is subtly smaller and gets a shade less power than GR4

Next up is the EVO TR4, it’s still a four piston brake but there’s around 8% less power on offer than the GR4, Hope says. It’s a smaller calliper, but the pistons are still pretty big at 2×16 and 2x17mm and deliver a 6.5% increase in braking ratio over the previous E4 system. Ideal for trail bikes and all mountain riding then.

X2 is for downcountry or XC use

The EVO X2 completes the new range, it’s a two piston brake and uses the current X2 calliper mounted to Hope’s new EVO master cylinder. The brand says this is for XC riders who want lever feel and control over sheer power.

Choice of levers

Hope is very keen to geek out on the new master cylinder, and they’re right too given the changes involved. But before I get there the levers need some explaining.

The three on offer are called Standard, Control, and Power. Standard comes with all the brakes when you buy them, Hope says that’s the right choice for most riders but you can opt to swap that out for one of the others.

Why you might want to takes some explaining. All the new blades have more of a hooked end than the old

Measure the distance of your old hope brake levers from the bar, to gauge which new blades you need

Tech 4s, which were very long and pretty much straight. It’s the degree of bend you’re choosing between when going for a Power or Control lever that varies then, as well as the length.

Hope’s Control lever has the most curve to it, and it’s been designed to let you run it 5mm closer to the bars. In contrast, Power is straighter and longer, designed to generate more mechanical force and therefore more suitable for gravity applications.

Hope says it’s changed all the levers to allow greater control and security when riding – in other words, to stop your finger sliding off the end in rough sections. There’s also a new dimple design to the lever that should make it less harsh, something some mbr testers experienced on the old design.

All the blades also have bite point and reach adjustment dials now. And I should also mention that the existing carbon Hope XCR Pro X2 lever remains in the range.

The master cylinder

The new master cylinder looks pretty similar to the current design, but there’s a new cam Hope says reduces the brake’s freestroke, or the lever movement before the pads engage.

This is kind of a forced move on its part because the master cylinder piston hasn’t changed in size, while the hydraulic ratio has. The result is more lever movement, which has necessitated a new cam.

SRAM’s Maven Ultimate Expert is the benchmark gravity stopper right now

What, no mineral oil?

SRAM switched to mineral oil for its new Maven brake last year, while the latest Shimano XTR M9220 brake also spurns DOT fluid.

Not so the new EVO brakes from Hope, which are designed to use DOT 5.1. The reasons are pretty complicated, but the upshot is it performs more consistently, even in suboptimal conditions like when you’ve not bled your brakes, Hope says, and is much more tolerant to water contamination.

If we accept that’s true, it must have been tempting still to switch over to the latest on trend oil.

Hope EVO pricing

EVO GR4 with black hose £240 (€301.50, $314)

EVO GR4 with braided hose £250 (€314.00, $327.10)

EVO TR4 with black hose £225 (€282.60, $294.40)

EVO TR4 with braided hose £235 (€295.20, $307.50)

EVO X2 with black hose £205 (€257.50, $268.20

EVO X2 with braided hose £215 (€270.00, $281.30)

Available from 1st September.