Bike Brake Pad Compatibility: Which Pads Fit My Brakes? Shapes, Compounds & Fitment

Also called: B01S, G02S, G03S, B03S, Shimano B-type

Roughly square pad with a single retaining-pin hole; the aftermarket calls the shape 'B-type'

The most common disc pad shape in mountain biking, fitting Shimano's two-piston trail calipers from Deore through XT and XTR, plus the enormous number of budget bikes specced with Shimano hydraulics. Sold in resin (B01S, B03S) and metal (G02A, G03A) versions, with and without cooling fins. If your bike has Shimano brakes with two pistons and a flat-bar lever, this is almost certainly your pad.

Why it exists: Shimano standardized one pad footprint across its two-piston MTB line so a single spare part serves the whole range, from the cheapest Deore to XTR.

Typically found on: Deore, SLX, XT and XTR two-piston calipers, and most mid-range hardtails and trail bikes

Also called: N03A, N04C, D02S, D03S, Saint/Zee pads

Larger rectangular pad than the two-piston shape; N-type (current) and the older D-type are themselves different footprints

The pad for Shimano's four-piston calipers — Saint, Zee, and the 4-pot XT and XTR trail/enduro calipers. Note the generational split inside this family: older Saint/Zee calipers take the D-type pad, while the current XT/XTR/Deore 4-piston calipers take the N-type. They look similar and are not interchangeable, so check whether your caliper takes D or N before ordering.

Why it exists: Four-piston calipers need a longer pad to spread clamping force across both piston pairs, so they could not reuse the two-piston footprint.

Typically found on: Saint, Zee, XT/XTR 4-piston, Deore 4-piston (M6120), and most modern e-MTBs with Shimano brakes

Also called: L02A, L03A, K02S, K03S

Small pad shaped for compact road/gravel flat-mount calipers

Shimano's hydraulic road and gravel calipers (Dura-Ace, Ultegra, 105, GRX) are physically much smaller than the MTB units and take their own small pad. Current calipers use the L-type; the first generation of road hydraulic brakes used the K-type. Resin is the usual choice here — many road rotors are resin-only rated.

Why it exists: Flat-mount road calipers were designed around tight frame clearances and lower heat loads, so they use a smaller caliper body and a correspondingly smaller pad.

Typically found on: Dura-Ace, Ultegra, 105 and GRX hydraulic disc brakes

Also called: Guide pads, Level pads, Elixir pads, Avid Elixir shape

Compact pad shared across SRAM's two-piston trail line, descended from the Avid Elixir shape

One pad shape covers a remarkably wide slice of SRAM's history: the Avid Elixir, the DB range, Guide R/RS/RSC/Ultimate, and the current Level line all take it. Offered in organic and sintered by SRAM and by every aftermarket brand. If your brake says Guide, Level, DB or Elixir on the caliper or lever, this is your pad.

Why it exists: SRAM carried the Elixir-era footprint forward through successive trail-brake generations rather than forcing riders onto a new spare part each time.

Typically found on: Level, Guide, DB and Elixir two-piston calipers across trail hardtails and mid-travel bikes

Also called: Code pads, Guide RE pads, SRAM Code shape

Larger four-piston footprint; not interchangeable with the Level/Guide two-piston pad

SRAM's four-piston gravity caliper — Code R/RS/RSC/Silver, the mineral-oil DB8, and the Guide RE (a Code caliper on a Guide lever) — takes its own bigger pad. This is the pad most SRAM-equipped enduro, downhill and e-MTB bikes need. Note that Guide RE takes CODE pads despite the Guide name, which is a common and expensive mistake.

Why it exists: The Code caliper's larger pistons and higher heat loads demand more friction area than the trail-brake pad can provide.

