Favero Assioma Pro MX-1 vs MX-2

Favero sells these two as separate products, but they are one product with a different number of sensors. Everything you can see, touch or stand on is the same. That makes this a cleaner comparison than most head-to-heads, because there is exactly one variable.

What is identical

Both pedals use the same hardened 6061-T6 aluminum body on a Shimano SPD two-bolt cleat interface. Both weigh 199 g per pedal with the sensor fitted. Both sit at an 11.2 mm stack height with a 54 mm Q-factor — unusually low and narrow for an off-road pedal, and the reason neither forces a saddle height change. Both use the IAV Power System and both carry Favero's ±1% accuracy claim.

Both also share the same fitting restrictions: no pedal extenders, no crank shorteners, and no cranks thicker than 15 mm at the pedal thread. If your bike falls foul of any of those, neither pedal is an option and you should read best crank power meters instead.

What is different, in order of how much it matters

1. Balance data. The MX-2 measures both legs; the MX-1 measures the left one and doubles it. This is the whole product difference, and it determines the other two.

2. What the ±1% claim describes. On the MX-2, ±1% is the tolerance on your total power. On the MX-1, ±1% is the tolerance on the measurement of one leg — the doubling adds an error on top that no manufacturer can publish, because it is a property of your body rather than the pedal. If you are 50/50 it is zero; if you are 48/52 it is around 4%.

3. Battery life. Favero quotes at least 60 hours per charge for the dual-sided MX-2, the shortest figure in the Assioma family, because two sensors draw from two batteries. The MX-1 runs longer for the opposite reason. On a long off-road day with nowhere to charge, that is a real difference.

The upgrade path changes the maths

Favero sells the sensing right-hand pedal separately, so an MX-1 bought today becomes an MX-2 whenever you decide you want it. That removes most of the risk from choosing the cheaper option, and it is the single strongest argument for starting at MX-1.

It also means the real question is not "which is better" but "do I want to pay for balance data now or later, if ever". Most riders who buy dual-sided discover that their balance is roughly where they expected, stop looking at it inside a month, and would not have missed it.

Who should ignore both

If your shoes take three-bolt road cleats, you are in the wrong product family. The MX line exists to put this measurement on an SPD cleat; the Assioma Duo does the same job for Look Keo and usually costs less than the MX-2. If your riding is entirely indoors, smart trainer vs power meter is the decision to make before this one, because a trainer already reports power.

And if the problem is that no pedal fits your bike — extenders, shorteners or a thick crank — then the honest answer is a crank-based meter. Our best power meters for mountain bikes page ranks the alternatives with that constraint in mind.