I've come in to some cash AKA started a new job and have my heart set on some hope mini's. As i find the price of Avid mechanical pads a rip off (£20 per pair) plus the associated hastle of clean cables (dont wory they will be re-homed on another of my bikes) so my questions...

What size rotor should i get for the front (i weigh just shy of 14 stone and have a set of mazacochi Z5's with deore disc hubs and do XC)?

Who does the best offer on them (i don't want second hand as you dont know their history / get a warenty)?

Do they come with shims in the kit or do i have to shell out for these extra (as my Avids have the self center set up)?

Should i ger LH ro RH leaver for the front (ive used the avid set up front RH and rear LH so why do most bikes have them set up ars@ about face)?

Merlin usually do good deals on disc brakes. Check out all makes unless you are set on getting minis.

Rotor size, well I would say 165 front and 145 rear would work ok but it is probably worth going up to 185F and 165R for the extra power you get.

I would assume you'd get the shims but if you do ring Merlin I'm sure they'll be able to tell you for certain.

erm, front RH and rear LH is the usual over here (it's opposite in America and the continent) certainly mine are set up the same way as yours.

Its the fact that Hope's british and mini's seem very popular and you can get bits for them in nearly every bike shop and genuine pads sell for about 11 quid.
they all seem to retail for about £110 Are the ones availiable from chain reaction OEM or retail boxed as obviously i want Hopes after sale service.

Andy, it doesn't matter where you get them from they all get great service from Hope.

Please, let's not go down this OEM thing again coz it really doesn't make any difference.

BTW I think Merlin @ £105 are looking quite cheap this week.

UK Bikestore have a good deal on them as well (www.ukbikestore.co.uk) - I got my Formula B4s from them for £190 f&r.

check www.dreamcycles.co.uk

they had a deal on a pair of Minis a while back. Might still

apart from that, Merlin and Chainreaction usually offer the best prices on the 'net

My Chain Reaction ones came in a nice hope box with all the bits (but the plastic cable and not the nice braided cable that came on my mates C2's) and a manual etc, 20 quid cheaper than anywhere else and they work great :)
so im going to assume retails.

I love them but I'm not 14 stone... I have mates who are 14 stone plus who have found them a tad on the weak side and upgraded to Hope 4 pots in double quick time. It may be just psychological but they didn't trust the minis. I do implicitly but I'm 11 stone. Slight warning - also make sure you use scintered pads - the natural compound dissapears as a vapour after one major ride!

Merlin or Chain Reaction are the cheapest I've found on the web. My local shop showered me with shims and tweaked them for nowt - Pedal On in Tadley.

I agree with Adam - I'm a bit larger than 14 stone and 185/165 is okay on the flat - but can be a bit worrying on any serious downs - I'm going to upgrade to M4s as soon as funds allow

Re pads - the ordinary work fine - put them in the oven at gas 7 for 15 mins and clean the discs v regularly - the brakes will improve with age - the pistons are often a little sticky at first

im running a set of 165mm avids and have had no situations where i need more power so i think the 185mm front 165mm rear combi will suffice
Thanks for your input
Awaits Pay day

I got a 185 front from J.E. James for £100. Word of warning though make sure you check with the supplier as to what forks your running them on. I used mine on a RS Judy C 2000 and the bolts on the disk rubbed the paint and some metal off my forks. When I checked with James again they said I should have got a disk with a recess (muppets should have sold me one in the first place). They gave me new bolts and I simply took a drill to the disk - job done. Just worth considering.

Enjoy as they are fantastic as I also upgraded from an avid mech!

I’m 14 stone & the Hope mini 145 on my rear doesn’t really cut it. At the end of a long, technical decent I am consciously pulling the rear brake lever with considerable force. Having said that, the bike has never actually run out of brakes, but it doesn’t inspire confidence. With a large pull on the rear lever, and a sharp corner coming up, I’m forced to slow the bike down way short - just to ensure the rear brake doesn’t fade.

Some thoughts:
If I could change to a larger rotor, I’d do it today.
If I break the caliper, it will be replaced with a M4.

Interestingly the latest Leisure Lakes catalogue states: “Hope mini … Now available in No.8 205mm front 185mm rear”.

Got 185 front and 165 rear and i'm well chuffed. I'm about 12stone and have not had any problem. My riding is a lot more fluid now, probably due to my increased confidence in braking performance. I managed to pull a rolling endo coming down a monster downhill locally, my fault for pulling too much lever. Used to sd7 v's.

I'm running a 205/185 set-up on my Sub5, and they are outstanding. I previously used a 185/165 combo, but upgraded them (using half calipers) in readiness for a trip to the Alps. The front rotor looks a bit mad on an XC bike with single crown forks, but does offer a chunk more power than the 185.

I'm 14.5 stone, and I never had any problems with fade on a 185/165. There are few places in the UK where you really need anything more powerful for general XC duties. They do need careful setting up, but if done correctly they offer plenty of power and fantastic lever feel/modulation.

Peter,

You could always upgrade using a +20mm adaptor and a larger rotor (or a half caliper)... it's a relatively cheap, easy job.