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Garmin Rallys with dual XC power, Shimano SPD-SL cleat compatibility & swappable pedal bodies

Written by Jordan Villella
Garmin Rally Pedal XC Full with bikeImage credit: Garmin
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Shortly after finalizing their purchase of MetriGear Inc., Garmin entered the power meter arena around 2011 with the Vector road pedal (pictured below). The pedal unit gave the rider freedom to take power from bike to bike, and although road only, it was the start of a new way for Garmin to measure power.

Garmin Vector Pod OG pedal
The very first power pedal from Garmin, power pod, and all. Image credit: Garmin

In subsequent years, Garmin released three iterations of the Vector Power pedals, each gaining new ways of using their technology to improve pedaling performance and offer true isolated right and left leg power readings.

Garmin Rally Pedal LOOK
Image Credit: Garmin

Garmin’s new Rally pedal line takes the groundwork laid with Vector and jumps towards mountain bike and Shimano road cleat compatibility while adding the ability to swap whole pedal bodies.

Garmin Rally Pedal road riding spring
Image credit: Garmin

Garmin Rally: What are the updates?

The significant updates come via cleat compatibility, pedal body swaps, and a mountain bike version of the pedal. Until recently, Garmin’s pedal-based power meters were only available in the road and, more specifically, LOOK compatible cleat style. The Rally line brings not only an updated version of the LOOK (now referred to as Rally RK) but three different popular cleat styles, including mountain bikes, to the market.

Garmin Rally Pedal side shot with bater cover
Image credit: Garmin

The Rally pedal line arrives with various options to best fit the rider and their power/pricing needs. Each pedal comes available in a 100 or 200 model – 100 noting a single drive-side power meter pedal and 200 noting a dual, right and left side power.

Garmin Rally Pedal metal threads battery cover
Updated metal threads and battery contact cover. Image Credit: Garmin

When Garmin updated the pedal’s construction, they also added metal threads for easier service and longevity. The nylon threads of the Vector 3 didn’t pose any issues, but if your goal is to be able to swap pedal bodies back and forth, having more durable threads here makes sense.

Garmin Rally Pedal disassembled
Garmin Rally pedals road and XC disassembled -looking pretty simple to replace and swap. Image Credit: Garmin

Garmin is now offering full pedal bodies for purchase, for those looking to ride road, mountain, and everything in between. The pedal bodies are cheaper than getting a full set of pedals and Garmin estimates the swap time for a spindle from pedal to pedal at around 5 – 10 minutes for a mechanic with knowledge of any pedal service. Judging from the video on servicing the Garmin Vector 3, we guess the swap will be reasonably straightforward.

Garmin Rally; power metrics, battery life

The Rally pedals offer the same metrics with single or dual side power readings, cadence, and a slew of cycling dynamics that are available via the Garmin Connect and Connect IQ app. Different metrics include power, right/left balance, cleat positioning, and much more. It’s clear Garmin wants users to explore its Garmin Connect App and integrate with the other products in the family.

Garmin Rally Pedal XC Side of Rally logo
Image credit: Garmin

Garmin claims the battery life on the Rally pedals is up to 120 hours – the Vector 3 did have some battery issues initially – hopefully, this new cover and contact fitting cleared any of that up. The new Rally pedals use ANT+ or Bluetooth connectivity, making them a great option for riders looking to add power to their indoor training setup.

Extreme testing conditions

Garmin Rally Pedal gravel Prototype
Garmin Rally Pedal gravel Prototype. Image Credit: Garmin

The capability to replace and swap makes this pedal extremely attractive for those who constantly break equipment (quietly raises hand). Garmin assured us that the Rally XC pedal went through crazy testing to ensure it will meet the standard of modern ‘cross, OXC, and ultra-endurance gravel events.

