So British | Riding the Hope HB.160 10

Conservative geometry, proprietary standards, and very expensive - we want one!

At Hope, they’ve always done things their own way, and with a very low key approach to marketing, they prefer to let their products do the talking. “Build it and they will come” could just as well be the company slogan, and the approach seems to be working – they can barely keep up with the demand for the brakes, hubs, and ever growing range of assorted goodies that are now proudly Designed, Tested, and Manufactured in Barnoldswick, England. Hope founders Ian Weatherill and the late Simon Sharp had been toying with complete bike designs for years already, and with so many components now in the line-up, it’s almost like making the actual frame was the remaining missing piece in a puzzle that began with a mountain bike disc brake in 1989. Needless to say, when we got invited to go and ride the new bike in the French Alps we were stoked to pack our bags and hop on a plane. Some trips are special.

Hope HB.160 Highlights

  • FRAME: HB.160 Carbon
  • SHOCK: Fox Factory Float X2 2 positon lever
  • FORK: Fox Factory 36 Float RC2 160mm boost
  • HEADSET: Hope 1.5" - 1 - 1/8"
  • STEM: Hope AM 35mm
  • BAR: Hope Carbon 780mm
  • GRIPS: Hope Lock On
  • BRAKES: Tech 3 E4 180mm 160mm Rear on Small
  • SHIFTER LEVER: SRAM XX1 - 11 spd
  • R. DERAILLEUR: SRAM XX1 - 11 spd
  • CRANKS: Hope fitted with 30t spiderless ring
  • CASSETTE: Hope 10-44t - 11 spd
  • PEDALS: Hope F20
  • WHEELSET: 27.5 35w rims Pro4 HB/110 boost
  • TYRE: Maxxis High Roller II 3C EXO 2.4 (Tubeless)
  • SADDLE: SDG Duster MTN Ti Alloy rails
  • SEATPOST: RockShox Reverb 125 Small, 150 Medium, 150 Large, 150 XL
  • BOTTOM BRACKET: Hope HB 30mm
  • MSRP: GBP 7500 / EUR 9000
  • Availability: September 2017 (early 2018 in the US)

A new bike and a new place to ride it - some days in the office are better than others.

The HB.160 was not meant to go on sale. It started as a design exercise and first saw light at various trade shows under the name HB211, really just for the satisfaction of seeing it completed. After years of playing around with various metal designs, the company eventually settled on carbon for the HB project (with an aluminum rear end). This seems like a curious choice at first, since getting carbon molds done is usually a very expensive part of the manufacturing process and certainly not the first choice for any kind of prototype or small batch production work – but Hope has an ace up its sleeve here. It turns out that the molds needed to lay up the carbon can be CNCed from aluminum, and if there is one thing the boys and girls at Hope know about, that would be it. They claim they can now go from a drawing to a completed frame in just 6 weeks time, and that it's now actually easier for them to machine a mold and lay up a carbon prototype than it would be to get full aluminum frames welded.

We were especially impressed by the composure of the rear end, the suspension striking a fine balance between bump absorption and progressiveness.

In the bike park, we rode everything from bermed flow trails to natural, rugged chutes, and the HB.160 proved to be a reliable and fun-loving companion for all of it. We were especially impressed by the composure of the rear end, the suspension striking a fine balance between bump absorption and progressiveness. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that this is one of the better Horst-link executions we have come across to date. The HB.160 will be sold with the air shock featured on our test bike, but the bike will handle a coil shock as well thanks to the progressiveness of the linkage.

For day two, we headed out on an Alpine adventure to enjoy more natural tracks and a bit of climbing. Once again, the HB.160 was a worthy companion. We wouldn’t go so far as to call it sprightly, but it certainly puts in a good showing on the uphills as well as the downs. Pedal bob is well controlled even before you reach for the lockout lever on the shock, and the seat tube is steep enough to keep your weight over the pedals even on tougher climbs.

Much like in the bike park, the HB.160 mustered up to any task we could present it with on the natural, technical tracks surrounding the amazing Serre-Chevalier valley. The somewhat conservative sizing really came into its own as soon as the trails got twisty and technical, but the bike also never felt excessively twitchy or out of control in the faster, rougher sections. Riding the trails blind, we certainly got in over our heads well before the bike ever did.

So what with all those in-house standards then? It would be far-fetched to say that we noted a specific improvement as a result of any of the bespoke solutions the Hope team came up with, but what is also clear is that there are no negative consequences, at least not when it comes to the bike’s handling. The HB.160 is a very capable and fun-loving enduro bike, that we would have no qualms about making our one bike for a couple of seasons. Of course, proprietary standards mean that you are essentially locked in when it comes to replacing parts, but that is really the whole point of this bike anyway. Hope wanted to make a complete bike because they can, and anybody who buys into the concept won’t be in a rush to replace any components – this thing is straight up custom off the shelf to start with. The production runs will be small, and if you are lucky enough to get your name on the list (and have the means for it!), you’re certainly getting a very special bike for your money.

Build Kit

The HB.160 will only be sold as a complete bike, and there will only be one model available. Suspension duties are taken care of by the excellent FOX 36/Float X2 duo, with SRAM’s 11-speed XX1 derailleur in charge of shifting. After that, except for the RockShox Reverb dropper post, the Maxxis tires, and the SDG saddle, everything else on the HB.160 is made by Hope. Hubs, rims, brakes, crank, cassette, BB, headset, stem, handlebar, grips, seat post clamp and pedals were all Designed, Tested, and Manufactured in-house. Having previous experience with most of these parts, we knew what to expect coming in: smooth, trouble-free performance all around. This stuff is good, make no mistake about it. If you want to know more, here is a list of Hope goodies we have previously tested:

What's The Bottom Line?

Sometimes quirky but always inspired, UK manufacturing has a fine tradition of doing things its own way, and the HB.160 is no different. A bit off the beaten path but utterly compelling, it breaks with tradition to deliver an exclusive ownership experience that cannot be matched by a mass-produced bike coming off an assembly line, no matter how sophisticated it may be. Sure, GBP 7500 is a lot of money for any bike, but for those lucky enough to be able to lay their hands on one, they’re getting something that money can’t buy: a unique bike made only for the love of the game, by people who just wanted to see if they could pull it off. How hard could it be?

More information at: www.hopetech.com.


About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.

Photos by Johan Hjord and Roo Fowler

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