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@velosaurus
I am a fan of Spyres. With stock pads replaced and compressionless outers they work well. I used them on a 2800 mile GDMBR tour and they were faultless for 70,000 metres of descending. Periodically I strip them down completely and regrease the innards. I know some prefer BB7s.
My Hope hydros do take a bit more maintenance work eg fresh bleed every year, piston setting and lube (all easy to do), back to Hope for a service every 4-5 years or so (£45 per brake, they come back as new - no brainer). However on my trail mountain bikes I wouldnt consider cable brakes as the performance is no where near hydros so the maintenance is worth the additional performance.
I did Torino Nice a couple years ago on Spyres and wished I had hydro brakes. I think if I was putting the money into a custom build I would spend the extra on hydros, simply because the performance is so much better. Its all personal preference though.