Favero Pro MX clip action Vs XTR

Not XTR, but XT....yeah it's a slightly different feel, mostly ok and getting better. looks almost exactly the same, but haven't worked out the subtle difference yet. Only time I struggle a little is when I have to get clipped first time on a steep restart, and then I fluff it. If there's no pressure it goes in first time....

Sounds similar to my experience. Under pressure of a race start I do not seem to be able to get a clean clip in. Yesterday ended up 1 legged pedalling for a good stretch as the shoes/pedal were so slippy you couldn't even pedal on it. Stuck between wanting to keep the PM but that is 2 really bad starts now that appear to be pedal related and its starting to get into my head (which I'm sure will not help).

I find them ok, not as good as any Shimano, but 10 times better than Garmin pedals.

I know it'd be a pain but since you probably don't need the meter during a race, maybe switch back to.xtr for race days?

I think you just have to spend time getting the neuromuscular memory dialed in. And doing fast starts when it's not a race scenario to dial that one foot in (it's always my left foot). I've had mine a couple of months now, and it's much better than it was. First couple of rides i did however have to finetune the cleat on one shoe to to give it a bit more lateral space on one side, and it was much cleaner clipping after that. I guess there's just a little more pedal to contend with compared to XTR or XT which are pretty much just clip. 

Posted by: scaredypants

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I know it'd be a pain but since you probably don't need the meter during a race, maybe switch back to.xtr for race days?

But does that flip-flopping between pedals mean you're never dialled in either pedals?

Posted by: scaredypants

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I know it'd be a pain but since you probably don't need the meter during a race, maybe switch back to.xtr for race days?

Swapping back to XTR is probably the correct answer as yes I don't need power really. I was hoping it would be a seamless swap and the action would be the same. Don't really need power at all on this bike as I don't do structured training on it. Usage is CX training or racing and I was much wanted to know how much I do produce in race scenarios just out of interest and so logged activities had power for more accurate load tracking. If I did want to keep power one option here is to swap too GRX cranks and use my 4iii LH 105 crank PM instead (with 2.5mm spacer). This could have the additional benefit of removing the tiny 30mm bearings in favour of larger 24mm ones.

Posted by: susepic

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But does that flip-flopping between pedals mean you're never dialled in either pedals?

The bigger issue is the different stack heights needing different saddle positions.

Posted by: susepic

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I think you just have to spend time getting the neuromuscular memory dialed in. And doing fast starts when it's not a race scenario to dial that one foot in (it's always my left foot).

We do a fair number of starts in the weekly CX training and I don't get in cleanly there either. Thinking about it a the two races that had hurdles I wasn't getting in cleanly either. I will have a look at cleat position though as that could be a possibility.

Do you have dual or single sided PMs?

If single sided (left) just put the Favero on that side and start with your left foot clipped in, but run XTR on the drive side...

(I've got a single sided Favero which I swap between different bikes but I only ever bother swapping the NDS and leave the original pedal on the DS. I can't say I've noticed any difference between clip in "quality" but then I don't run XTR!. I'm not bothered at all by having different brand pedals on each crank)

It's a single. There is quite a stack height difference between the favero and xtr, enough that I have to change saddle height when swapping them, so I don't think one of each will work. Maybe with a different shimano it would be ok. I don't care about different pedals as long as the position is the same. 

Swapping between bikes was the ultimate aim so I could have power for CX and MTB in the different seasons. But then MTB race starts are similar. I'm going to preserver a little longer and try tweaking but if I don't solve the issue then I think these will get moved onto my gravel bike and I'll sell the crank PM that is currently on it.

I bought the Favero MX dual-sided pedals just after they were announced. I've used them a fair bit on the gravel and XC bikes, and alternate them with XTR or XT pedals. I use either Shimano or Specialized carbon soled shoes.

I find that the Faveros do not release as reliably as either of the Shimano pedals; I've had a couple of topples when I've been unable to release a shoe (one resulting in  nasty injury to my elbow). I've never, ever had that problem with any Shimano pedal! The Faveros are set with minimum release tension (mid tension on the Shimanos) but I don't think it's the release tension that's the issue... I think it's more to do with the shape of the mechanism.

Additionally, one of my Faveros failed quite early on but was replaced quickly by the supplier.

I think the best combination would be XTR pedals and a crank-based (spider) power meter.

Thanks for the post, all interesting info. I'm also using shimano carbon sole shoes.

Things have moved on since my post above. Checking the bike over this lunch time after the weekend I've found the BB bearings have seized. A common problem on CX bikes but an annoying one when 30mm BBs are more expensive (and I've exhausted my supply of CRC cheap units). In light of that, the back of the Easton cranks being a mud trap and having some eBay balance I've bought a set of GRX cranks. The Faveros will get moved to be shared between my gravel/adventure bike and xc mtb where the pressure to clip in quickly is not there. I'm going to go back to the XTR for racing.