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Video: Inside the Hope Factory

Mar 13, 2024
by Hope Tech  


Founded in 1989 by motorcycle trials fanatics Ian Weatherill and Simon Sharp who worked together at Rolls Royce Aerospace before starting up on their own, we were an early pioneer of disc brakes for mountain bikes. Now, three-and-a-half decades later, we manufacture everything from hubs to headsets and brakes to bottom brackets, stems and lights with around half of all production exported to over forty countries.

Over the past few years brands have begun to talk about reshoring and ‘local’ manufacturing to improve their sustainability, but we don’t need to reshore as it has never offshored. We have always believed in local manufacturing which has allowed us to operate a true just in time manufacturing system. Brakes machined in the morning can be anodised in the afternoon and shipped out to retailers before the end of the day.

Similarities can be drawn from the unique way we look at integration, most brands confine the vertical integration of processes to their sales channel. We look at the integration from the manufacturing side with virtually all processes in house in Barnoldswick. Raw materials are delivered into the factory and boxed finished goods are sent out direct to dealers throughout the UK and Europe.

This new film offers a glimpse behind the doors of our HQ, tucked away in the town of Barnoldswick in a rural corner of East Lancashire. You’ll get to meet the team behind the proudly UK-based, privately-owned manufacturer, see the process from drawing board to finished product and get a feel for the pure passion powering the constant innovation.

bigquotesIt’s over 30 years now of manufacturing bike parts. We’re all very passionate about what we do – almost everyone here rides – and in this day and age we’re proud to be able to say that virtually all Hope products are designed and manufactured in the UK. Hopefully, this film gives an insight into what makes us tick and what drives the ongoing process of innovation.Ian Weatherill, co-founder and managing director