Typically found on: Code, DB8 and Guide RE calipers on enduro, downhill and e-MTB builds

Also called: SRAM HRD pads, eTap AXS road pads

Small flat-mount road caliper pad; SRAM's own shape, not interchangeable with Shimano road pads

SRAM's hydraulic road and gravel calipers (Rival, Force and Red AXS HRD, and the older 1-series) use a compact pad of their own design. Organic is the common fitment; sintered options exist for gravel and tandem use where heat is a bigger factor.

Why it exists: SRAM developed its road hydraulic caliper independently of its MTB line and of Shimano, so it arrived with its own pad footprint.

Typically found on: Rival, Force and Red AXS HRD road and gravel disc brakes

Also called: Magura Type 8.P, Type 9.P, MT5/MT7 pads, MT2/MT4 pads

Two families: the 2-piston shape (MT2/MT4/Trail Sport rear) and the 4-piston shape (MT5/MT7/Trail Carbon front)

Magura splits along piston count like everyone else, with the added quirk that its Trail-series brakesets deliberately mix a four-piston front caliper with a two-piston rear — so one bike can need both pad shapes. Magura's own pads are numbered by type (7.P, 8.P, 9.P and so on) rather than named after the caliper, so cross-reference the type number against your caliper.

Why it exists: Magura designed its MT-series calipers around its own body geometry, and the mixed Trail brakeset pairs a powerful front with a lighter rear.

Typically found on: MT2/MT4/MT5/MT7 and Trail-series brakes on trail, enduro and a great many European e-bikes

Also called: Hope E4 pads, Hope V4 pads, Hope X2 pads

One shape per caliper model; E4, V4, X2 and RX4 each take their own pad

Hope makes each caliper in Britain and sells a matching pad for it, in standard, sintered and (on some) racing compounds. The pads are model-specific rather than family-wide, so identify the caliper — the model name is machined into the caliper body — before ordering. Hope's long production runs mean pads for older Tech 3 calipers remain readily available.

Why it exists: A small manufacturer optimizing each caliper individually rather than sharing one footprint across a range.

Typically found on: Hope-equipped trail, enduro and gravel bikes, and aftermarket brake upgrades

Also called: Formula Cura pads, Cura 4 pads

Cura (2-piston) and Cura 4 take different pads

Formula's current mountain line is the two-piston Cura and the four-piston Cura 4, each with its own pad in organic and sintered. Older Formula brakes (R1, The One, RX) use earlier shapes that are still sold but should be matched to the specific caliper.

Why it exists: Formula, like Hope, designs caliper-specific pads rather than one range-wide shape.

Typically found on: Formula-equipped trail and enduro bikes, common as OEM fitment on European brands

Also called: TRP Quadiem pads, Tektro Auriga pads, TRP Slate pads

Several shapes; the four-piston Quadiem/G-Spec pad is the common gravity one, Slate covers the lighter trail calipers

TRP (the performance arm of Tektro) fits a lot of OEM bikes and downhill builds. Its four-piston Quadiem and DH-R EVO calipers take a large pad, while the lighter Slate and Tektro Auriga calipers take smaller shapes. Some TRP pads are dimensionally very close to Shimano shapes but are sold separately — buy by the caliper name.

Why it exists: TRP developed a range spanning budget OEM hydraulics to downhill race brakes, each tier with its own caliper body.

Typically found on: TRP-equipped downhill and enduro bikes, and Tektro-equipped commuters and budget hardtails

Also called: Dominion A4 pads, Dominion A2 pads

A2 (2-piston) and A4 (4-piston) take different pads

Hayes' current line is the Dominion A2 and A4, both well regarded for lever feel and both with their own pad. Older Hayes brakes (Stroker, Prime, El Camino) use earlier shapes; identify the caliper before ordering since the Hayes back catalogue is long.

Why it exists: A separate American brake lineage that never adopted another brand's pad footprint.

