HOPE XCR PRO X2

£250

SPECIFICATION Weight: brake 193g, rotor 148g • Rotor size: 160, 180mm • Contact: hopetech.com

The XCR Pro X2 is Hope’s new lightweight disc brake designed for XC and marathon-style riding. It combines a one-piece, twopiston Cnc-machined caliper with a super lightweight brake lever. The latter is a radial design, which means the master cylinder is perpendicular to the handlebar, and the big reason to do that is it reduces the overall footprint. The radial design does mean the lever comes in at a tighter angle, but the XCR Pro blade has a smooth ergonomic shape. There are no indents or dimples for grip in the carbon composite moulding, but we never had any issues with our fingers slipping. Reach adjustment is built into the lever via a small Allen bolt.

To accommodate different frame fittings, the Cncmachined caliper comes in quite a few different designs for direct and conventional mounts.

It’s twin piston and runs lightweight aluminium-backed pads. There’s also an adjustable banjo so you can get the hose routing at exactly the right angle for a clean look. Like most Hope brakes, the XCR pads scrubbed in really quickly and there was plenty of bite, even after just a couple of hard stops.

With a 180mm floating rotor, the amount of power on tap is good – we never expected the XCR to be as powerful as the twin-piston Hayes Dominion A2 or Shimano Deore, but there was plenty of grunt. The lever has a light action too, so even on steeper, longer descents we never got any arm pump. There’s also a nice flex in the lever, which helps modulation.

We don’t think the

Hope XCR looks as classy as a SRAM Level Ultimate or a Shimano XTR, but it undercuts both on price and offers a bit more bar clearance. It’s also easy to service and bleed, which, if you’re racing every weekend, is an important consideration. Obviously, this is a specialist tool, but you could easily run it on a lightweight trail bike if you fitted a bigger 180mm rotor.