Film: A Game Films

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96 Comments
  • 61 0
 Now that Brayton has lost his nukeproof sponsorship, Hope need to get on with making him a downhill bike
  • 1 4
 I'm crumming!!!
  • 60 1
 Hope has been one of the few companies that never disappointed me with their products, especially hubs and brakes. Keep up the good work and all the best, despite Brexit.
  • 2 0
 @Muckal: me too I've run their hubs and other bits for decades, got given one of their bottle openers from our local rep years ago and it still gets comments when it's on the table at bbqs
  • 6 0
 I think the Tech 4 V4 might be my favorite bike product ever. Unreal brakes. I have one year on mine and they feel like new. Only bled once.
  • 8 0
 Love their hubs. They're not cheap, but they're not particularly expensive either. Might be one of the best value-to-quality bike parts I've ever used.
  • 1 0
 Their cassettes were appalling and their aluminum seatpost clamp bolts are quite weak, but that is not much considering 35 years of existence that's for sure
  • 35 0
 Love the fact that Hope components are reliable, bomb proof, and made by a bunch of blokes in the UK who are passionate about riding and have been working together for the last 30 years. Next set of hubs / cranks will likely be from Hope!
  • 19 0
 An optimistic video in the middle of an industry that's taken a kicking recently. Great to watch and best of luck to them.
  • 12 0
 Anyone ridden pro 5 hubs? I've been thinking about getting a set for my hardtail.
  • 9 2
 Yes I have ridden 5 pro hubs going back to around 1998
  • 7 1
 Yeah there great. But I might be biased as I've been running Hope hubs on all my bikes for the past 20 years+.
  • 4 0
 yeah they're mint
  • 8 0
 Have a set of Pro5 hubs built up with We Are One Triad rims, Sapim spokes. I got the 28 hole front, 32 hole rear, J bend in silver. I've run Pro4s before and have a FatSno on my fatty. These are much quieter than those. They have a satisfying clickiness, but it's not loud at all. The engagement is excellent. High quality per the norm from Hope. I am hoping the bearings last a little longer than the ones in the Pro4s, but the extra sealing should take care of that.
  • 3 0
 Love mine, been racing CX on them all winter and probably put about 5000km on them with no issues
  • 5 0
 I have been on them since early December and I like them so far. No issues to speak of yet. The main thing I've found to be aware of is when installing the freehub, you have to be really careful to install the green seal properly. If it isn't seated correctly then it'll drag or bind. It's not hard, but not as easy as some others.
  • 3 0
 Yep, I'm running the microspline Ebike version on my eeb. Its quiet but has been flawless so far and don't notice that is has half the engagements as the mtb version.
  • 2 0
 Very happy with mine, they are noticeably quieter than the Pro 4's i had in the past. Hope build quality seems as good as ever and you can buy all the parts individually should you ever need to repair them, or in my case convert them between wheel standards.
  • 1 0
 Went from pro4’s to pro5’s and I would have to say I miss to louder 4. Engagement seems better though.
  • 2 0
 I ride them on my E-Bike (Specialized Turbo Levi SL), they are mint! Basically don't stop spinning, they have an e-bike specific free hub as well. Well worth a try!
  • 3 0
 I have Pro5's, Pro4's before... bullet proof and nice.
  • 2 0
 Yeah I’m running the pro 5. Just the right level of noise for me. Hated loud hubs. They now sound classy with a fast engagement and such low friction. Very impressed.
  • 2 4
 Look into Hadley. Best bet
  • 2 0
 @TokenCanfieldGuy: For the money hope can't be beat imo. Also so easy to work on. They're a brilliant middle ground hub.
  • 4 0
 @mikelee: Agree. Hope's are some of the most inexpensive hubs out there, and somehow are some of the best. I have had I9 Hydras, I9 1/1, DT 350, Novatec (low bar), Hunt, Spank, and Hope's... and the Hope's are HANDS DOWN the best.
  • 1 0
 Just updated to a set, coming off a pro 2 front and pro 4 rear. They’re great and I actually prefer the new sound of the 5’s freehub.
  • 2 0
 @TokenCanfieldGuy: Just bought a set built up from @hubsessed with Hadley. Not my first set either. They are the best value in hubs.
  • 1 0
 I got some Hope 20Five wheels centre lock for the gravel bike. Fast, smooth, low drag nice wheels that I’ll keep . Good muted sound and extra grease made no difference to volume!. Disappointing that the Ctr lock hub end caps don’t have bearing-cover-flanges….be careful which where you aim the hose.
  • 1 2
 @topfuel564: Bingo..Hadley wins. The machining tolerances are HEAD AND SHOULDERS at a much tighter spec. These British frog pieces of filth dont know what they're missing. Classic

USA all day
  • 6 0
 Hope is one of the most critical pillars of the bike industry in my opinion for true to quality, high end, get what you pay for, no bullshit value! I have always been a huge hope fan. Brake rebuild kits readily available - everyone else is disposable. Focus on backwards compatibility - readily available adapter kids that don't cost an arm and a leg. Super consistent quality and finish - yet to have a hope part that doesn't meet expectation Simply proven design - Bearings and pawls, no special tools really.
  • 5 0
 I'm running hubs, brakes, stem, cranks, bb, headset, pedals, seat clamp of various vintages on my bike. Couldn't be happier, only ever break when it's my fault, look great, made down the road. My favourite mtb company, wish I could afford a 916
  • 5 0
 I really appreciate the pride these guys take in their work and the fact that everything they build is seemingly designed to be serviced or repaired by a home mechanic with basic tools, with all the spare parts available individually. In most cases their product isn't the class leader, but they aren't too far behind and given the choice I will choose them every time because I know if anything goes wrong, there will be spare parts, I will be able service them myself and even help from their engineers on the phone if i need it.
  • 5 0
 User serviceability and spares availabilty is what keeps me coming back. Just keep an extra set of pawls and springs in your shed, and a can of 5-56 for the occasional frozen piston, and you’re good.

piston seals are way better than shimano, and also serviceable. Shimano requires binning the caliper, hopes can be rebuilt
  • 4 0
 Wish they fitted steel HG free hub bodys to there rear wheels as standard with the
the HG set up, those bloody alloy HG free hubs are only designed for the XT 10spd
alloy carrier cassettes, of which only six largest sprockets are mounted on lightweight alloy carriers,
so when things get chewed and they will its a £60-£80 to upgrade, fu c king nightmare when some
2nd hand wheel has a Deore cassette chew fused on, kinda goes against the long term reliable ethos
Hope claim.

