Poll for those who ride clipless

[GLC1968]

Ok, I have a question. I was leading a training ride for beginners last week when one of the riders who was trying out her new clipless pedals for the first time asked me a question for which I had no answer. She asked if the foot that a person unclips with is related to what 'hand' they are (i.e. hand they write with)?

I couldn't say for sure because I unclip with my left foot and I'm right-handed EXCEPT for sports. I do gymnastics, iceskate and play tennis left-handed. So I'm a bad example. My husband is truly ambidexterous for athletics (all of them) and he also unclips the left foot.

So I need to ask some people who are truly left-handed or right-handed...

So here's the poll...

(bear with me, I've never done a poll on TE before!)

[Jiffer]

I'm right handed and unclip the right first. My right leg is stronger and that's the leg I want stability with for stopping and holding up the bike. I snowboard "regular", which is typical for right handed people. However, my daughter is right handed and snowboards "goofy", which is typically how left handed people board. She also skateboards like a lefty.

I think unclipping with the leg on the side that is your "stronger" side (that you write with, etc.) would probably be the norm, but certainly not a rule to live by. Each person has to go with whatever feels right to them.

While we're on this subject, I don't get why it is referred to as going "clipless", when in fact, there ARE clips! It seems to me that clipless would refer to pedals that you don't clip into. Is this just a TE term that some confused TE person came up with or is this actually how it is referred to in the cycling world. DH has been cycling a long time and has never heard of using clips as being "clipless".

I've been going to ask for some time, so this seemed an opportune time! :)

[makbike]

It simply depends on which bike I'm riding. If I'm on my "little blue bike" (DF) I unclip my right foot first. If I'm on my recumbent I unclip my left foot first. Go figure!

[Chile Pepper]

While we're on this subject, I don't get why it is referred to as going "clipless", when in fact, there ARE clips! It seems to me that clipless would refer to pedals that you don't clip into. :)

Well, before there were clipless pedals, there were pedals with toe clips--the old straps that you just shoved your feet into. So when the toe clips were eliminated, the pedals were called clipless.


I'm right handed and I clip my right foot out first.

[GLC1968]

Nope, 'clipless' is definitely not a TE thing. It refers to riding without toe clips as shown is this picture (sorry, it's the best one I could find):
http://www.campyonly.com/images/catalogs/1987/bottles0003.jpg

[Tri Girl]

Interesting question... never really thought about it.
I'm a lefty and unclip with my right foot. I do so because my left leg is stronger, and when I get going again I want to start my downstroke with my strongest leg. Just the opposite of others it seems. I don't want my strong leg down, I want it on the pedal so I can take off strong. :)

[northstar]

Right handed, clip out right foot first.

I think it's important to do what comes naturally! Thinking too hard makes clipping out way harder than it should be! :p But I did notice the other day that it feels "funny" to me if I unclip my left foot first. Hmmm...

[NJBikeGal]

I am a righty who unclips right foot first.

Oddly enough, nearly my entire team unclips left first. When our coach is talking to us about getting off the starting line, he always says things like, "Don't look down, your left foot will find the pedal." Which is funny because it's my right foot that has to find it! So, I've started to practice both, thinking that there may be times when I'll have to use the other foot?! :o

[short cut sally]

I am right handed, and would say 99% of the time I unclip right leg first. Sometimes, I have unclipped both at same time depending on situation. I always clip in with my right foot, bring up to the noon position so I can start my pedal stroke to get going.

[spokewench]

If I'm riding a road bike, i unclip with my left foot (i'm right handed)

If i'm riding my mountain bike, it just depends on the terrain and sometimes when you have to get out quickly, so I can unclip either side, any time. I can't clip in backwards though or I don't think I've ever tried. What I mean is I start clipped in with my left foot and then mount the bike and clip in my right foot.

Oh, I guess there is one exception to the clip in thing. When I am doing cyclocross, I jump on the bike unclipped so when I swing my foot over the bike and slide down, I guess I do clip in first on the right side since that is the pedal that is up and I engage that pedal first.

spoke

[dex]

...when I get going again I want to start my downstroke with my strongest leg. Just the opposite of others it seems. I don't want my strong leg down, I want it on the pedal so I can take off strong. :)

That's my rationale, too. (I'm also a right-hander who unclips on the left first.)

[Jiffer]

Thank you Chile Pepper and GLC1968. It still doesn't make sense, but thanks for the explanation. :) This site is the only place I hear the term "clipless", so I had to ask. Everyone in my world refers to it as "clipping in" or "using clips", which is the exact opposite of what "clipless" SHOULD mean!

