Single-piece caliper / Bite point adjuster / Braided hose / Phenolic pistons / Weight: 614g (289g — 203mm rotor)
Contact: Hope Technology 01282 851200, www.hopetech.com

Available with a standard floating rotor and the bells and whistles vented floating rotor, Hope’s Moto V2 is the company’s new DH and freeride ground anchor.
Reach adjustment is — as is standard on Hope brakes — with a grub screw in the brass lever bush. What’s new, however, is the bite point adjuster. A red anodised collar is rotated using an Allen key slotted through the holes. While effective enough at adjusting the bite point, we would like to see some indicators to know where you’re at.
Also, when you adjust the reach, the bite point gets knocked out of kilter. Start with the reach then adjust the red collar. Thankfully this should be a one time only job.
The extra breadth of the BPA also causes some compatibility issues. Due to the length of the lever blade, Moto V2s need to be mounted a long way inboard to allow single finger use, and thus gain the mechanical advantage of the long blade. This means the shifters need to be mounted grip side of the lever. However, some shifters will not butt directly against the lever body and all Shimano shifters will need their indicator windows removing.
Single-piece calipers are used to maintain stiffness, thereby improving modulation and promoting even pad wear. And phenolic pistons are incorporated to help reduce heat transfer to the brake fluid when really hauling on the brakes.
The vented rotors are also present for this exact purpose. Three individual discs are welded together to form the vented rotor, and these are mounted to aluminium carriers. In use, the new set-up is said to reduce operating temperatures by 15 per cent thanks to the improved internal airflow. We did not check this out in a laboratory situation but, where it counts, on the trails we were impressed with performance. Purposefully dragging the rear brake down the 15-minute Super Morzine trail in the Alps, we experienced no fade, perfectly consistent performance and no pad glazing. There’s no getting away from the near 300g weight, though. As it’s unsprung mass it’s not ideal.
Thanks to the massive twin-caliper pistons, power is plentiful and, with the machined one-piece caliper, modulation is great. Even wet Alpine mulch and roots could be slowed, rather than skidded, on. After all, power is nothing without control. In fact, for UK-centric riding, the Moto V2s are almost too powerful and Hope has noted this. One centimetre shorter lever blades are available for £17.99, and will reduce the available power. They should also ease some compatibility issues.
The levers still rattle a little, and the brass bushes creak when dry but, if you can get a lever position you’re happy with and want some big-mountain-proof stoppers, Hope’s Moto V2 should prove reliable and very effective.

MBR RATING: 8/10