SRAM's Guide brakes use what SRAM calls their Medium pad shape — the same footprint that carries over to G2, Level Stealth 4P, and Avid Trail calipers. The brake models covered include Level Stealth 4P Ultimate, Silver, and Bronze (A1) 2023+, G2 R, RS, RSC, Ultimate (A1) 2020+, Guide R, RS, RSC, Ultimate (A1 and B1) 2015-2020, and Avid Trail. If you're running any of those calipers and it's time for fresh pads, these drop straight in.

Excel stocks two compound options in this shape. The Quiet/Organic pad uses a black steel backing plate and delivers a quieter, more consistent initial bite with less bed-in time — this is the pad most Guide and G2 owners will recognize from their brakes. The Heavy Duty/Sintered pad uses a copper backing plate with metal fibers mixed into the compound, which is what SRAM originally specced as OEM on Guide brakes. Sintered pads are suited for heavy or extreme duty applications where resistance to higher temperatures is required, like a steep sustained descent, and they excel in wet and muddy environments.

Picking between them comes down to how you ride and what your rotors are already bedded to. If you switch pad compounds, you will need to replace your rotors. That's the gotcha worth flagging before you order — going from organic to sintered (or the reverse) on the same rotor won't work well because pad material from the previous compound is already transferred onto the braking surface. Match what you had, or plan on new rotors at the same time.... Read More