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Garmin Rally XC200 thoughts

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Garmin Rally XC200 thoughts

Old 06-10-22, 10:06 AM
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KJ43
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Garmin Rally XC200 thoughts

I have had these pedals now for a few months and have the following observations comparing them to Shimano's SPD pedals.
  • They seem to be constructed well. They are solid and robust feeling but that is also reflected in their size.
  • There is a bit of a delay for the power to catch up on my 1030+.
  • They have a taller stack height than XT (about 4mm) or XTR (about 5mm) pedals so if you are using measurements based on a bike fit and are OCD like I am you might want to adjust your seat height.
  • They seem durable enough as I have had pedal strike on pavement when leaning and some rocks. The taller stack height has to contribute to pedal strike being more likely with these pedals.
  • The cleat mechanism is much "chunkier" feeling than the Shimano pedals. They hold your cleats well though the float just feels different. I might be imagining it but it feels like there is more lateral movement of the cleats in the pedal. They do not engage or release as cleanly as Shimano's pedals and depending on how you adjust the tension it can be noticeably more difficult to disengage from the Rally pedals. This is not that big of an issue on road or gravel, but I ride semi-technical trails and the ability to quickly and easily disengage is important and one of the negatives to the Rally's. I did not find that the predictability of the release was anywhere near what you get with Shimano pedals and a couple of times on steep and loose or technical rooty climbs I did find myself tipping over because I couldn't disengage fast enough when I lost traction.
  • For me, the most egregious and annoying issue with the Rally pedals may have to do with how they interact with my shoes (S-Works Recon). To put it bluntly, they squeak...a lot, especially when climbing. There is something that happens with the metal plates to either side of the cleat retention mechanism that rubs on the soles of my shoes and I just can't make it go away. I've tried different cleat tensioning and teflon spray. I have seen this noise referenced in other comments about these pedals on other online forums. I can't get past this as I like my bike as quiet as possible. I'm sure I could get all creative and find something I can stick onto the side plates that prevent this noise but did not want to bother as I just did not like them enough to put the effort in.
So to make a long story short, I'm not going to use these anymore and am going to sell them. I'm not super experienced with different power meters but feel the XC200's seem to be a decent power meter, but a sub-standard pedal imo. If someone uses a different shoe that doesn't interact with them to make noise (or doesn't mind the noise) and doesn't ride difficult terrain they are probably a great way to get a power meter on your bike. The SPD-SL version may not have these issues.

I just had 4iiii do a factory install of a dual sided power meter for a GRX crankset and it will arrive next week so I can get it onto my Stigmata. Having gone back to the XTR SPD pedals it's a huge relief because they work so well and so perfectly they are a joy to clip into and out of. I keep my tension around the middle of range and even if I make the tension high they are just so easy and predictable to clip into and out of when needed and they are completely noise free as well.

I already ordered a new Dura Ace crankset with the factory power meter for my road bike as well and who knows how long it will take to arrive, but it will be worth it. I know my experience doesn't encompass the range of configurations with the Rally pedals, but my initial feeling is that for a serious cyclist (at least for the SPD pedals) a crank based power meter is the better option (imo of course ).
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Old 06-10-22, 08:04 PM
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I have been riding a pair of these on my Trek Domane paired to a Wahoo Roam for about a year (not much during the winter). I may just not be very fussy, but the SPD mechanisms seem okay by me. Yes, they're a little taller. I was riding a combo flat/SPD pedal before, but having had enough leg injuries over the decades, really wanted to track power balance L/R. There's a modest lag before change in effort shows up on the Roam, but that's true of all the sensors I've used. I am happy to have gotten them, and you should be able to make some buyer happy to acquire them. Especially since they aren't locked into SPD bodies to use with the power meter bits.

--Richard
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Old 06-10-22, 11:06 PM
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Thanks, both of you, for sharing your experience here. 🙂
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Old 06-15-22, 04:32 PM
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Polaris OBark
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Originally Posted by KJ43
.
  • They have a taller stack height than XT (about 4mm) or XTR (about 5mm) pedals so if you are using measurements based on a bike fit and are OCD like I am you might want to adjust your seat height.
Is it possible you have this backward? I have XTR pedals because I can't tolerate the higher XT stack-height. In any case, thanks for the heads-up on this. It is what I had feared. (I actually bought a set of the one-sided ones for my kid for a birthday/graduation/etc present, but getting a clear answer out of him has been challenging. In any case, he loves them.)


