Road riders with Shimano rim brake calipers and alloy rims who want fresh, genuine pads.
These are the original Shimano R55C4 cartridge brake shoes made for the 105 BR-5800 caliper. You get a pair of complete shoes, each an aluminium cartridge holder with an R55C4 pad fitted, so you can bolt them straight on.
The cartridge design means next time the pads wear, you only slide in new R55C4 inserts and keep the holders. Shimano's R55C4 compound is known for quiet, consistent braking in both wet and dry conditions.
They're made for aluminium rims only. Fitting them to Shimano road calipers from the same era, or upgrading a set of basic one-piece pads, is one of the cheapest ways to make a rim brake bike stop better.
Genuine Shimano
Original 105 BR-5800 part.
Cartridge holders
Replace just the insert next time.
R55C4 compound
Quiet, all-weather braking.
Complete pair
Holders, pads and fixing bolts.
Brake shoes
In the box
Cartridge holder
When the pads wear out you only slide in new R55C4 inserts, the aluminium holders stay on the bike and keep their alignment.
R55C4 compound
Shimano's all-conditions road pad compound, quiet and consistent in the wet and dry on alloy rims.
Great for
Maybe not for
Sold as a front and rear pair. Made for Shimano road caliper brakes; retailers list BR-5800, BR-5700, BR-5600, BR-5500/5501, BR-R650, BR-R600 and BR-R560/R561 as compatible. Aluminium rims only.
Left and right matter
Cartridge holders are handed so the open end faces the back of the bike. Fit them the wrong way and the pad can slide out under braking.
Toe them in slightly
Set the front of each pad to touch the rim a fraction before the back. It stops squeal. Clean the rims with isopropyl alcohol when you fit new pads.
The components on more bikes than any other brand.
Shimano started out in 1921 as a small ironworks in Sakai, Japan, making freewheels, and has grown into the world's biggest maker of bicycle components.
Its road groupsets, from 105 up to Dura-Ace, are fitted to a huge share of the road bikes sold around the world, which makes genuine Shimano spares easy to find and easy to fit.
