Favero Assioma - great power meter. As pedals? Meh
 

I've had my Favero Assioma Duo pedals since last fall and they are great power meter system. As measuring devices, I have no complaints at all. But I'm just not thrilled with their functionality as pedals. I miss my SPD-SL Dura Ace 9000 pedals!

Part of the problem is probably the transition from SPD-SL to Look Keo formats. I figured that they wouldn't be that different and that I'd get used to it, but there are some annoyances that still bother me. For one thing, the weighting on the FA pedals is such that when hanging free, the front of the pedal lies just behind the pedal axle and the rear just in front. Clipping in requires a precise shoe motion that first catches the face of the pedal so that the shoe ends up positioned on the top of the pedal, rather than the bottom. But that motion has to be just right, because if you "kick" it too hard, the pedal spins before the shoe lands in place. Then, once the foot is positioned on top of the pedal, frequently one has to then move it forward across the pedal so that the cleat engages. But it doesn't necessarily slide so easily- certainly not as easily as the SPD-SLs. It takes a subtle unweighting to slide the shoe across.

I'm sure that all of you out there with great skillz don't have these complaints, but for anybody who has made this transition, are there any tech tips to make these work easier? I'm using the xpedo cleats that came with the pedals. Are there other Look Keo compatible cleats that slide a little bit easier across the pedal, making it easier to clip in ?

Definitely finicky to clip into, and although it gets easier with practice I doubt it'll ever be 100%. Part of the problem is they spin too freely and don't have a clear preferred position. I've been thinking of adding a small weight to the rear of the pedal so it always positions itself with the front straight up.

Same problem. Every ride I wish the pedals were Ultegra ones, so much easier to clip into. I have had them for months and still have to look down to clip in.

Yes, they spin too easily. Definitely part of the problem.

Yes, I almost always have to look down to clip in. Whenever I managed to get it without looking and first attempt it feels like a success.

However, I am not too bothered, this is purely a problem with clipping in, it has no effect on actual riding. To me seems a fair trade off for having a great, less expensive, easy to install power meter.

Eh. For the price of the Duo, you can get a crankset-based PM that'll let you run your pedals of choice. While a crankset isn't as easy to un/install as pedals, it's still a ~10 minute deal and not exactly rocket surgery.

Exactly, although, to be honest, I could be a **** on my prior Look pedals. There is something about stopping at a light that turns me onto a ****; any other place I have no problem but with cars behind me and self imposed “ pressure “ or anxiety makes clipping in more problematic. That said, the power meter aspect makes them invaluable, particularly for my Sufferfest training. In our recent spell of hot weather they have been great for keeping a lid on my efforts on long hilly rides. On long hills the instantaneous feedback is far better than just going off HR. A non tech geek could go off RPE but if geeky stuff keeps me loving to ride I am all in!

Going from SPD-SLs to the Keo format is precisely why I won't try the Assiomas, though I've looked at them repeatedly for a year or two now.

It's too bad.

I was dead set on them and then they disappeared when Italy shut down. WhyFi talked me into a spider-based PM for the same money, including a decent crankset. That frees up the present crank to move to another bike, which I have long wanted to upgrade. It won’t give true lateralized data, but at my level, who cares?

Unless you're rehabbing from injury or the like, does it really matter at any level?

Since you ask, I squeezed out a disc fragment in 2013, which crushed the left L3 root and left me with noticeable vastus medialis atrophy. It is only slowly coming back, so, yes, it’s of some interest to me.

Is that both sides though? You could also just get the Uno, and have the pedal of choice on the other one for easy in and outs when you have to. I anyway don't think the duo is worth it, though ofc it may be more accurate, but who knows. And the Uno I believe are quite a bit cheaper yet again. In fact, this is what I would advise people, I really don't think the duo is needed. After initially having supposedly more contribution from the left which I doubted, I am now consistently 50/50 or 51/49 either way. I make no use of the double sided feature.

Got it, but I'd toss that in to the 'rehabbing' use case. Other than that, and for the vast majority of users, I can't see much utility in true L/R balance.

I haven't shopped them recently, but they could regularly be had for ~$500 or less and yes, that gives total power (which is the most important aspect of dual-sided power meters, IMO).

On the Duo/Uno choice, I was SURE that my power was asymmetric- my right leg just feels more powerful to me, for example, for the first stroke of acceleration. So I go the Duo. Of course, just like everybody else, I found out that nearly all my rides are 51/49 or 50/50. So I didn't need the Duo, except to verify the obvious.

Not nearly as easy to move between bikes, especially with press-fit BBs. I doubt you'll swap a press-fit BB in ten minutes, much less switch between SRAM and Shimano cranks in the same time. If you have the tools, I'd 90min at least. It's a lot more work than just installing a spider and crank arm and tightening a few bolts. Pedals truly is a 10 min job, and the 8mm bolt standard isn't going anywhere anytime soon; even with 12sp or whatnot around the corner. Campy, SRAM, Shimano, BB standards, 1x, 2x, 3x... these things can come and go, but the pedals will always fit and work.

Apart from the KEO standard, the Favero Assiomo Duos are super nice. But the cleat isn't that big of a problem, it's more that it's the only flaw.

I changed the BB out on my gravel bike so that I could have 24mm cranks on both bikes. I don't swap in the PM too often and I'm not the speediest of wrenches, but it's still a job that's too brief to warrant cracking a beer. And I don't need much of an excuse to crack a beer (see waistline).

I had Look Keo Blade pedals before installing Assiomas... and I prefer the Assiomas. But I especially prefer the cleats that came with the Assiomas because I think they're a tougher grade of nylon than Look brand cleats. They suffer less wear from walking around.

My habit is to clip my left foot in while stationary. I haven't found clipping my right foot in especially difficult. I probably get in 90% of the time without thinking about it or looking down. Your results will probably improve with practice. I expect mine will too.

I have a couple vintage sleds that I plan on riding here and there, and those pedals will be used on those, along with my TT bike. 7 speed downtube shifting Schwinn's don't accommodate BB30, PT wheels, or anything else I have laying around.

Is that at all points throughout a ride, or only average? And I have rides all the way to 47/53 when I'm fatigued. Average, not the biggest outliers during the ride.

Yeah, that's averaged over the ride, but it doesn't matter if that ride is 20 or 100 miles, the average is always pretty close. I'm sure that there are short intervals where there's a somewhat bigger imbalance, but I don't know that that should matter to me unless it was systematically to one leg or the other. I haven't noticed it growing when I tire.

It often is.

If it's going to vary, it'll often be at certain output levels - maybe one leg does more work just below threshold but both are recruited more or less equally above - or it'll be as fatigue creeps in. With respect to single- vs dual-sided/total power, this kind of drift under certain scenarios could lead to some significant errors. How much that means to you really depends on what you do with your data.

I was really set on Assiomas until you couldn't buy them anymore. I bought Garmin Vector 3s pedals and they have been flawless. I read horror stories about Look Keo cleats only kinda working with the Assiomas so it made me real nervous. The Vector pedals use Look Keo so that part of it was a no brainer. I was also very nervous of the reviews from when the Vector 3s came out but those problems have since been rectified. Mine have been trouble free and I really like them.

Pretty much agree with what's been said here. Especially with standing starts from traffic light, they spin too freely to clip in reliably. But as power meters, excellent. On the power imbalance topic, I'm 52/48 myself, which feels about right for me.