Hope's history with 6-piston brakes for mountain biking goes back to 2003, when the one-piece Mono 6 Ti was first introduced. It had a relatively short life, dropping from the catalogue in 2007 as 4-piston brakes become the norm.
Hope also brought a 6-piston prototype to the World Cup with Adam Brayton in 2017 and 2018, but it never made it through to production for various reasons.
Fast-forward to the present day, and Hope is finally ready to bring their biggest (and probably baddest) brakes to date to the mass-market. We say mass-market, but for now the initial run will be limited to 1000 pieces in a special 20-year anniversary edition, which will retail for a not insignificant £1400.00 GBP / €1750.00 EUR / $1940.00 USD.
So, what do you get for your hard-earned? The V6 is a one-piece caliper, which means it was machined out as a single piece from one block of aluminum. It is based on a new radial mount design, which Hope says works around the space constraints associated with regular post-mount (but does also introduce a mandatory +20mm adapter, which means that the minimum rotor size is 200mm for all intents and purposes). The radial mount provides more room for things like pistons and oil, which should translate to better resistance to heat build-up.
Inside the caliper we find 6 Ti-Nitride-coated titanium pistons (2x16mm // 4x14mm) that are said to reduce friction and improve durability, while a cross-drilled design enhances cooling. Speaking of cooling, Hope is also introducing a brand-new rotor today, designed specifically to pair with the new V6 brake. The T-Slot rotor features cooling pins built in between the two braking surfaces, and a fully floating design that separates the rotor from the spider (there's 1 degree of actual float allowed by the interface, and the rotor part can be individually replaced without having to also get a new spider). The new rotor also ups the ante in the rotor thickness race, with a whopping 3.3mm making your 2.2mm rotors look puny in comparison. Before you ask, the T-Slot rotor won't work with most normal brakes (inversely, the V6 can take a 2.2mm rotor if you need it to).
On the lever side, the V6 uses the current EVO lever, which offers a choice of "standard" or "power" lever blades to suit your preferences (the "control" blade is not recommended for the V6, presumably because the added oil volume of the 6-piston brake caliper translates to a longer lever stroke, which might leave that version sitting too close to the bars).
Hope EVO V6 Ti Mono Edition Highlights
- Single piece CNC machined caliper
- Ultimate stiffness to weight ratio
- Large surface area to manage heat
- Titanium pistons, for consistent performance in the most extreme conditions (2x16mm // 4x14mm)
- Ti-Nitride coated for low friction and increased wear resistance
- Cross drilled pistons to help cooling
- Uses a radial mount to remove the dimensional restrictions associated with the post mount standard : More space, more piston surface area, more power / Larger pad = more consistency / Larger caliper = increased stiffness, better heat management
- Only compatible with one of the dedicated brake mounts / requires +20mm disc diameter
- Only compatible on post mount forks and frames (PM180-PM200-PM203) with Ø200 or Ø220 discs
- Only compatible with 2.3mm and 3.3mm (vented) discs
- Bespoke pads
T-Slot Rotor Highlights
- Designed specifically for the V6ti
- Outer is constructed from three pieces to create a gap between the external braking surfaces
- Vented outer is replaceable
- The rotor uses internal fins to allow the air to flow between the two friction parts, the induced air flow significantly reduces heat buildup in the rotor
- Allows direct mounting of E-Bike speed sensor magnet
- Dyno tests show up to 15% less heat buildup compared to regular Hope floating rotors
- Vented outer is joined to aluminum center allowing 1 degree of freedom in a true floating design
- Available in: 200, 203 and 220mm sizes in a 6-bolt fitment
- 3.3mm disc thickness, minimum thickness 2.9mm
- Centers available in black
What do you think? Something to put on your shopping list? The V6 will be available from select dealers only, so better get on it if you want some! We're going to try to see if we can get a set in for testing, meanwhile, let us know your thoughts.
More info at: https://www.hopetechhb.com/v6ti.
Those rotors are really cool.
Any info on overall system power increase over a T4V4/GR4? I see they have 1018 mm2 (which is less than Maven) of piston area for the fluid to push against which is 6% more than the GR4 but no other numbers.
Hope hasn't told us anything else, those are the known numbers at this moment. As for the piston area comparison, we'd also need confirmation of the master cylinder piston diameter of both brakes to be able to compare apples to apples, and as far as I know, SRAM has not publicly stated what that is for the Maven (for the Hope EVO it's 9.5mm, and the common consensus is that the Maven is somewhere around there, but like I said, I have yet to see it actually confirmed in writing anywhere).
They are probably also DOT fluid like other EVO brakes?
We would also have to factor in the friction coefficient for the overall equation as well right? And that’s something Hope has to test on a dyno and tell us I think. Because there are also pads hitting the rotors?
Interesting SRAM hasn’t actually published the actual master cylinder piston size. I was always under the impression that it was 9.5mm as well.
Yes of course, friction is a big one, as well as the mechanical leverage developed by the lever blades (which compounds with the hydraulic leverage).
Yes.
I'm personally holding out for the 8 piston version
Shares the same lever and master cylinder (EVO). Caliper piston area has increased 6% over the GR4, which translates to hydraulic pressure increase of 6%(just as GR4 vs V4). The benefit of the 6 pistons over 4, powered by the same master cylinder and lever, is finer control and modulation, much larger and stiffer caliper body and thermal mass, greater hydraulic thermal capacity as there is marginally more fluid traveling through longer fluid jackets/ports in the bigger caliper body. The V6ti is also once again designed to run the massive 3.3mm vented rotor(new generation). Although the 6 increases hydraulic power only 6%, it must use a MEGA sized pad set. That friction coefficient definitely adds far more braking power beyond the +6% hydraulic factor.
I was under the impression that pad size does not affect power (at least in theory) since you spread the force on a larger area.
Yes...appreciate the nudge...what's left then for the suspected MEGA pads is superior fade resistance due to higher thermal capacity and heat dissipation, as well as longer pad life as work/energy is dispersed over a greater surface area.
Now that you've picked my brain, here's more brainstorming; this will be a theoretical brake system for the sake of thought - if you apply a +6% hydraulic pressure/power to the same GR4 pads, that will result in an output of 6% increase in power applied to the rotor, as more clamping power is being applied to the same surface area and pad material...now here's the catch/question; the new V6ti has 6% greater clamping force(applied hydraulic pressure) over the GR4, however the GR4 pads should be substantially smaller in surface area than the suspected V6ti pads from what i can divise from the photos. Meaning that 6% increase is being applied to a much larger surface area, potentially REDUCING applied clamping output.
Hope introduces 6 piston brake for big WALLETS only. 😀
So our initial hypothesis is that absolute braking power won't be significantly higher because of a minimal change in hydraulic ratio, but this design will see significant improvements in brake fade due to the larger thermal mass, bigger pad size, and 3.3mm vented rotor, as well as potentially better modulation? Is that about right?
Seems like a lot of trouble to go to if you're not going to make the brake stronger. Yes, I get that brake fade is the devil, but when they went with six pistons I assumed "A LOT STRONGER" would be part of the sales pitch.
Another words, more pistons does not equal more better
Stopping power would still increase by 6%, since friction is independent of surface area: Friction = μ N. So these brakes should be about 6% more powerful than the comparison, at least nominally. I would be interested in knowing how much more lever throw is needed though. On a side note, I wonder if the three pistons make it harder to perfectly align the caliper and rotor, since that translates to a more/less grabby brake feel IMO.
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