[Flybye]

I am right handed and unclip my left foot first.

I once unclipped my right foot and tried to put my left foot down and ended up falling over - ouch and DOH!!!:o

[Aggie_Ama]

I am right handed and unclip left first. I use TriGirl's logic about the stronger leg being my "push off" leg. When I started riding clipless I never thought about it, taking the left out first just seemed right. DH is right handed and usually unclips right first.

[maillotpois]

I'm right handed, but my left leg is stronger (and the left calf slightly bigger judging from how my boots fit :D ) so I like to power off with the left left first - same as Trigirl. So I always unclip the right first and don't unclip the left unless I actually have to get off the bike for some reason.

DH always gives me a safety lecture about it and we generally try to teach our new riders to unclip with the left foot, because if you're going to fall, you will fall towards the side that is still clipped in, which means falling into traffic if the left is still clipped in. One of many "Do as I say, not as I do" things - but habits are hard to break. :rolleyes:

[michelem]

I'm right-handed and unclip the left foot first. This is for aesthetic reasons only - it prevents chain tattoo! :)

[sgtiger]

I'm right-handed and clip out mostly from the right, but not always. One of the factors may have to do with having a bike that was too big for me when I was a teen. At stops I would roll over to the curb and put my right foot down on it, otherwise I would have to stand there with my leg hooked over the top tube.:rolleyes:

[kiwi girl]

Everyone in my world refers to it as "clipping in" !

Yeah - so you end up having discussions about clipping into your clipless pedals:rolleyes:

I'm another righty who unclips on the left so I can get started with the first down stroke on my stronger leg

[BikeDutchess]

I'm right-handed (with one exception*) and unclip right foot first. I don't think I ever consciously thought about it, just have always done it that way. I think it's because I like to push off the ground with my stronger leg (just like when I was little and rode a scooter :) ).

*[The exception is when I had to learn to do venipunctures, I taught myself to stick with my left hand so I wouldn't have to switch hands (and risk jiggling the needle) in order to swap out the tubes. Yes, an odd bit of trivia...]

[luvs2ride]

what an interesting question !! I am right handed and unclip with my left foot. I am new to all of this and the only reason I do it with this foot is because this is how DH does it and he was my "teacher." I learned the "pedal thing" by riding behind him and literally, doing what he does, etc. I find that I can push off with my left foot with a stong pedal strong with my stong, right leg which gets me on my way. My left foot usually "finds" the pedal but I still need to look down from time to time.

Afraid to change things up cause who knows what could happen!

Blessings!
Susan

[7rider]

I am right handed, and my left leg is stronger, but I still clip out my left foot first. I don't know why. Habit? Balance? I think if I tried to unclip my right first, I'd probably still lean left and fall over. :eek:

[twinkie]

I'm right handed, and I usually clip out with my left foot first. Like some of the other ladies, I prefer to push off on my stronger, right foot and then fiddle around to get the left foot clipped in.

My BF, however, thinks I should clip out with my right foot first. He was worried (given my tendency to fall) that I would clip out with my left, slip (my shoes are slippery!) and fall into traffic. He figured that if I clipped out with my right foot first, I would be able to lean onto my right leg and away from traffic. It makes sense for safety reasons, but I have a really hard time pushing off starting with my left leg.

[mtbdarby]

Hi, my name is Dar and I'm usually right handed and I tend to unclip the left foot first:p I'm semi ambidextrious - I even have my breaks switched around so my right hand controls my front wheel. Just seems more natural to me. Or I'm weird (careful X!). Take your pick....

[emily_in_nc]

what an interesting question !! I am right handed and unclip with my left foot. I am new to all of this and the only reason I do it with this foot is because this is how DH does it and he was my "teacher." I learned the "pedal thing" by riding behind him and literally, doing what he does, etc.

Same here. Right-handed, unclip on the right first, because that's the way DH taught me. I can't imagine doing it any other way now, so I think it's just the way I learned. If I had taught myself, I might do it the other way, I guess. Even after fracturing my pelvis and being non-weight bearing on the right side for quite some time, when I finally got back on the bike, I unclipped first on the right, leaned right, and put all my weight on that (recently healed) side. Now that I think about it, maybe that was not so smart, but it's the only way I can seem to do it. I know it's best to be able to unclip either side depending on circumstances, but I am just not that coordinated on my left side!

Emily

[five one]

I'm right handed, and I usually clip out with my left foot first. Like some of the other ladies, I prefer to push off on my stronger, right foot and then fiddle around to get the left foot clipped in.

