Archive News

PINK! Mono Mini You may have seen these beauties around in the mags for a little while now. We've been promising to release them and due to the phone lines going crazy for them we've actually got them into full production. Initially limited to just 200 sets these special edition brakes are already going out to dealers. Priced at £150 each, they are as standard braided and floating with 160mm rotors only on 9.74 calipers. There's some lovely detailing on the master cylinders and calipers and the rotors have a flower pattern cut into the band. For more pictures......

External Bottom Bracket These are the first pics of the all new External bottom bracket. We've got more than fed up replacing our existing units on a monthly basis, so this little bit of kit should save us all time (and money!) Using some custom made full stainless steel bearings (made by INA who do all our bearings) these machined aluminium cups are sealed with a labyrinth seal like on the hub rotor bodies and the aluminium centre tube is sealed with o-rings. Testing has been going well and we should see the units ready to go by January. Price is expected to be £65 for the stainless steel version, and there will be a full ceramic verion to follow at about £95. Watch this space. For more pictures......

4 LED Lightset This is another new product just about ready to go! Building on the success of the established 2 LED lightset and the original HID - this new 4 LED light is set for release in the new year and is looking to pack a 1000 lumen punch! The 4 cell battery will give run times of 3 hours even when on the highest power setting. Add to this some intelligent circuitery internally, waterproof battery and connectors and the handbuilt attention to detail that goes into all our light's and you've got another winning light - especially when you considor the price is expected to be under £300! For more pictures, click here......

1 LED Light Fresh from it's first outing at the London Cycle Show, these are some of the first pics of the new 1 LED light due early in 2008. The compact self contained light will be bar mountable (on a new QR bracket) helmet mounted or on a lanyard for general use. 4AA rechargable batteries will give the light upto 240 lumens for 3 hours, with different power settings giving upto 30 hours of usable light. The waterproof, CNC machined casing will be available in different colour options with an expected RRP of £79. Due in the shops early in the new year - one for the Christmas list! For more pictures, click here......

BBC News at Hope! Hope went worldwide today - we've had a film crew up doing a piece on export and interest rates. Ian's done his piece to camera again (the second time in as many weeks - he also 'starred' in a documentary for Engineering in Schools we're involved with as well) so to see what we said... .....Click here for the link

VENTED ROTOR MANUFACTURING - Ever wondered how certain bits of your bike actually get there? How they are made?..... We lift the lid on our unique Vented rotors ..... Read more

INTEGRATED HEADSETS - We now do it all! With more and more bike manufacturers using integrated and semi integrated designs for headsets, we've taken our massively popular headset along with them ..... Read more

PRO 3 STRAIGHT PULL WHEELS - The all NEW! Pro 3 is nearly ready! Some amazing machine work can be found on the latest incarnation of the Pro range ...... Read more

FACTORY MOVE - The last few months have seen a change of premises for Hope. Here's a little insight into what's been involved...... Read more

Kids 24" wheel frameset You may have seen a little bit about this project through the media over the last couple of months - but these are some of the first pictures of the soon to be released kids bike we've been working on for a while. Originally coming about with a need for Ian's son to have a new bike, due to there not being anything of real quality available - we did as we always do and made one! It's also been a little bit of a 'look what we can do' project and we'll use the bikes as promotional tools at show's and event's to showcase the ever increasing range of Hope product. We're not trying to re-write the rules on frame design or building, but we have brought some of our knowledge and experience to the frame. Headtube, seat tower, seatstays, chainstays and dropout's will all be machined from single pieces of billet aluminium. This is quite a challenge in some cases - which is both costly and time consuming. The main triangle will be constructed using bonded in carbon tubes, with the rear triangle bolting in place. Internal cable routing and flush fitting rear caliper mounts are some of the clever touches we have incorporated in the design - 'because we can'! Expect the bike to be ready to go by sometime in 2008 - only available as complete bikes with a spec most of us wouldn't mind on our own bikes! Pace forks, XO gearing, Race Face cranks and of course a full complement of all our products. Price?...... not yet finalised, but somewhere in the region of £3000! For more pictures, click here......