  • They seem durable enough as I have had pedal strike on pavement when leaning and some rocks. The taller stack height has to contribute to pedal strike being more likely with these pedals.
  • The cleat mechanism is much "chunkier" feeling than the Shimano pedals. They hold your cleats well though the float just feels different. I might be imagining it but it feels like there is more lateral movement of the cleats in the pedal. They do not engage or release as cleanly as Shimano's pedals and depending on how you adjust the tension it can be noticeably more difficult to disengage from the Rally pedals. This is not that big of an issue on road or gravel, but I ride semi-technical trails and the ability to quickly and easily disengage is important and one of the negatives to the Rally's. I did not find that the predictability of the release was anywhere near what you get with Shimano pedals and a couple of times on steep and loose or technical rooty climbs I did find myself tipping over because I couldn't disengage fast enough when I lost traction.
  • For me, the most egregious and annoying issue with the Rally pedals may have to do with how they interact with my shoes (S-Works Recon). To put it bluntly, they squeak...a lot, especially when climbing. There is something that happens with the metal plates to either side of the cleat retention mechanism that rubs on the soles of my shoes and I just can't make it go away. I've tried different cleat tensioning and teflon spray. I have seen this noise referenced in other comments about these pedals on other online forums. I can't get past this as I like my bike as quiet as possible. I'm sure I could get all creative and find something I can stick onto the side plates that prevent this noise but did not want to bother as I just did not like them enough to put the effort in.
So to make a long story short, I'm not going to use these anymore and am going to sell them. I'm not super experienced with different power meters but feel the XC200's seem to be a decent power meter, but a sub-standard pedal imo. If someone uses a different shoe that doesn't interact with them to make noise (or doesn't mind the noise) and doesn't ride difficult terrain they are probably a great way to get a power meter on your bike. The SPD-SL version may not have these issues.
Thank you.

This is the kind of information I was hoping to see in some of the reviews, but never did. You confirmed my fears and saved me (another) $600 or $1200. I'm quite sensitive to pedal stack height, probably because of an ankle break.

I also suck and don't deserve a power meter, but that is another story, imbued with midwestern puritanical self-loathing guilt.
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Old 06-15-22, 07:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Polaris OBark
Is it possible you have this backward? I have XTR pedals because I can't tolerate the higher XT stack-height. In any case, thanks for the heads-up on this. It is what I had feared. (I actually bought a set of the one-sided ones for my kid for a birthday/graduation/etc present, but getting a clear answer out of him has been challenging. In any case, he loves them.)
It's not totally clear I guess what the numbers I posted meant, but the number in the () is how much higher the XC200's are over the XT or XTR pedals..at least as far as I could find the correct stack heights. The XC200's have a stack height of 13.5mm as listed in the DC Rainmaker review. The XTR's have a stack height of about 8.1mm and the XT pedals are a few mm more than that.

Yes, they are big and if you are sensitive to the higher stack height you will not be pleased.
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Old 06-15-22, 08:00 PM
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I get it now. Yeah, those pedals are quite thick. I guess they have to cram a lot of stuff in there. I've probably wasted cumulatively more money trying to find pedals that are comfortable than I would spend on the XC200's.
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Old 09-28-22, 04:43 AM
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I'm bringing this post as I am interested in these pedals. I have a praxis carbon crankset with a 4iiii precision sensor that I suspect is dead. I have a powerpod which is OK when it works but crap to calibrate.. So I am thinking about garmin XC-100 (1 sided power).
What are the issues with the product other than thicker pedal leading to a taller seatpost?
One the main advantage would be the ability to swap pedal quickly between bikes.
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Old 10-05-22, 09:31 PM
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I already use SPD pedals and shoes on road bikes. I ordered these Garmin pedals and stack height should be the same. The pedals have arrived, but still waiting for the new bike to arrive to try them. The bike should be here by spring. It will be paired to an Edge 830, hopefully without issue.

Mike
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