Weight: 375g / 160mm rotors / Kit includes rotor, lever, and caliper, plus pre-bled braided hydraulic lines / 6-bolt international standard floating rotor / Contact: Hope 01282 851200 www.hopetech.com

We really rated the Mono Minis when we first tested a pair in July 2007. The caliper — machined from a single lump of 2014 T6 aluminium — offered stiffness with great lever feel and the Phenolic pistons with stainless steel inserts did a great job of preventing too much heat transfer, keeping the fluid cool. We also thought they looked the business. So you can imagine how our female testers reacted when we discovered that Hope was now bringing out a flowery pink limited-edition version of these super stoppers!

So how’d they do? Well first off I need to emphasise just how sexy these things are — the cooling holes in the rotor are even in the shape of five-petal flowers! And then there’s the anodised pink caliper which doesn’t just stop you on a 1p piece, it oozes quality, with a discreet little rose pattern on the inside just finishing it off to perfection. The rose pattern makes another appearance on the master cylinder too, and it’s worth mentioning that those mini levers fit rather well into this tester’s smaller, female hands.

When they weren’t catching eyes or pulling comments in the car parks, they were performing impeccably on the trail, and during the test, which included a few trail centres as well as some big natural rides in the Highlands and the Lakes. They needed no adjustment to compensate for pad wear and, surprisingly for Hope brakes, made no noise.
It’s often said that girls don’t seem to get as excited about components as men; the pink Mono Minis are about to change that. If there’s enough demand Hope may even range more of its products in pink for the complete cerise ensemble.

Mbr rating:10