Garmin Rally Pedal close up of pedal threads
Image Credit: Garmin

This is also why the stack height on the Rally XC pedal is a bit higher than usual, coming in at 13.5mm compared against the Shimano XTR M9100 pedal at 8.1mm. Garmin claims adding some extra material around the pedal gives a more robust package – keeping the power measuring internals safe from crank clips and rock bashes – sound logic. All pedals in the Rally family have a max rider weight of 105kg or roughly 231lbs.

Garmin Rally Pedal Drafting view of the road pedal
Image Credit: Garmin

Testing for the Rally road and XC pedals occurred in a variety of conditions utilizing the talents of professional athletes and Garmin employees alike. The testing covered:

  • 6,000 rides and over 11,000 hours of ride time
  • 125 test riders rolling 200,000 KM/125,000 Miles
  • Temperatures ranging from -18C-0F to 40C/105F
  • Exhaustive singular ride testing at 430 miles/47 hours

Garmin Rally Models & Pricing

Garmin Rally Pedal XC Full with bike
Image credit: Garmin

Rally RK: LOOK Keo

Garmin Rally Pedal LOOK
Image Credit: Garmin

Stack height: 12.2mm
Weight: 320g
Pedal price : RK100 – $649.99, RK200 – $1,099.99
RK Conversion body – $199.99
Cleat compatibility: LOOK

Rally RS: Shimano SPD-SL

Garmin Rally Pedal SHIMANO
Image Credit: Garmin

Stack height: 12.2mm
Weight: 326g
Pedal price: RS100 – $649.99, RS200 – $1,099.99
RS Conversion body – $199.99
Cleat compatibility: Shimano SPD-SL

Rally XC: Shimano XC

Garmin Rally Pedal XC full pedal
Image credit: Garmin

Stack height: 13.5mm
Weight: 444g
Pedal Price: XC100 – $699.99, XC200 – $1,199.99
XC Conversion body – $199.99
Cleat compatibility: Shimano SPD

Garmin Rally Pedal XC Both pedals side by side
Image credit: Garmin

Availability:

The Garmin Rally Pedals are available now at your local Garmin dealer or online. You can check out more videos and photos at www.garmin.com.  Check back for a full review of the Garmin Rally pedals.
Jordan Villella
403 articles

Jordan Villella is the Racing Tech Editor for BikeRumor.com, specializing in cross-country mountain, gravel, road, and cyclocross. He has written about bicycles and bike culture for over fifteen years with no signs of stopping.

Before BikeRumor, Jordan raced professionally and wrote for MTBR and the now-defunct Dirt Rag Magazine. He’s covered the World Championships, World Cups, and everything in between — where he loves to report what people are riding.

Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Jordan coaches cyclists of all abilities with Cycle-Smart; you can find him racing bikes around North America and adventuring with his family.

For an inside look at his review rides follow him on Strava.

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Involuntary Soul
Involuntary Soul
3 years ago

for one dual side you can get two quarq spiders, spider based powermeter is indestructible, my 2009 quarq riken is still kicking it

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Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot
3 years ago

Damn, lucky me if this was made by any other company than Garmin I’d be $850 poorer now.

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monstercrosser
monstercrosser
3 years ago
Reply to  Crash Bandicoot

Actually the SRM Pedals, which are far better quality, are about the same.

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threeringcircus
threeringcircus
3 years ago

Skepticism about Garmin quality aside, even if they work great, there are crank-based options that also work great for much less if you use Shimano, SRAM, Campy, Rotor, etc. Still, good to have this option for those using either older cranks or those from smaller manufacturers that don’t currently have a PM option (e.g., White Industries).

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Mr Pink
Mr Pink
3 years ago

White Industries should team up with SRM on a powermeter option. Made in the USA cranks and made in the USA power meters. Done!

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Keefar
Keefar
3 years ago
Reply to  Mr Pink

Last time I checked SRM was a German company

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Robin
Robin
3 years ago

The SRM pedals are of better quality? There have been no shortage of issues with SRM pedals, be those for the road or off-road.

