Favero Assioma Duo power meter pedals

The Assioma Duo pedals represent a massive evolution of Favero's foray into cycling power meters, being vastly superior to its previous BePro pedals. They're better value than Garmin's new Vector 3s with no real compromises, so well worth the spend if you want power measurement that's easily transferred from one bike to another.

• Pros: Very light, easy to set up, transferable in seconds, easy to charge and maintain
• Cons: No SPD-SL versions, still an expensive purchase (as all currently available power pedals are)

The Assiomas are offered as one-sided versions for less than £500, but the Duo versions I have on test here claim to offer more accuracy, within +/-2%, which is similar to many other smart trainers and power meters.

> Buy these online here

In the box you get the pedals, an 8mm pedal hex key for fitting and the charging cables, which magnetically clip to the pedals (similar to Garmin watches) so you can charge them via USB. This is very handy and for me much better than cell battery operation, particularly as you can check the charge percentage if you connect the pedals to the Assioma app via Bluetooth. They also last about 50 hours on a full charge, so it hardly needs thinking about that often, and they automatically switch themselves off to save power when not in use (to wake them up you touch the pods or turn your cranks).

You use the app to set up your crank length, check your charge and download firmware updates, the latter being the only thing you really need to keep on top of to have the pedals running accurately every time (unless you swap to a bike with different sized cranks, then obviously that has to change). Also included are some Keo-compatible cleats courtesy of Xpedo, which are a bit flimsier than the Look versions but perfectly usable. Unfortunately there are no Shimano SPD-SL versions of the pedals for those who prefer this system.

Plug and go

The BePro pedals required the use of a special tool to fit them and an exact torque according to their manual, whereas the Assiomas can just be fitted with any 8mm wrench and are just plug and go. The recommended torque is 35-40Nm, standard for most pedal/crank combinations. If you just make them pinch-tight they don't pick up as accurately.

Another thing to be aware of is the supplied washers: you get four included in the box, which in most cases you won't need unless your cranks have a 'recessed seat'. In plain speak, just check that the sensors aren't too close to your cranks, and if they are, stick a washer in between them.

The Assiomas pair using Bluetooth or ANT+, so can be used in conjunction with pretty much any head unit or phone. I chopped and changed between using them with a Garmin 1030, Polar M460 and Wahoo Elemnt Bolt during my test period, and found the pedals were picked up consistently fast every time.

Your computer will pick up the two pedals individually (most will prompt you by asking if there is another pedal to pair after setting up the first one) and then it's recommended to do a zero offset calibration before each ride to ensure the best level of accuracy. Check the instructions on your head unit to find out how to do this.

Power away

To ride, the Assiomas are perfectly stable underfoot and comparable to any other lightweight road pedal. The Q-factor (the distance between the pedals) is 54mm, 1mm more than Garmin's new Vector 3s, so the pods don't really make any practical difference to the ride whatsoever in my experience. Each pedal weighs just under 150g, the lightest power pedals you can currently buy. They're also completely waterproof, and after using them in all conditions including bucketing rain for a couple of months, I can report they're still in perfect working order.

I used the pedals alongside a Powertap hub outdoors and a Wattbike Atom indoors to compare the results. On the graphs you can see here, against the Wattbike with three short interval bursts, you can see that the Assiomas are very consistent but run slightly low during the peaks in power and for the average power overall.

Cadence is nearly identical too, and on my rides against the Powertap hub I got very similar results, with the Powertap just recording the wattage slightly more generously each time.

> 6 reasons you should use a power meter

Favero says the accuracy is unaffected in temperatures ranging from -10°C to 60°C (good to know just in case you want to use them in a freezer or a sauna), and I found they were consistent whatever the weather. One thing I did notice was that they can take a while to react when there are big differences in temperature between rides, such as when I went from using them indoors to heading outside in the cold for the next ride. I found it was best to wake them up and leave the bike in the ambient temperature I'd be riding in before doing the calibration about five minutes later.

The Assiomas aren't designed to be used with Rotor Q-Rings, whereas Powertap's P1 pedals are optimised to support the use of non-conventional chainrings.

You can also go cheaper – if you don't mind a bit of DIY and are happy to swap your cranks, there's the double-sided Watteam Powerbeat power meter for £375.

Overall, though, I was very impressed with the Assiomas and at the moment, factoring in value, accuracy and usability, I'd say they're the best power pedals you can buy. Perhaps those black pods could shrink a bit in the future, and accuracy can improve, but the style and function are top notch.

Verdict

A big step forward in pedal-based power and very easy to use, at a currently unbeatable price point