Sinter Elite

The Sinter Elite is the Slovenian brand's premium pad; currently offered in one fitment only, the Shimano K-type pocket that covers Dura-Ace R9270, Ultegra R8170, 105 R7170, and current XTR / XT MTB calipers. Two construction differences against the standard Model 018: a titanium backing plate replaces the steel one, and the compound is reformulated for modulation. The Elite is the race-day-or-premium-build version of the same pad shape, not a separate fitment for a different brake.

What's in the kit

One caliper's worth of Elite pads (2 pads, left and right) for the Shimano K-type pocket. The kit ships with the spring, pin, and bedding-in instructions. Order two kits if you're replacing front and rear pads on the same service.

Fits

Shimano K-type pad shape; same fitment as Model 018:

• Dura-Ace R9270, Ultegra R8170, 105 R7170
• Tiagra 4770, Metrea U5000, GRX 11-speed hydraulic
• XTR M9100, Deore XT M8110

If your bike is K-type-pocket Shimano (current road or current MTB), the Elite fits. The Model 018 is the standard daily-driver pad in the same fitment; the Elite is the premium variant.

What makes the Elite different

Titanium backing plate. Titanium is lighter than steel and disperses heat differently than the steel plate it replaces, per Sinter's own framing: the lighter plate has lower thermal mass, so heat moves through it and out to the surrounding air faster than steel's higher-mass-and-conductivity geometry. Two consequences. The pad runs slightly cooler at the matrix surface under sustained braking; useful on long road descents where pad temperature is the limiting factor. And rotational mass at the caliper is reduced, which most riders won't measure but a few will feel.

Reformulated compound. Sinter's standard organic compound is already a good lever-feel pad; the Elite compound is tuned further toward modulation specifically. Smaller lever-pressure changes produce more linear changes in deceleration. For riders sensitive to brake feel; most road racers, a meaningful slice of XC racers, and the premium-build customer who notices everything; the Elite is the pad to try.

The standard Model 018 is the right pad for the rest of the K-type customer base; the Elite is the upgrade for the rider who's already running the Model 018 and wants more out of the lever.

Specs

• Compound: organic (ceramic-loaded, resin-bound, modulation-tuned variant)
• Backing plate: titanium
• Pad shape: Shimano K-type
• Pads per package: 2 (one caliper)
• Includes spring and pin

Includes: 2 Elite pads (left and right), spring, pin, bedding-in instructions.

Sinter, Ljubljana since 1969

The Elite represents what Sinter's friction-material lab can do when it's allowed to push beyond the volume-pad mainline. Sinter has been making friction materials in Ljubljana since 1969, and developed the first disc brake pads in the former Yugoslavia in 1972; the Elite is the premium-tier variant of that compound history. Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and is the official technical partner of multiple World Tour and downhill teams. Euro Toolworks is the North American importer for both Slovenian brands. The Elite ships at a premium against the standard Model 018, and the premium buys real construction differences; titanium backing, refined compound; that the rider who notices brake feel will notice.

Pro tip from our mechanics

The Elite's titanium backing plate behaves slightly differently in the caliper than the steel backing of the standard Model 018: titanium expands less with heat, which means the pad-pocket-to-backing-plate clearance stays a touch tighter through a long descent. This is a feature, not a bug; the pad position is more consistent at the moment of hardest braking; but it does mean the Elite is more sensitive to a clean pad pocket on install. A quick wipe of the pad pocket with a clean rag before the Elite goes in is the small step that lets the pad seat the way the engineering intends.

How to read the fitment table and choose the right compound for your riding is laid out in How to choose Sinter brake pads →.