It’s easy to lump all mountain bikers into one category, but the reality is that mountain biking is unique. There is no ‘one-type’ of mountain biker – some love to just get outside and away from the busyness of life with no worry about miles or speed. Then there are others who are always striving to improve, whether that be learning a new skill, pushing their limits on new trails, or just getting faster and trying their hand at racing. 

If you find yourself falling into the latter category, and are straight onto Strava post-ride to see how you did, you might benefit from a training tool like a power meter. Power meters can be useful to mountain bikers in the same way they do gravel riders or cyclocross riders – by keeping track of your progression, and allowing you to tailor outdoor rides to specific workouts. Until now, there’s not been a great deal of choice for those wanting to track their power off-road, which is what makes the Favero Assioma PRO MX power pedals so useful. 

Not only are they easy to install and offer accurate readings, but they’re also affordable

What kind of mountain biker do you need to be to benefit from power pedals?

When you think of training and racing, you probably think cross-country riders. Which, isn’t inaccurate, but many types of mountain bikers could benefit from a power meter. If you ride clipped in, then why not try it? If you want to keep an eye on your fitness progress, or match up your heart rate to a new metric, then a power meter could be the way to go. 

And, you won’t need any special bits of kit – the Assioma PRO MX pedals are compatible with any bike brand and are incredibly easy to install, as they act like regular pedals. It also means they’re easy to swap between bikes, if you’re lucky enough to own more than one.

The Assioma PRO MX pedals are SPD compatible, which means they offer the same mud-shedding benefits as other SPD pedals and cleats. We can attest to this after some pretty muddy rides in our test pair, and we didn’t need to resort to using a stick to clear out the mud so we could actually clip-in, either. 

The Assioma PRO MX pedals offer plenty of metrics which you can view when paired with compatible software

Benefits of the Assioma PRO MX pedals for mountain bikers

You don’t need to be a pro cyclist to benefit from a power meter pedal, you just need to be able to ride clipped in! And if you’re not confident with that, it’s easy to adjust the pedals so they’re easier to clip in and out of.

The pedals themselves are also extremely robust. All the technology is protected within the stainless-steel axle, so you don’t need to worry about rock strikes or riding through tonnes of mud. The pedal bodies are completely free of electronics, and can be replaced for around £60 if they start to wear. 

They’re also more affordable than a lot of competitor power meters. For the single-sided option, you’re looking at £383.93, and for the dual-sided, £640.52. 

The pedal body is swappable and contains none of the important electronics, so you can be sure the pedals will last in mountain biking terrain

Assioma PRO MX metrics

The Assioma PRO MX pedals also offer more than just a single power reading, and that’s what makes them such an insightful training tool. Power is more than just a number – it’s all relative to what you’re doing and when. 

The dual-side option of the Pro MX pedals offer further metrics like left and right balance, which indicates how much work each leg is putting in. This kind of information is great for anyone recovering from an injury that wants to track their strength and recovery. 

These pedals also utilise a built-in cadence sensor, so you don’t need an external one to get that reading. Using the ANT+ capabilities of the pedals, you can connect a Garmin cycling computer to generate further cycling dynamics data. This includes things like power phase, which demonstrates where in your pedal stroke the positive torque is produced. 

There is also the platform centre offset, which identifies where the force is distributed across the pedal platform during the pedal stroke. This might be useful for those looking to fine-tune their cleat position and enhance power transfer through the pedals. 

The Pro MX pedals can even showcase more parameters like normalised power, intensity factor, training stress score, and more if you connect to them with compatible software (for example, Garmin Edge computers). So if you’re a data hawk, and want to see improvements in your riding, whether that’s efficiency or fitness, then a power meter pedal like the Assioma PRO MX’s could be the next step in your training journey. 

Discover more, including road or MTB power meter pedals on the Assioma website.