Shimano road bike disc brake pads are a popular choice among cyclists, offering reliable stopping power and durability.
However, there may be times when you need to find an alternative to Shimano brake pads, such as when they are not available or when you want to try a different type of pad.
In this article, we will list the alternatives for the standard Shimano road bike disc brake pads.
Shimano disc brake calipers
Shimano road disc brakes all use the same brake pad design. Hence, they are compatible with each other. The difference is the brake pad compound, back plate material, and cooling fins.
The brake pads listed below are compatible with these Shimano road disc calipers.
| Series | Brake caliper model |
|---|---|
| Dura-Ace | BR-9270 |
| Dura-Ace | BR-9170 |
| Ultegra | BR-8170 |
| Ultegra | BR-8070 |
| 105 | BR-7170 |
| 105 | BR-7070 |
| Tiagra | BR-4770 |
| GRX | BR-RX810 |
| GRX | BR-RX400 |
| non-series | BR-RS805 |
| non-series | BR-RS505 |
| non-series | BR-RS405 |
| non-series | BR-RS305 |
Shimano brake pad alternatives
There are many Shimano brake pad options aside from the one that originally came with your bike.
For example, the L05A-RF is the default brake pad for 12-speed groupsets, and the L03A-RF is for 11-speed groupsets.
The table below shows the difference between all the brake pad models.
| Brake pad model | Cooling fins | Pad compound |
|---|---|---|
| L05A-RF | Yes | Resin |
| L03A-RF | Yes | Resin |
| L04C-MF | Yes | Metal |
| L02A-RF | Yes | Resin |
| K05Ti-RX | No | Resin |
| K05S-RX | No | Resin |
| K04Ti-MX | No | Metal |
| K04S-MX | No | Metal |
| K03Ti-MX | No | Metal |
| K03S-MX | No | Metal |
Third-party brake pad alternatives
There are many Shimano brake pad options aside from the one that originally came with your bike.
For example, the L05A-RF is the default brake pad for 12-speed groupsets, and the L03A-RF is for 11-speed groupsets.
The table below shows the difference between all the brake pad models.
| Brand | Model | Cooling fins | Pad compound | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Black | Disc 34 | Yes | Resin | |
| AMP | Carbone | No | Ceramic | |
| BBB | DiscStop HP (BBS-561S) | No | Metal | |
| BBB | DiscStop HP (BBS-561) | No | Resin | |
| Galfer | FD496 G1053 | No | Resin | |
| Galfer | FD496 G1455 | No | Resin | |
| Jagwire | Sport (DCA004) | No | Resin | |
| Jagwire | Sport (DCA102) | No | Resin | |
| Jagwire | Sport (DCA504) | No | Metal | |
| Jagwire | Sport (DCA704) | No | Resin | |
| Jagwire | Elite (DCA804) | Yes | Resin | |
| KoolStop | KS-D625 | No | Resin | |
| SwissStop | Disc RS34 | No | Resin | |
| SwissStop | Disc 34E | No | Resin | |
| SwissStop | Disc 34 EXOTherm 2 | Yes | Resin |