Oak Components Levers Claim Increased Power for Hope Tech 4 V4 Brakes

By MTBSA contributor

The folks at Oak Components have been hard at work recently, pumping out all sorts of aftermarket levers to alter the feel and function of many of the most popular brake systems on the market. Their most recent launch targets the Hope Tech 4 V4, which proved to be one of our favourite options in last year's Big Brake Test.

With impressive power and a very light lever feel, the Tech 4 V4 is an excellent option for those looking outside the norms of the big S brands. Though we didn't find it to be an issue, some users have complained about the shape of the Hope lever, which is a little more square at the grip point than other options. Oak wanted to address this and add some features of their own, leading to the HT4 lever you see here.

Beyond that, they added a bit of length to the lever blade itself, increasing the mechanical advantage and making modulation a little bit easier. Longer lever, longer arc, more distance to cover while pushing the same master cylinder through its cycle. For reference, the stock lever is 87mm from pivot to tip, where the Oak lever is 93mm. As a result, you will likely have to move your brakes inboard slightly to account for the difference. For folks like me with larger hands, this could make fitting the brakes on all cockpits challenging, as they already sit a bit further inboard.

With the Oak lever installed, the Hope's adjustments are the same as stock, with separate reach and bite point adjusters allowing you to fine-tune the position and throw of the brake. SRAM still wins when it comes to the range of adjustment baked into a brake, thanks to their Contact Point adjustment feature, but the Tech 4 is closely competitive, providing a wide range of independent adjustment.

There are ten colours available, with a rainbow of anodization to match your special build. A pair of lever blades retails for $159 USD, and includes all the hardware required to install them on your Tech 4 V4s.

Having installed a few Oak lever kits at this point, I'd call the Hope kit the easiest by a margin, thanks primarily to Hope's service-minded design principles. A few common tools is all it took, and the job was done in about 10 minutes. For complex jobs, Oak does a good job of publishing how-to videos, but this kit felt easy enough to complete on intuition alone.

Ride Impressions

If you watched our Big Brake Test last year, then you'll recall that the Hope Tech 4 V4 was one of the top contenders from our 10-brake lineup. They feature a very light lever action with a very consistent bite point, and have all the power you need for the steepest and most demanding trails. One of our only complaints about the brakes out on trail had to do with the flex felt in the system after you'd hit the bite point. During heavy braking moments, you can pull beyond the bite point, without much increase in power. This isn't a major con, but is a phenomenon that bothers some riders.

I bring that up to touch on the one con I've experienced with the Oak levers. Due to the longer lever blade and increased leverage, that flex in the system is more apparent. Where the flex didn't really bother me on the stock levers, it became a bit odd feeling with the very stiff Oak levers installed, but that's a detail one could easily get used to with time.

Other than that one element, the Oaks are a nice feeling upgrade for the Hopes. I wouldn't say that I felt the stock levers to be uncomfortable or lacking, but if you're sensitive to the shape of the lever blade, then perhaps the Hope blades are a bit square in shape. The extra hook on the Oaks is great, and allows you to really perch at the tip of the lever, giving even more control over light-touch braking moments.

You can learn more about Oak's HT4 lever kit - as well as the rest of their lineup - at their website.

Images supplied with this review

Images: MTBSA contributor. Charts retain the currencies and measurements shown in the original.

For South African readers

Overseas prices in this report are not confirmed South African retail prices. Check local availability, warranty support and the complete rand price with your retailer. No MTBSA test score has been assigned.