Have resorted to fitting hamered and filed down Paslode F16 nail gun brad nails between the
cassette and free hub body splines, to give a hard durable surface to reduce the biting.
  • 2 0
 Because people are more concerned about weight than reliability. After many years the original aluminium free hub cracked (too much torque in those twin turbos I guess...just kidding). Replaced it with the steel version, of course.
  • 3 0
 Props to tarty bikes for stocking and shipping for a reasonable cost to Canada Hope replacement parts. When CRC collapsed i thought that i was screwed for reasonable cost spares. Tarty bikes filled the void for hope at least.
  • 1 0
 Where is Tarty bikes? Don’t respond, I found them.
  • 6 0
 remember running the C2's back in the day. revolutionary.
  • 6 0
 I remember going down pleney twisting top adjuster with thumbs as they heated up, Dropping in next lap and no brakes at first berm as forgot to wind them back on again lol. Had the float self adjusting ones the year after.
  • 3 0
 I've old m4 brakes from 20 years ago, they still work, have been relegated onto my dj bike. My transition double has vented v2 moto almost as old. DH yoke running new v4 vented tech4 since came out.
  • 4 0
 Got m4's with the first gen tech lever on my 2024 Trek , they'll probably go with me for at least another 5 years
  • 2 2
 @BaGearA: loved the tech 4 v4 for 3 months! then all of a sudden the lever fell through to the bar during a race and i even binned myself. from that point on, the brake was toast.
myself plus 3 friends just ditched half a season old v4 tech4 because none of them were properly working after half a season. all of us had at least one brake that failed the same way as described. shop confirmed they in total had 9 pairs from customers that weren't working properly and coming back to the shop. distibutor wasn't aware of a problem and couldn't help.
so myself plus my friends all bought new brakes. a shame but that thing was scary.
  • 2 0
 I still have a set of M4's too. Recently switched them to my daughters bike because of the excellent reach adjust etc.... I went 8 years without bleeding those bad boys. Not saying you should do that..... but I did.
  • 1 0
 @cro-magnon: I view myself as a bit of a hydraulic wizard , trust my tech's gave issues but i was always able to fix up eventually.

If you of your buddies would be willing to donate one of those levers I'd love to pull it apart and see what i can do ( maybe fix)

PM me if you're keen Smile
  • 3 0
 @cro-magnon: strange mine been fine and have spent lot of time in alps. Hope very good with warranties too so quite surprising.
  • 2 0
 Hello @Hope-technology, I have a question: Why is your gravity stem made of 2014 aluminum vs 7075 or 6061? I though 7075 was the strongest and best overall? Also, I just got myself a set of tech 4 V4s with 220mm vented rotors that I'm super excited to throw on the bike!
  • 2 0
 Hope hubs and BBs are fantastic. They are covered by a great warranty as well. I once snapped a flange off of a pro2 hub. The LBS rebuilt the wheel on a new one and when I asked what Hope warranty had said, they responded 'we havent sent it back yet but we know Hope will honor it, they always do'. A true guarantee of quality is hard to find but a genuine warranty is even harder.
  • 4 0
 Their stuff has been so good for so long. It feels like they've been ahead of their time for like 30 years... Kudos
  • 8 7
 I had a couple of sets of Hope V2 brakes on DH bikes a few years back and they drove me absolutely crazy. Every time the pads wore down the master cylinder would pull air in and they’d need bleeding. Riding in the Alps this was pretty much every day. Everyone else would be kicking back with a beer after a day of riding and I’d be bleeding my brakes, again! Rode with a guy from Hope a couple of years back and he admitted that the lever reservoir was way too small to push such a big piston and it would drag air in around the diaphragm as the pads wore. Drove me absolutely nuts at the time.

