I've had 4-pot XTs, Dominion A4s, Hope Tech V4s, and Code RSCs in recent memory.
- Power: The Hope Tech 4 V4s have considerable power, they are the most powerful of the group, although only by a slight margin over the Dominion A4s. The power provided takes some getting used to, but once you do, they are really potent brakes. The Dominion A4s are a close, and I mean very close, second, I've been using these brakes for years and never felt they lacked power. I can get a slight bit of fade out of the Dominions, but I'm at 225lbs on a big 29er enduro bike and riding in west NC, I've absolutely roasted them to the point you could probably cook an egg on the caliper, and the fade was very very minimal (this is with a 180mm rotor, I've recently gone to a 203 in the rear). I never got any fade with the Hopes, although I did less extended downhills. The 4-pot Shimano brakes had decent power, it was acceptable, but not mind blowing like these two, same with the Codes. I'd put the Codes and 8120s in roughly the same category, neither faded particularly bad, but much more noticeable than the two above would. Hope > Hayes > SRAM / Shimano
- Modulation: I feel like a lot of riders confuse a lack of power with modulation. Sure, if you tap the brake and the whole thing sends you flying, that's a problem, but none of the more powerful options here listed really do that even with larger rotors. They all modulate about the same when setup for equal power, however all 3 of them have this sortof solid resistance point, almost like you've hit a point in the lever stroke where the lever progressively feels like it resists more, the Hopes have less of that, so going between them means you can really end up smashing your face on the bars if you aren't careful. It's not a lack of modulation, it's just a different lever feel that's easy to mess up if you are used to having a point in the lever stroke where the lever gives you a lot of feedback, it's not an issue at all on its own, but if you have multiple bikes, I found myself struggling to get used to them. I feel all 4 are roughly equal here.
- Consistency: I guess 'fade' can qualify here, although I touched on that earlier. The Hopes I never got any fade with at all, the Dominions you can get a miniscule amount out of if you really cook them (I mean to the point the rotors would melt your skin). I could get fade from the Codes and M8120s, not a ton, but more than the Hopes and Dominions did. The biggest issue with this category for me came with Shimano brakes and their wandering bite point below certain temperatures, I've never gotten on a bike with Shimano brakes that didn't have a wandering bite point below a certain temperature (usually freezing), if you pull the lever in quick succession, the bite point is completely different and the brake engages differently. I know some people claim to not have this problem but I've yet to feel a set of Shimano brakes that don't (I've admittedly never tried Saints). Hope > Hayes > SRAM > Shimano
- Ergonomics: The Hope levers feel really nice, but their length is a little weird, the levers are super long and that can make locating other controls (dropper/shifter) a bit challenging since the clamp has to be out in space. The lever feels great, though, and installs easier than the others do. The Dominion levers are more reasonable length and fit closer to your grips, the hook at the end makes it easy to grab them and I've never had issues with my finger slipping off or the lever getting uncomfortable. The SRAM levers similarly feel nice. What really boils my blood about Shimano brakes is that they don't use a bearing in the lever pivot like everyone else does, whatever is in there starts to wear over time and you get this vertical flop in the lever that is absolutely infuriating. You can grab the lever and shake it around all over the place, I've had this happen with several sets and it annoys the hell out of me, every other option listed here that I've used has a bearing in place there and the lever stays rigid, meanwhile Shimanos lever blade is flopping around like a fish. None of them are particularly uncomfortable otherwise. Shimano is basically the only one I had an issue with in this category, although I did find to get enough power out of the Code RSCs, you had to run the levers further out than I prefer to.
- Reliability: I had no issues with any of them. Notably Shimano brakes can't be rebuilt, the Hopes/Hayes/SRAM pistons and levers can be rebuilt, Shimano calipers you just toss if they don't work right. I have heard of people cracking Hayes and Hope pistons, but I think it's due to improper maintenance, the pistons can easily be chipped or damaged if you use a sharp tool to press them back in place, so don't do that. All are equal here for me.
- Ease of bleeding: SRAM wins this category, their 'new' bleed system is super easy to use and fast, I never got a bad bleed out of the Codes ever. The Hayes brakes can be bled with SRAM tools supposedly, but it made an enormous mess when I tried it, so use their bleed kit. The process isn't awful, but it isn't super easy or consistent either, the biggest mistake I see people make is not sucking the air between the fitting and caliper out right when they attach it, so they push air into the system. If you avoid doing that, it's pretty consistent, albeit much messier. The Hope process is kinda janky tbh and Shimano is the same. On general parts availability, finding Shimano/SRAM parts in the US is real easy, Hayes is relatively easy but not as widespread, but good luck if you need anything from Hope, you are waiting on it to ship from the UK. The Hayes brakes ship with a bleed block that is very cool, the opposite side of it is half the block, you can insert it and use it to work the pistons out with no risk of them falling out, and lubricate them. Hope has a similar system you can 3d print. Overall, SRAM > Hayes > Hope/Shimano
- Weight: They are four piston brakes. Who cares. If you are gram counting brakes then you are probably looking at 2-pot options with smaller rotors, it's not an item on the bike I really focus on weight.
- Price: The Hopes are expensive and hard to find, so are tools for it. The Hayes are frequently discounted, but the fact they ship you a bleed block and both pad compounds with every set makes them a better value IMO. The SRAM and Shimano options...just are. I don't really think any of them are an objectively poor value, but I think Hope needs to do a better job with their US presence including parts availability and cost, I had mine shipped from the UK and it was expensive/time consuming.
Overall, it's a really tough tossup between Hope and Hayes. I ultimately took the Hope Tech V4s off my enduro bike, but the only reason is that the lever feel is just different enough to be sketchy if you are using any other option. I have Hayes on my other bikes, I've used them for years now (basically since release) and they are fantastic. You can't go wrong with any of these, but for me swapping brakes is a mindfuck so I stick with Hayes, even though Hope has a marginal benefit when it comes to fade and overall power. The fit/finish on the Hopes is also really awesome.
After several experiences, I'll never use Shimano brakes anytime soon. I don't have a huge beef with SRAM aside from their warranty department, but I feel their brakes offer less power and fewer benefits than the other options.