My BF, however, thinks I should clip out with my right foot first. He was worried (given my tendency to fall) that I would clip out with my left, slip (my shoes are slippery!) and fall into traffic. He figured that if I clipped out with my right foot first, I would be able to lean onto my right leg and away from traffic. It makes sense for safety reasons, but I have a really hard time pushing off starting with my left leg.

I'm also right handed and clip out on the left. DH clips out on the right for the reason above and suggested I do the same when I was just learning how. First time out, I slowed down and unclipped on the right, but my brain wanted my left foot to unclip. I struggled, panicked, and fell over. Unfortunately, I fell wrong and ended up in the ER with a radial head fracture in my elbow. It was 12 weeks before I was physically comfortable riding again. I think my subconscious has total forgotten starting over again. But I did it. I now unclip only on the left, but have enough confidence to unclip on the right in a panic situation.

[Crankin]

Another righty who unclips left. But, like others, my left side is much stronger, so it's not the starting out with the stronger leg thing. I pretty much do everything lefty, except writing. My laterality is really messed up, along with my depth perception, so I do what won't kill me. No one ever told me which side to clip in/out of. I think that originally started doing the right side, but for some reason I switched. I think I would kill myself if I tried to unclip on the right on my road bike, but on my mountain bike, sometimes I do. I can barely take my right hand off the bar to signal that's how weird I am, never had any problems with the left. I can only do the water bottle with my left hand, too (hey, at least I can drink and ride now, without the Camelbak).

[kiwi girl]

Being in NZ where we drive on the left hand side, unclipping with the left has that safety feature of if you tip over in the direction of tyring to unclip you fall away from traffic (I haven't fallen for not be able to unclip on the road bike since my first month on clipless pedals - hopefully I haven't jinked myself)

[latelatebloomer]

I'm right-handed and unclip right-footed - because I'm a bit of a klutz and it's just better to give the job to my more coordinated side - and also, when I got started, I liked the idea of being headed away from traffic if I miscalculate.

By the way, sometime during my brain injury specialist training, they told us that "handedness" is an ancient animal instinct - so that if you quickly need to defend your life, you don't have to decide which paw to use - it just gets out there!:p

[annie]

My first, without any thought, clip-out, is right-foot. I am right-handed. However, I TRY to vary that and clip out with my left. I know I want to have the ability to clip out FAST, if needed, and that could be from either side. So right clip-out is an instinctive behavior. Left is a learned behavior, which I am STILL trying to learn. Most of the time, I forget to try it. :(

Annie

[ATL Laura]

I am a righty and for a while I was a left unclipper. Then I noticed that my left cleat (is that what the thing is called on the bottom of your shoe that clips into the pedal?) was wearing down a lot more quickly on the left side than on the right side, so I decided to become an ambidextrous unclipper hoping that the cleats would wear down at a more even pace. Well, in my mind I decided to become an ambidextrous unclipper, but my body has been fighting it :)

[Jo-n-NY]

I am right handed and unclip with the right foot. My left foot never unclips unless I am getting off the bike. That is the foot I get into postion to start off again and push off with. It is weird because although I am right handed, if I ride with one hand on the handle bar, I am fine with my left hand, but am not stable with only my right hand. :confused:

~ JoAnn

[IFjane]

Ok. I answered the poll by saying I'm left handed & unclip right. However, there are a few things I do right-handed - cutting with scissors & playing tennis for example. Just don't try to get me to hold a pen in my right hand. I can't begin to do it! :cool:

[SalsaMTB]

I'm left handed but right footed. My right leg is stronger and more coordinated, so I unclip with my left so I can start with my right. For mountain biking though, as others have said, I just unclip whichever is necessary, but always start with my right clipped in.

I'm a creature of habit...I always mount my bike from my right side (bike's left side) and on straight technical downhills always coast with my right foot forward.

[SouthernBelle]

Right handed, left clip out.

As to the name "clipless", we call them that because it is the proper name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_pedal

[GLC1968]

Wow, thanks for all the responses! I guess it's a pretty even split and apparently, this means it's probably not even remotely related to what hand you write or do everything else with! And I admit that I have no idea which foot I unclip first when I ride my mountain bike...I think it depends on whats around me.

I was talking about this with DH last night and it turns out that he made a conscious choice to unclip with the left foot when he first started road riding. He figured that the left foot will always land on road. If you unclip the right first and go to put your foot down, who knows what you might step in...puddle, pothole, low shoulder, glass, etc. I never thought of that, but I guess it makes sense (at least in a country where you drive on the right).