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Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot
3 years ago

Oddly enough I thought about this and should probably just order a stages or 4iiii single leg PM for my mtb for $300. I’ve used stages on the road for the last few years and it’s been flawless. I’ve actually run it with Powertap hubs and a second head unit in my back pocket to compare the #s and they’re near identical my power profile is luckily square 50/50 even up to 6.5 hours.

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JD
JD
3 years ago

To everyone saying “yeah but a crank based power meter costs less”:
How about if you have an cx bike, a gravel bike and a mountain bike? Are 3 crank based power meters cheaper than an easily swappable pedal based one?

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Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot
3 years ago
Reply to  JD

I get what you’re saying and probably better in your use case but doing the math, you’re looking at $850 for the single sided option and a mtb or road pedal body. You can find crank arm based units for 300 a pop (Jesus remember when PMs were like $2k?) coming in at $50 premium to avoid the faff of swapping pedals isn’t a bad option. I played with the pedal idea with my TT bike and ended up buying a separate pm since I know I wouldn’t be disciplined enough to not get lazy and use the cordless impact wrench to zip off the pedal and zip it back on.

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Collin S
Collin S
3 years ago

I have had the Single Sided XC100 pedals for 2 rides now. I’ve been riding with power for over a decade now and have had 3 powertaps, 3 stages, a Quarq, a Power2Max and a Wahoo Kickr, so I have a pretty good feel on what numbers feel like. Here is my initial review.

First, pairing was without issue using a Wahoo head unit. It quickly found the ANT signal, and once it was detected, I was able to change the crank length (defaults to 172.5mm). The instructions right out of the box are a little thin as they are mainly just pictorial based. It didn’t give a great instructions on how to calibrate. Stages requires the crank to be at 6 o’clock, other powermeters just need the cranks to be still, and older powertaps back in the day you had to spin the cranks backwards. Googling calibrating the Vectors came up saying just calibrate when nothing is touching it. Hitting calibrate the first time, it just kept giving the “calibrating” message for about 30 seconds followed by calibration failed. I hit retry and it calibrated almost instantly, said torque offset 0.00.

Right out the driveway/down my dirt road, the numbers seemed inflated quite a bit. The numbers were right around my threshold power right out the door which normally I can’t hold until I warm up for a little bit. I got stuck at a light. Pulling away from it as it turned green I did a hard acceleration (I wouldn’t call it an all out sprint) and glancing down, it said my power was in excess of 1000 watts…which unless every other powermeter I’ve own has been lying to me, wasn’t right.

However, after about 5-10 minutes, the numbers seemed to settle down and where much more believable. The rest of the ride was uneventful. I had about a 50/50 mix of road and trail. Anyone expecting useful info on a twisty single-track, will be disappointed. Like the mtb powertap and older stages I’ve own in the past, numbers on the trail are either 500-700 watts or zero. When you get done and look at your average power for a really hard lap, you will surely be underwhelmed. Your average power will probably be only 60-75% of what you could hold on the road for the equivalent time. Power on the mountain bike is really for all that time spent riding to and from the trail unless you are somewhere that has long sustained climbs or really long open stretches.

After the ride, one notable oddity was the max power for the ride was severely inflated. It said my max power was around 1300 watts, about 3-400 higher then I will see in an all out sprint. Comparing my power/time graph, the 1-2 second power was the only thing that was out of whack compared to historical data.

Ride two was a little more mundane. I recalibrated before the ride. Again it failed calibration the first time, but when I clicked retry, it gave a successful message. Out the door, power numbers appeared normal/believable. Rode the 4-5 miles to the trail head, did a hot lap of my local trail, and rode home. Once again my max power was super high at 1500ish watts. I suspect that a single rouge spike is causing the issue. Your 1 second power is a worthless figure, so I am not worried about it. As long as the main numbers stay inline, then I am not worried.

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