Congratulations Firstly to Paul and Sally on the birth of their 1st child. It was a great introduction to the World for new baby Declan - his first trip away was to the World Champs in Fort William to watch Dad race in GB colours. He didn't dissapoint and finished a fabulous 55th, only 10 minutes back on the leaders after a gruelling 5 laps. It won't stop there though - the cross season is nearly on us, so there will be many more muddy fields to sit in and racing to enjoy!

GB Rider of the Year? The results are in! Well done to Paul who's been voted equal second behind Worlds Silver Medalist David Fletcher in the GB rider poll .....Click here for XCracer.com

Congratulations to Hope Factory rider Paul Oldham, series leader of the National Trophy Cyclo Cross Series. Paul is absolutley 'on it' at the moment. After becoming a Dad only a few weeks ago - Paul's been on fire in the first two rounds of the National Trophy Cyclo Cross Championship. Round 1 saw him ride away in good conditions in Wales in the opening event of the year. He followed this with selection to ride at the Kalmhout Round of the WC Series, which saw a superb 46th. Back to the UK (and work Monday morning!) and the second round of the Trophy series at Ipswich with business as usual and another win. He'll be looking to add another win this coming weekend at the Inter Area Championship's, where he'll be riding for the North West. We wish Paul the very best of luck - and he just goes to prove that you can race at the highest level as well as work, train and of course be a Dad! .....Click here for full results

End of an Era We have finally decided to stop production of the long running XC, Mono and Big Un' hubs. Since the introduction of the Pro2 and subsequently Pro3 hubs, the 3 different ranges have been superseeded by just the one. We will still honour warranty claims (as usual) and most spares will be available for some time, although these will start to dwindle over time. Items such as bearings are not affected as they are a stock item. Non disc hub users and road riders now have the Pro3 hub, which is available in a 130mm rear axle. Stainless bearings and the drive system from the Pro2 mean free running, low maintanence reliability in a lightweight hub. Tandem owners may have to be patient though! We can offer the standard Pro2 hub with a 135mm spacing in a QR or Bolt in version. The bolt in version allows the wheel to be attached via 2 M10 bolts and serrated washers. For bigger axle options, we're looking at options for next year.....

Christmas at Hope! ...we've drafted some extra help in this year just to deal with the demand for lights alone! We hope the extra investment is worth it! To see more of the muppe... I mean staff, click here......

Christmas Notice Note for Christmas deliveries. We will be closed from Friday 21st Dec (2.30pm - and yes it is the xmas party so we won't be hanging around!) until Wednesday 02 January 2008. Last dispatch date is Friday 21st, on orders received before 10am. This goes for servicing and warranty as well. Also note that any e mails sent over the Festive period won't be answered until the 1st week back - and then we will have the inevitable back log. Please be patient! All that remains is for us to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas - and all the very best for the New Year! We hope Santa brings you something nice and shiny and Hope shaped (!) and remember..... a second on the lips, a lifetime on the hips! Go easy over Christmas dinner!

Congratulations to Marc Beaumont, 1st at the first round of the MTB DH World Cup in Vigo, Spain this weekend. This is the first top spot on the WC podium for Marc, having come close last year. Marc runs Mono M4's on his DH bike along with Pro2 hubs, the same as the rest of the MBUK/Santa Cruz Team. It was a double podium in the mens DH, David Vasquez Lopez of MSC Maxxis came in second! Other notable results from the weekend for Hope supported riders were; Tom Braithewaite (Giant UK) 9th - well done Tom! Neil Donoghue (MBUK/ Santa Cruz) 16th, Bernat Pascal Gaurdia (MSC/Maxxis), Dan Stanbridge (Mojo) Lee Bertram, Julien Camelini (Mojo) and Rowen Sorrel. In the womens race Fionn Griffiths came in 6th. More details from the race when we get them. ..... Click here for full results

MONO MINI PRO - The lightweight racers dream! The ever popular Mono Mini just went on a diet! We have stripped the MM2 down and given it a new look for those wanting high performance AND lightweight...... Read more