HOPE EVO GR4 BRAKE REVIEW

September 8, 2026

Hope has been making some of the highest-quality hydraulic disc brakes on the market for as long as I’ve been alive, and continues to refine and elevate their offerings to stop riders in style. The Hope GR4 brakes are no longer the most powerful brakes in the Hope range – recently succeeded by the monstrous V6 Ti Mono – but they are likely the brake that most gravity riders will be considering, and for good reason.

I’ve been logging the vert on the Hope GR4 brakes and experimenting with their lever tuning possibilities, and now it’s time to report back on how they performed.

ABOUT THE HOPE EVO GR4 BRAKES

At the time of their launch, the Hope EVO GR4 brakes were the brand’s flagship gravity brake offering. Hope claims the GR4 brakes to offer maximum power without compromise, sitting as a benchmark product for enduro and downhill mtb and eMTB usage. Based on our testing, it’s safe to say that Hope’s four-piston stoppers can be trusted to slow down heavy bikes and riders in steep terrain.

Hope didn’t rewrite the formula for their brake lineup. The Tech 4 EVO levers still push DOT 5.1 fluid through to the calipers, and the updated brake range still includes a gravity (GR4), trail (TR4) and 2-piston X2 offering. The brakes are still machined and anodized at their factory in Barnoldswick, UK, and are built to be serviceable and durable.

TECH 4 EVO LEVER

The Tech 4 EVO lever was developed by Hope to refine the existing Tech 4 lever, rather than revolutionizing it. The general architecture remains similar, but tweaks have been made to the lever blade, pivots, and bushes to get the brake operating with more control and precision. Retained are the separate reach and bite point adjustment dials, which are great to see.

Hope wanted to boost the tuning potential of the EVO GR4 brakes, so offered riders the choice of three different lever blades: Standard, Power, and Control. All three of these machined alloy blades feature dimples to increase traction, with a hook added to the end for improved finger retention when things get wild.

The standard blade is a slightly hooked design, giving a balanced overall braking character. The Power blade more closely resembles the standard Tech 4 lever, giving increased leverage through a longer, straighter blade. The Control blade is a more aggressively hooked lever that sits closer to the bar, giving a more comfortable fit for riders with smaller hands or those who use the middle phalange to brake instead of the fingertip. This tuning potential helps to set the EVO GR4 brakes apart from the competition, and was much appreciated.

The lever cam design has been tweaked to decrease the overall lever free stroke, giving a more direct feel. The main pivot of the lever continues to run on roller bearings for smooth operation, and there are two guide bushes in place to ensure the straight running of the piston. On the master cylinder body, a bleed port has been added to facilitate easier bleeding. On the inside, the fluid channels have been reworked to minimize the likelihood of trapped air.

GR4 CALIPER

Down at Hope’s four-piston GR4 caliper are a host of changes to boost stiffness and power. The one-piece machined alloy caliper is given larger pistons – now with two 18mm (leading) and two 17mm (trailing) hybrid pistons – to increase the overall hydraulic ratio and therefore braking power. The design has been tweaked to increase stiffness, improving the lever feel to increase braking precision.

Hope also made tweaks to the general shape of the caliper, reducing its width through more compact bore caps, and adding further lateral adjustment range to improve frame and hub compatibility. The tweaks mean that the GR4 caliper is not compatible with Hope’s Vented Rotors, with the maximum allowable rotor thickness of 2.3mm.

HOPE GR4 OFFERINGS AND COMPATIBILITY

Hope offers the EVO GR4 brake in their wide range of anodized colors, with a choice of a Braided hose for maximum crispness at £250.00// €314.00 // $327.04 (ex tax), or a standard black hose for £240.00 // €301.50 // $313.97 (ex tax).

THE DIRT

I was a fan of the Hope Tech 4 V4 brakes that the EVO GR4 succeeded, but they weren’t perfect. As a rider who favors braking with the middle phalange, I sought a closer lever position to the bar; wished for a less fussy setup, and didn’t love the bleed process. Hope clearly listened to my feedback along with others, and ticked every single box on my wishlist. As a result, the Hope GR4 brakes were extremely enjoyable to test.

Beginning with the ergonomics, the Standard lever supplied with the EVO GR4 brakes moved back towards the old Tech 3 lever shape, giving a more pronounced curved shape that worked better for riders with a closer preferred position. It’s not extreme, though, and is likely to please the vast majority of riders. For those with a further-out positional preference, or seeking the absolute most power, and who were happy with the Tech 4 lever ergonomics, the Power lever is going to please.

And then you have my difficult particularities and peculiarities. I favor a brake with good modulation, but prefer a close-to-bar bite point that necessitates a short lever throw. That’s where Hope’s Control lever delivered the feel and performance I desired when combined with the revised lever cam. With the dual-adjustment dials, I was able to get the GR4 brakes with the control lever into a very happy spot. The happiest spot of any brake lever, ever, in fact.

The feedback and control provided by the GR4s even led me to enjoying the use of their grabby Green Race organic pads. Where I struggled to control the initial bite on the Tech 4 V4s due to their less-defined initial pad contact, I was instead able to modulate the green pad-equipped GR4 brakes effectively. The feedback in the lever is excellent, without the demand of high lever pull forces to obtain sufficient braking power in steep terrain.

Add the more consistent bleed process and the less fussy setup demands, and you’ve got a brake setup that is simply excellent. Granted, they are not the absolute most powerful brakes with the control lever fitted, falling slightly short of the maximum “oomph” of the Magura Gustav Pro and SRAM Maven A1. But even so, I never once struggled to slow my 98kg/220lbs mass down on some of the steepest and fastest trails I’ve ridden. They were only tested with 200mm rotors, too, so this power could be dialled up another notch with some 220s if demanded.

Heat resistance also proved to be stellar. On a few long descents, there was enough heat generated to get some good smells out of the pads, but I never lost bite or felt a change in the lever feel. They held their bleed very well, and the floating (non-vented) rotors stayed straight throughout, with only the “ping” of the rivets to tell that they were dealing with the heat. The only nuisance I found was with the bleed nipples on the calipers, which protrude out the side. They can be caught when riding or pushing the bike, and required some serious trickery to get a Fox Live Valve Neo sensor to mount cleanly.

With Hope’s excellent spare parts availability for many years after an item is discontinued, and the ability to send brakes into their HQ for a service and refresh, the GR4s could just be the last gravity mountain bike brakes you ever need to buy.

The Wolf’s Last Word

Hope built on the legacy of their V4 brakes, bringing improved control, feel, and power to the table with their highly tuneable and serviceable EVO GR4 brakes. They aren’t cheap, but may be good enough to justify the price for all gravity mountain bikers aside from those demanding the absolute most power possible. For that, you’ll have to turn to their monstrous V6 Ti Mono brakes, which we’re about to start putting through their paces.

Price: £240.00 // €301.50 // $313.97
Website: Hopetech.com