On the upside Hope were always on the other end of the phone trying to help, but I still can’t bring myself to run Hope brakes ever again.

I’ve had more of their hubs fail than any other brand (snapped axles, broken hub flanges, cracked freehub shells) but then I’ve run more Hope hubs than any other brand over the years. Again, they always helped me out with warranty replacements and available spares, but that didn’t help when I was on the top of a French mountain with a broken rear axle.

It’s nice shiny stuff, it’s not perfect, even when they take ages to bring a new product to market, but they stand by their products and help riders out.
  • 5 2
 I've always found Hope stuff very fragile. I also gave up on the brakes years back after numerous issues similar to yours and little help or feedback from Hope. As for the hubs, again same as you, multiple snapped alxes but me off those for life. Hope stuff loks pretty, but I've always seen they're products as over engineered. Just my personal take.
  • 4 12
flag betsie (Mar 13, 2024 at 6:26) (Below Threshold)
 Cant agree more. Hope riders are known at the races for bleeding their brakes every few runs and the hubs are renowned for soft freehub bodies, PAWL's that disintegrate, spring leaves that break and anodizing that will have the flanges fall apart without being ridden, add to that bearings that fall out and seals that leave a lot to be desired!!! My hope BB drives me insane creaking. Their clip in pedals feel nice on the spin bike though, even if 1 strike and the pins fall out because the pedal body is too soft!
  • 2 0
 ..
  • 11 1
 I have a set of Tech V4's and I think I've bled them twice in the 5+ years I've owned them. Maybe it's an issue with the V2 but the V4's have been absolutely bombproof

the Ali freehub bodies are awful, but I don't know anyone who didn't swap it out for the steel version before they even fitted the hubs.

