QUESTION: Can you use Shimano rotors with SRAM disc brakes? I have hydraulic Force brakes on my road bike and I noticed that the Shimano rotors I was considering seem to cost a little less.
Is it like tires where you can use whatever tire brand you want on a wheel? Or is it like derailleurs, where you have to use a specific cassette or chain to match the derailleur? I don’t want to waste my money buying rotors that won’t work. – Ronny F
RBR REPLIES: Yes, it’s ok to use Shimano rotors with a SRAM brake set up. In fact, I’m using Shimano GRX rotors with my own Force brakes right now because at the time I needed some rotors, those were the ones available.
One important thing to look for is to make sure that the rotor size matches your brakes. Most road and gravel bikes are using 160mm rotors these days, but a recent road bike I had came with smaller 140mm rotors in the back and larger 160mm rotors in the front. (Which gave me plenty of stopping power and maybe saved a little bit of weight.)
After I sold off that bike, I standardized on only 160mm rotors on the front and back wheels. That makes it easy to swap out wheels between my road bike and my gravel bike if I want to run road wheels on the gravel bike.
So if your bike uses 160mm rotors, it’s ok to use Shimano rotors or SRAM rotors, or even some other brand like TRP.
Another tip is to make sure that you buy the correct style of rotors that are Centerlock or 6 bolt, which depends on the wheels you are installing the rotors on. All my wheels are Centerlock at this point, which makes it very easy to install or remove a rotor or swap them between wheels if I needed to.
Greetings.
Further questions and thoughts.
Does brand interchangeability also apply between Campagnolo, Shimano, and SRAM?
If rotors are brand interchangeable, who makes, or what is, the best quality rotor(s), without regard to price?
If rotors are interchangeable, are different style rotors better suited for different purposes, and which style, or brand, is best for which purpose?
Perhaps there are other related questions and thoughts, such as what constitutes a superior rotor, verses a mediocre rotor (remain true; heat dissipation; durability; corrosion resistance; dimensional accuracy; promotes pad longevity)? Might there be rotors that are best avoided?
Thanks.
Shimano uses different metals and fins in their rotors for heat dissipation, where as SRAM uses a thicker rotor so make sure you push the pistons all the way back in when installing new rotors. Pad longevity depends on the pad. My stock Shimano’s lasted about 5k mi where a set of Ramhead only lasted a few hundred. Same rotors. I would avoid super cheap rotors, brakes are your most important safety device on the bike. I would not say any rotor is better suited for any particular purpose. As a shop employee, I’ve not seen Shimano specify. BUT, learn how to bed pads correctly! IMHO
Interesting question. I have multiple sets of wheels. I have standardized on Shimano rotors and pads. However, my ENVE wheels originally came with SRAM rotors. I have wondered if using two different rotors (different metallic composition) would affect the pads and cause some type of cross-contamination of pads. when switching between wheel sets. I used metallic pads on the frame.
Not all rotors are interchangeable. Some are significantly thicker than others and shouldn’t be used with calipers designed for thinner ones.