Typically found on: Dominion-equipped trail and enduro bikes, and aftermarket upgrades

Also called: cartridge pads, R55C4, SwissStop FlashPro, dual-pivot caliper pads

Slide-in cartridge insert held by a small grub screw in an aluminium holder; Shimano and SRAM holders take the same insert shape

Modern road dual-pivot calipers use a holder bolted to the caliper arm with a replaceable rubber insert that slides in and is retained by a tiny set screw. Shimano and SRAM holders share an insert shape, so aftermarket makers sell one 'Shimano/SRAM' cartridge. The critical distinction is not shape but material: aluminium rims take standard black compound, carbon rims need a purpose-made carbon pad (usually cork or a specific compound) and will be destroyed by an alloy-rim pad.

Why it exists: Cartridge holders let riders replace only the worn rubber and keep the pad alignment they already set up, rather than re-toeing a whole new pad.

Typically found on: Rim-brake road bikes, still very common on bikes built before around 2018

Also called: Campag pads, BR-BO500

Campagnolo's own cartridge insert shape — not interchangeable with the Shimano/SRAM insert

Campagnolo rim calipers use a holder and insert of their own dimensions. Aftermarket makers sell a distinct 'Campagnolo' cartridge alongside their Shimano/SRAM one. As with all rim brakes, the alloy-versus-carbon compound distinction matters more than anything else.

Why it exists: Campagnolo developed its calipers independently and kept its own pad geometry.

Typically found on: Campagnolo-equipped rim-brake road bikes

Also called: linear-pull pads, threaded post pads, smooth post pads, Kool-Stop Salmon

Long (typically 70 mm) rubber block on either a threaded post (V-brake, with a stack of spherical washers for alignment) or a smooth post (cantilever)

The long pad used by V-brakes (linear-pull) and cantilevers, still standard on commuters, touring bikes, older hybrids and cyclocross bikes. Two post types exist: threaded posts with a washer stack that lets you set toe-in, and smooth posts clamped by a bolt. Compound choice is unusually visible here — Kool-Stop's salmon compound is the well-known wet-weather option.

Why it exists: The long pad gives rim brakes enough friction area to work with the limited clamping force a cable can generate.

Typically found on: Commuters, touring bikes, hybrids, older mountain bikes and cyclocross bikes

Read the caliper, not the pad

The fastest route to the right pad is the caliper body: the model name is nearly always printed or machined on it (e.g. 'XT', 'SAINT', 'CODE', 'MT7', 'Dominion A4'). Look at the outside face of the caliper, and on Shimano at the small model code (BR-M8120, BR-R7070) which tells you the family exactly. Then pick the fitment family that model belongs to — that is what the 'Fits brakes' field is asking for.

Count the pistons

Within a brand, piston count is what usually splits the pad families. Pull the wheel and look into the caliper from the rotor slot: you will see either one piston per side (2-piston) or two per side (4-piston). A four-piston caliper is also visibly wider front-to-back than a two-piston one from the same brand. Shimano 2-piston and Shimano 4-piston are different pads, and so are SRAM's Level/Guide and Code.

Read the old pad

Pull the retaining pin (usually a split pin or a threaded pin with an E-clip) and slide the old pads out. Shimano's pad codes are stamped on the backing plate (B01S, G03A, N03A, L03A) and go straight into a search. Aftermarket pads usually list the brakes they fit on the plate or the packaging. Take the old pad to the shop if in doubt — matching by eye against a known pad is reliable in a way that guessing from the brake model is not.

Disc versus rim

Obvious but worth stating: if the braking happens at a steel disc bolted to the hub, you need disc pads and the caliper family decides them. If the brake arms squeeze the outer edge of the wheel rim, you need rim pads and the questions are the holder type (cartridge, threaded post, smooth post) and the rim material (alloy or carbon), not the caliper family.

Check for fins and their clearance

Finned pads have an aluminium radiator projecting above the backing plate. If your current pads have fins, a finless pad of the same family will fit fine. Going the other way needs a check: the fins need clearance above the caliper, and on some frames or fork bridges — and some calipers within the same family — there is not enough room.