New Garmin Rally power meter pedal family to include SPD-SL and SPD models
New range will include single- and dual-sided options throughout, too.
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Update (24/03/2021): Garmin has now officially announced the new Rally power meter pedal range. Follow the link for official details.
To say that the power meter pedal market is heating up in a hurry would be quite the understatement.
Hot on the heels of Favero’s teasing of a new power meter pedal upgrade compatible with Shimano’s road platform, and Wahoo’s pending release of a long-awaited Speedplay power meter pedal, a revealing post on the TrainerRoad forum now appears that Garmin is about to dramatically expand its range of power meter pedals with six models that encompass the three most popular systems: Shimano SPD-SL road, Look Keo road, and Shimano SPD mountain bike interfaces.
Going along with that is a new name — Rally, instead of Vector — and an alphanumeric nomenclature structure for Garmin’s new pedals. The first two letters now designate the cleat interface (RK for Keo, RS for SPD-SL, and XC for SPD), and the following numbers indicate whether the pedals offer dual-sided or single-sided power measurement (100 for single-sided, 200 for dual-sided).
Based on posted images from an unnamed consumer who was apparently able to buy a set in error from a brick-and-mortar retailer, the Rally XC model features an aluminum body with steel retention hardware, adjustable release tension, and (hopefully) replaceable stainless steel wear plates on the body. Garmin is also sticking to replaceable coin-cell batteries instead of a rechargeable setup, seemingly using the same size as the current Vector 3 road pedals, but with a metal cap that should hold up better than the Vector’s plastic one.
Stack height looks to be quite tall, however, especially as compared to Shimano’s latest XTR model — an unfortunately consequence of packing all of the necessary hardware into such a confined space. But on the plus side, Garmin looks to have provided some extra length to the pedal threads for riders who might want to run a couple of extra spindle washers for a wider stance.
According to the unnamed buyer, the retail price for the dual-sided version was US$1,200.
As for the Shimano SPD-SL0-compatible Rally RS200, all we have to go on at the moment is a picture of the box, which suggests an identical stainless steel spindle assembly, a carbon composite body, and replaceable stainless steel wear plates.
We otherwise don’t yet have any official communication on these from Garmin currently, so we’re also missing key details such as weight, claimed battery life and accuracy, retail pricing, availability, and Garmin’s arrangement — if any — with Shimano to allow a third-party user of its tightly controlled SPD-SL road system.
That said, even this bare-boned information should be more than enough to whet plenty of appetites. Stay tuned for more.