Power Meter Pedals and Cleat Compatibility

Pedal power meters are the easiest kind to live with: no crank compatibility list, no bottom bracket standard, no bonded sensor, and five minutes to move between bikes. They have exactly one hard constraint, and it is the one people discover after ordering — the pedal has to take the cleat on your shoes.

Work out what you have

Turn a shoe over. Three bolt holes arranged in a triangle is the road standard, and the cleat bolted to it will be either Shimano SPD-SL (usually a wide plastic cleat, often yellow, blue or red) or Look Keo (a narrower plastic cleat, often grey, red or black). Two bolt holes in a line, usually in a recess, is SPD: mountain bike, gravel, commuting and most indoor cycling shoes.

That is the whole diagnosis. Shimano SPD-SL and Look Keo cleats are not interchangeable even though both use three bolts, and SPD is a different world entirely.

Why this decides the purchase

Changing cleat system is not a small job. New cleats, usually new shoes, a new float preference to get used to and a new set of bolt positions to dial in. Riders who have spent a season getting their position right are rightly unwilling to throw it away to buy a sensor.

That is why the honest version of "which power meter pedal should I buy" starts with the shoes and not the specification sheet. All four pedals on this page claim ±1%; the measurement is effectively a non-issue between them. The cleat is the real variable.

The one system that lets you change your mind

Garmin's Rally is built differently. The strain gauges live in the spindle and the pedal body bolts onto it, so the same power meter can be an RK (Look Keo), an RS (Shimano SPD-SL) or an XC (two-bolt SPD) depending on which body is fitted. Conversion kits are sold separately.

You pay for that flexibility up front — Rally costs more than the Favero equivalents, and the body kit is another purchase on top. Whether it is worth it depends entirely on how likely you think a cleat change is. A rider who has ridden Keo for a decade should buy the cheaper dedicated pedal. A rider who is about to buy a gravel bike should think harder.

The short answer

The pedal for each cleat system

#	Product	Best for	Score	Price
1	Favero Assioma Pro RS-2 If your shoes are drilled three-bolt and your cleats are Shimano, this is the pedal the rest of the comparison is arguing about.	Best for Shimano SPD-SL cleats	9.1★★★★★9.1 out of 10	$809.99 · View on Amazon #ad We may earn a commission · Price as of October 21, 2026
2	Favero Assioma Duo The default road power meter if you are already on Look Keo cleats, or if you are starting from scratch and can choose either.	Best for Look Keo cleats	9.0★★★★★9.0 out of 10	$539.93 · View on Amazon #ad We may earn a commission · Price as of October 21, 2026
3	Favero Assioma Pro MX-2 The SPD answer: if your shoes have two bolt holes and recessed cleats, this is the pedal power meter built for them.	Best for Shimano SPD (two-bolt) cleats	8.9★★★★☆8.9 out of 10	$804.99 · View on Amazon #ad We may earn a commission · Price as of October 21, 2026
4	Garmin Rally RK200 The insurance policy: if you think you might change cleat system in the next few years, Garmin is the only system that lets you keep the power meter.	Best if you want to change cleat system later	8.9★★★★☆8.9 out of 10	$649.99 · View on Amazon #ad We may earn a commission · Price as of October 21, 2026

What about Speedplay?

Speedplay riders have one option rather than a choice: Wahoo's Powrlink Zero is the Speedplay-pattern power meter pedal. There is no Favero or Garmin equivalent, so if you ride Speedplay and want power in the pedal, that is the product.

If you ride flat pedals — and plenty of indoor riders do — no pedal power meter applies at all, and the answer is a crank-based meter instead. Our best crank power meters page ranks those, and pedals vs cranks works through the format argument.

Three practical notes before you order

Stack height changes your saddle height.A thicker pedal raises your foot, which effectively lowers your saddle. Favero's Pro RS-2 is 10.5 mm and the MX pedals are 11.2 mm, both low, but if you are coming off a very thin pedal it is worth checking your position after fitting.

Crank thickness and accessories.Favero publishes a hard restriction: no pedal extenders, no crank shorteners, and no cranks thicker than 15 mm at the pedal thread. If any of those apply to your bike, a pedal meter is not an option at all.

Cleats are usually included, but check. Pedals in this category normally ship with a set of cleats. If you are converting a Garmin Rally to a different body, the kit is the thing to check — and the cleats you already own may not be the float you want.

If you only ride indoors

Then the cleat question is less binding, because you are not walking anywhere and you can keep a dedicated pair of shoes for the trainer bike. It is also worth asking whether you need a power meter at all: a smart trainer already reports power, and smart trainer vs power meter covers which to buy first.