Anyway, today I'm going to try unclipping with the right foot first for a few stops just to see how it feels. :)

[VeloVT]

Like SalsaMTB, I'm a (somewhat ambidextrous, right-batting, right golf-swinging, tennis-backhand-switching) lefty who's rightfooted. So I unclip left so I can start off with my dominant leg. I never thought about this when I was learning to use clipless pedals, it just happened that way. I used to ride around a parking lot clipping and unclipping both feet, and ended up being a left-unclipper because it was more comfortable... Since I'm right footed though, it makes sense to me... I also coast right-forward.

The traffic explanation (safer to unclip left so you'll fall out of traffic if you happen to lean the wrong way) never occurred to me but seems like a good idea :)!

[sah]

Right handed and unclip right foot first

[stacie]

right handed, unclip left so i can use stronger leg to get going. someone pointed out to me once the advantage of falling away from the traffic as well. Bonus.

[Eden]

I'm left handed but right footed. My right leg is stronger and more coordinated, so I unclip with my left so I can start with my right.

I'm a creature of habit...I always mount my bike from my right side (bike's left side) and on straight technical downhills always coast with my right foot forward.

What Salsa said, but opposite. Right handed and left footed....
my left is the stronger leg so I always clip out with the right, so that I'm starting with the left.

[DDH]

You know I had to think about this for a minute before I could answer. I have always just done what felt natural and never thought about it.
But I am right and unclip left. I think it's because like some of the other girls said, I want my stronger leg to push off with. At least I guess that is what my brain was thinking cause that's what happened without me even realizing it.

[rij73]

Interesting question... never really thought about it.
I'm a lefty and unclip with my right foot. I do so because my left leg is stronger, and when I get going again I want to start my downstroke with my strongest leg. Just the opposite of others it seems. I don't want my strong leg down, I want it on the pedal so I can take off strong. :)

That's exactly why I'm a righty and unclip the left! :D

[RoadRaven]

Right-handed

Unclip on left...

Like MicheleM - its partly aesthetics... avoids chain tattoos (or cuts!)

Like Kiwi its so that if I fall I fall off the road, not onto it...

Like luvs to ride and emily, its the way my partner taught me...

[uk elephant]

I am very right handed, I do everything with my right hand. And my right leg is far stronger, although all my injuries are also on the right side. Come to think of it, everything I do is done mostly with the right half of my body....hm.....I should work on that.....I always unclip the left leg first, because coasting or pushing off I want the weight on my right leg/side which is far more stable. I also always coast with the weight on my right side.

[Andrea]

I am right handed and unclip with the right foot, but it's just because right after I started riding, my left cleat got stuck on a 55 miler and I had to keep it clipped in for the duration and only unclip my right foot. After that, I just kept doing it that way. Before that, I was an ambiped unclipper :D

[SadieKate]

It depends so I didn't vote.

If I'm mountainbiking, it's whatever foot is necessary to keep me upright. You have to swing both ways on a mountainbike.

If I'm on the road, I clip out on the left and am righthanded. Reasons are:

1) Putting your right foot down (in the US) means the pavement is lower (sometimes much lower). It slopes away from you with the crown of the road. Between the slope and road debris, it's easier to have your right foot slip. I've seen it happen on tandems and I don't want to be one of the victims. I was riding clipless long before there were lugged mountain bike shoes, so bike shoes did not have any traction. Plus, you do what your tandem pilot does - same foot, period, end of story.

2) Chain grease. Like Michele said, it's hard to get grease on your leg if it stays attached to the pedal.

[HappyAnika]

Ok, I'm a little late on this, but I wonder if there is a correlation between which foot you unclip with and which side of the bike you get on. I think I'm weird in that I have my bike on my left side before getting on, so I swing my left leg over. (But when I'm walking with it, it's on my right side, which means lots of shuffling before getting on). I'm right handed and I unclip with my right foot. Another thing I'm "backward" on is that when I sling a bag over one shoulder, it's always my left, don't know if that has anything to do with anything . . .:rolleyes:

[Eden]

I've started wondering if I habitually clip out with my right foot because that leg is longer? My coach put a whole pile of shims in my left cleat a few months ago when she determined that one was shorter.

[RoadRaven]

Well, I swing over the frame with my right leg, and I clip in first with my right foot, and give the first down-push of power onto my pedal with my right foot/leg...


But as I said on the previous page, always unclip on the left...

LOL, you ambidextrous gals... I'd just outsmart myself and do slo-mo falls ALL the time if i didn't keep it predicatable!!! :p :D

[hurleygirl]

You know, I haven't thought about this for a while but..

