Favero Assioma SPD-SL Powermeter?!
 

https://cyclingtips.com/2021/02/leak...r-meter-pedal/

This would be a huge boon.

I won't touch a Look-style cleat with a stick, which is a real bummer because I'd buy Faveros today were it not for that.

If this potential Assioma-SH spindle becomes available soon, a lot of people in the same boat will be very pleased!

In Music City USA that should be called a batón.




edit for nonmusicles: not a stick

I would buy them I am not about to change all my Shimano pedals so until Favero makes the change, Gosh I hope soon.

What?

Inside joke.
Grew up in Nashtown.
50s/60s kid.
Near Vanderbilt, Dudley Stadium, Centennial Park, Parthenon, Hippodrome Skating Rink.
When I grew it was Country Music USA and 'sticks' was a percussion instrument every country music group had to have.

Then they got a City Orchestra and the stick evolved.

Now it's Music City USA.- some of us just remember the Countreee.


You did ask.
And I have loved my Look Deltas for 30+ years on a fleet of bicycles.

Huh. I genuinely don't have a clue what you're talking about. And in 30+ years of living here, I can honestly say I've never heard anyone call it Nashtown.

And my first proper pedal was a Look Delta (after a brief time with SPDs). Was better than the Keo, but still quite lacking compared to the SPD-SL

Looking forward to the SPD-SL bodies. What I don't like is how reactionary Favero was on this....waiting for Garmin or anyone else to do it first. Favero could have cornered the market early, now they will be competing for market share in this area.

Garmin has SPD and SPD-SL power meter pedals. They came out last month.

Exactly, I'm baffled with why Favero waited for someone else to finally develop them first. I mean the lack of SPD-SL power pedals has been a topic of discussion for a long time, and it is often the reason people do not get the PM Pedals because they don't like the idea of changing cleats.

Licensing costs, possibly? That's about the only reason that I can think of.

I'm thrilled Garmin did this, not in a hurry to drop that much coin on a power meter when mine works. I have Vector 2, you can turn the 3 into an SPD pedal, I missed the boat. I have a pair of nice two bolt carbon shoes in my closet.

How much is a lovingly used Vector 2 worth?

It seemed that was the common line of thought in the many discussions I have seen....but now it doesn't seem to be such an obstacle. Everyone thought Shimano would corner the market and produce them when they picked up Pioneer (I think it was).

I would assume that a company like Garmin would be more bullish on the number of units that they expect to sell and the margins that would make the endeavor worthwhile, so it doesn't seem unusual to me that they, rather than a relatively small player like Favero (at least when they first started slinging PM pedals) would be the first to put some money on the table for Shimano.

Did Pioneer ever do pedals? I'm only aware of their crank-arm offerings and their head unit with snazzy cycling dynamics.

Nope they didn't. Speculation was that Shimano would possibly produce their own pedals.

I read that Shimano's patents expired recently, possibly Favero has been having supply issues that prevented them from coming out with versions and Garmin beat them?

I've heard that the patents are still valid, but I haven't seen anything solid. Thinking about it a little, I would expect that, if Shimano's patent were expired, we'd be seeing compatible cleats before 3rd party pedals - why make printers when you can sell the ink, so to speak?

It's possible the patents on the pedal mechanism expired before the patents on the cleats/design expired.

I have Assiomas on my bike... buy my question is more to those who despise look keo-style systems, I have been on Look for many years before this (bake to delta pedals, transitioning to Keo in 2006 or so). What makes SPD-SL so much better in your view? I've not used them, and I've read several people note they prefer SPD-SL, but have not read a definitive "why." I see major differences with Speedplay (obviously), but don't get the Keo hate from SPD-SL users (or vice versa). I'd be perfectly happy to try Shimanos if someone would gift me some :-)

My question is 'when are we going to put it in the shoe?" then I don't have to think about it when I want to ride black bike, blue bike, black bike2, white bike... future bike.. "if the cleat fits, start measuring."

Many smart minds have attempted the shoe challenge and the insurmountable hurdle has been each shoe model and brand has different characteristics and moving footbeds between them results in too much variance. Getting into the shoe business with a built-in power meter would mean to many SKU's and other stocking challenges.

wait, what, really? Finally? Oh thank god

changing pedals seems more trivial than changing cleats

I switched to Keo from SPD-SL. from my perspective, there is absolutely no difference on the bike. Only notable (to me) difference is when off the bike and when moving off of a stop sign/ red light. I use classic keo cleats (non grip version) and they have a 50/50 tendency to slip on the asphalt when starting after a complete stop when I can’t get going perfectly and have to push off with my unclipped foot.

I use cleat covers off the bike, so walking with keo cleats is not a problem for me, but I can understand how problematic it can be judging by how easily it slips when starting from a full stop. With SPD-SLs, neither walking, nor starting off a red light has been a problem.

Another point is probably the depth of the “lip”. I don’t know what to call it but the edges that engage to the pedal are deeper on spd-sl, and it accepts thick neoprene over boots better than the Keo cleat/pedal combination.

what I like about keo cleats are, most of all the look memory eyelet system*, which makes swapping cleats a 1 minute job, and the wear indicator holes on the cleat body. I almost always unclip with the same side and when that cleat wears down, I can swap left/right cleats minutes before I go out for a ride.

* In fact, this feature is so good that even though specialized shoes are a better fit to my feet, I keep buying shoes that have the look memory eyelet anchors in the soles.

What makes Keos hard to clip in is the cleat doesn't easily move across the pedal when not clipped in, so you can't just slide it forward, or back, a little until it clips in. Instead they tend to catch and snag in all kinds of positions, and when you lift it to unsnag it so you can slide it forward a little to clip in on the Assiomas the pedal very easily rotates - and is now upside down. It's also hard to tell when the pedal is upside down, there's very little difference in feel. For me this means if I fail to clip in the first time, which might happen 20% I end up having to look down to see what's going on. SPD-SLs on the other hand after you rotate the pedal a little with your toes and place the cleat on the pedal it easily slides forward and locks in.

Thank you for the responses. I definitely find the Assiomas harder to clip into than my old Keo pedals - they do spin if you miss. Very annoying. I've been using aftermarket cleats with little rubber bits for years, so walking / slipping hasn't really been a problem. One of these days I'll give SPD-SL s a shot.