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Monday, September 09, 2024

Review: Review: Favero Assioma MX-1 Power Meter Pedals

 I got fed up of constantly moving the Garmin Power Meter Pedals between bikes, so when Favero Assioma MX-1 was launched I got into the pre-order mailing list and bought a pair. At $499, these are considerably cheaper than the Garmins. The box comes with cleats and chargers, but of course these are single-sided, though there's an option to upgrade to dual sided if you wish.

Installing the pedals is easy, though charging is not. Basically, I resorted to using a power bank so that I didn't have to park the bike next to an outlet or remove the pedal just so you can charge it. (I have no idea how people who own Shimano electronic shifters deal with the need to park your bike next to a power outlet)

The power meter is reliable and works well. It provides pedaling dynamics output as well (though obviously only on one side). The battery life is much worse than the Garmin option. Basically, the Garmin will work for 3 months of cycling, and my 3 week summer tour this year didn't even come close to depleting the battery. On the Favero Assioma you can expect to go about a month between charging the device. Having said that, it's easier to charge the battery if you have a power bank around than to replace the Garmin's non-chargeable batteries, so the whole thing is a wash. Having said that, however, I'd be confident doing a 3 week tour in Europe without carrying spare batteries on the Garmin, while I wouldn't be able to do so without carrying the Favero Assioma's chargers. Is that worth paying $700 for the Garmin? Probably not. But if you can find the Garmins for $550 or so, I'd say that $50 is well worth the extra battery life.

Needless to say, power meter pedals are a superior solution to crank based meters. I can recommend these.

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