I'm right handed and naturally unclipped the right foot.

But, to prevent the "Cat 5 Tattoo" I switched over to my left foot after several years of unclipping the right foot. I had absolutely no trouble with the switch.

Asking me to reach for my water battle with my left hand is a whole different story. That should be the next poll.

[suzieqtwa]

I unclip with my right foot ,and Im right handed...my left foot never comes out of the clip in less Im getting off the bike.

[Cyclebird]

Hi,

I'm a beginner and am learning to use clipless pedals. I've had a very trying time with falling. This thread has me thinking that maybe my problem is related to clipping out on the right when in most situations, my left leg is dominant. I've had my LBS look at the cleats and pedals to see if they can part more easily. Now, they do. I really would like to master clipping out. Will try the left on my next ride. Ah,ha!

[KnottedYet]

My left leg is dominant, but I prefer to clip out with the right leg. When I go for the water bottle I use my right arm (I'm left arm dominant.)

I figure I like to leave my dominant arm and leg in control of the bike (cuz in my mind that's the important stuff) and the the non-dominant side do the goofy stuff.

[Lise]

I'm right handed, and unclip ambidextrously. I unclip whichever foot needs to go down at the time. Usually that's the right, to stop at a curb/stoplight, but sometimes it's the left, if I'm in the left turn lane, for example.

So I couldn't participate in the poll, because it's only my feet that are ambidextrous! I'm pretty aggressively right handed. I used to say that my left hand was there for decoration only, but then I began to appreciate all the things my left hand does. It does a lot. Props to the left hand. :p

[lph]

I haven't read the whole thread ('net is really slow here today, maddening) but I unclip my left though I'm right-footed because I want my right leg and right hand controlling my bike when I push off.

But I'm not sure if being right-handed necessarily means you're right-footed. Which foot would you pefer to use to boot a football across a field? In my case definitely the right, therefore both right-handed and right-footed.

[GLC1968]

I haven't read the whole thread ('net is really slow here today, maddening) but I unclip my left though I'm right-footed because I want my right leg and right hand controlling my bike when I push off.

But I'm not sure if being right-handed necessarily means you're right-footed. Which foot would you pefer to use to boot a football across a field? In my case definitely the right, therefore both right-handed and right-footed.

LPH - I've always questioned the 'left-footed' thing too. I write with my right hand, and I kick with my right foot...but I naturally skate and do gymnastics as a left-hander (meaning I spin, jump and 'tumble' more dominantly in the same direction as someone who is left-handed). I think a lot of it is learned though. When I first learned to drive a car, I could only drive with my right hand. Now I drive predominantly with my left (I prefer a standard transmission so I had to learn). When I was a kid, I started learning to write with both hands but the nuns at my school told me to pick a hand and I picked my right (no idea why). From that point on, they made me use my right hand so that I wouldn't get confused. When I snowboard, I go both ways - so it's always confusing when I rent one. When I shoot, I hold the gun with my right, but I sight with my left eye. I learned to play the guitar left-handed but the viola right-handed. I'm a total mess!!! :p

This is partly why I did the survey...I couldn't tell anything from my own messed up experience!! :rolleyes:

[Rumblefish]

I'm righty and unclip right first. I've no better rationale than it's just what was comfortable for me. I always start off with my left foot clipped in.

My boyfriend is a lefty and he generally unclips left first. His sister-in-law is right handed and she unclips left first. His brother...I'm not so sure.

I've noticed that if someone is in front of me and they unclip I will unclip whichever side THEY unclipped even if it's left. Kinda strange...

My BF (and eternal bike tutor) encourages being comfortable with unclipping from either side because there will be moments when you can't unclip your preferred side first so you should be able to unclip well from both sides. Sounds great in theory but I've had quite a few sloppy stops trying to practice unclipping my left foot first :( I'm still trying though!

[cosc]

My body is definitely not ambidextrious. Last time my left cleat was stuck due to new pair of shoes, I thought no prob, I'll just slow up and let my right one unclip for a change--all was well until my dismount on the asphalt.

[Lise]

I always start off with my left foot clipped in.
I always clip in with my left first. But clipping out varies by context!

[Aggie_Ama]

I asked my husband and apparently he unclips by which foot he feels is appropriate. If we are stopped where there is a curb, it is the right foot. Otherwise he usually prefers the left foot. He never ends up with the mark of a true Fred by unclipping his right foot. :mad:

I always swing my right leg over and clip in with it first. As I said before, I always unclip with my left.