Wild how folks experiences can differ
  • 2 2
 @Gareth-R: v4s havent been out 5 years surely?
  • 6 0
 @hhaaiirryy: V4s have been out for ages, over 10 years at least. I think you're thinking of the newer Tech 4 lever, which has only been out for 2 years or so. Hope offers various combinations of lever and caliper, so the naming can be a bit of a labyrinth.
  • 7 0
 @betsie: I've got Hope brakes, hubs, and cranks on two different bikes, and have experienced absolutely none of those issues. I once had a master cylinder seal distort and cause issues, which was entirely my fault, and Hope fixed it for free. Other than that, easiest bike parts to work on I've ever used.
  • 1 1
 @TimMog: I may have been unlucky on nearly ever occasions with Hope stuff. The positive is its pretty easy to service compared to the likes of an XT hub.
  • 1 0
 Hope v2 vented in alps for 10 years changed pads round every day and used 2 sets rear in a week, bled brakes maybe every 2 years to flush out old fluid. We all used them and had no issues If don't rotate pads they can wear unevenly and cause issues. If using normal rotor that might be issue too, designed for vented rotor which is thicker. Mine are near 20 years old now and still working fine. Have new tech3 v4 for few years again been fine and just swapped out for tech 4 just over year ago and again faultless lapping in morzine for 2 weeks last year. I'm old n slow so they get loads of use.
  • 2 1
 I love all my Hope gear but they should do more little adapters. I'd love to be able to use SRAM direct chain rings with my Hope evo cranks. One day they might even do something in titanium. A hope titanium crank cheaper than Cane creek e-wings.
  • 2 1
 That's a licensing deal. Not sure if Hope sells enough to cover that fee without ramping up the price. Hope made Sram chainrings might be a better option for them, but Sram will still need to be paid.
  • 2 1
 Had a set of Tech3 E4 brakes for over 10 years, absolutely flawless. Just retired them to my hard tail and bought Tech4 E4s for my new bike. Same with the F20 pedals, opened them up after 4 years of abuse and still factory fresh inside. Always had a fast response with any questions from the service guy. Thank you Hope for doing what you do..
  • 2 0
 I'll only ever run Hope hubs on the front because you can convert from 15mm to 20mm with nothing but end caps. It's nice having a spare front wheel for my DH bike that just lives on my trail bike.
  • 1 0
 Why on earth do the V4 brakes squeak? Seriously does anyone have a solution? I have tried every pad compound, spacing etc. It's sooooooooo annoying. Many claims of performance but an incessant squeak is actually absurd for an apparently high end product. I have Hope someone can provide a solution. Possibly even the designers themselves?
  • 1 0
 It’s the compound hope use on their pads that make the squeal. So annoying. Even the pro’s brakes squeal so it’s not user error. Adam Braytons were squealing during hardline too. Use an after market pad and it’ll go. Shame though as you get several spare pads with the brake.
  • 1 0
 Hope are the one brand that I consistently spec my bikes with. I have hubs and brakes that are over 20 years old and are still rocking. New bikes immediately get the stock brakes swapped with 10 year old Hopes. You can buy every spare part years down the line, and the products are robust, work brilliantly and look great! A leading example for an industry as a whole!!!
  • 4 0
 at 4:33 skunkworks GB cycling stuff for the Paris Olympics
  • 2 0
 If I could afford it all my builds would be fully hoped out - cranks, pedals, hubs, dropper lever, brakes, stem, stem cap, seat clamp, etc.
  • 9 0
 I just got the dropper lever and it's one of the stupidest uses of €50 I've probably ever put on a bike, but it's utterly gorgeous and brings me enormous joy.
  • 4 0
 I've had the same hope pro hubs for going on a decade. Amazing products.
  • 3 0
 I used to buy Hope stuff when I could get it from CRC shipped at a reasonable price. Now I don't. Thanks Brexit.
  • 1 0
 See my post.
  • 3 0
 I love every single thing Hope makes.
  • 1 0
 In the early 90s a friend showed up on a ride with a Hope disc brake, I remember admiring how the fluid reservoir looked like a little version of what was in my car.
  • 1 0
 I have a Hope Evo crank new in the box but I can't decide whether to use that for my new bike, or a Shimano XT one. Heart vs head.
  • 6 0
 I'd always choose head.
  • 2 0
 Sell both, get a SLX crank and some nice other goodies from Hope. I am a huge Hope Fan, but the SLX crank is hard to beat.
  • 1 0
 funny how they did not show the laser-etching machine..... wanna see it brake down and then sell coloured parts without half of the surfaces being lasered white.
  • 2 0
 I've never seen a more British looking group of people, except for that one guy who looks German.
  • 1 0
 I have on vhs and old documentary about a girl who has recollecting parts for his bike and Hope brakes and hubs appears... Maybe recorded in 1997
  • 1 0
 Chapeau hope technology. 1 guy in the warranty department for a company that makes such a big range of products - that pretty much says it all.
  • 1 0
 please make a shorter lever for the tech 4 v4 the lever is loooooooooonnnnng (but what an amazing brake!!!)
  • 2 0
 If the lever was shorter you’d lose a lot of power! It’s a lever remember!
  • 1 0
 If anyone knows where I can get a Hope Moto 3 piston front brake preferably in silver, please hit me up!
  • 1 0
 Love my hope dropper lever. The anodizing has begun to wear off on the edges though. I’ve only owned it for 3 months
  • 1 0
 I wonder if they give u a free bike with all hope parts for working there would be good for marketing
  • 1 0
 Hope is a legendary brand. I bet hitting the pub in their town on a thursday night would be a real hoot.
  • 1 0
 Hope hubs - I really have no issues buying second hand wheels with Hope hubs because they last
  • 1 0
 I'm fully in on the hope hub ecosystem. Cant see myself using any other hub!
  • 1 0
 I used to buy my Hope stuff from a site named Monkamoo. It was the only place I could find it in the U.S.
  • 1 0
 Love my 916, and that video just reaffirmed why.
  • 1 0
 Damn I'd love to work with them
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