Left foot unclipped first. I'm right-handed.
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Left foot unclipped first. I'm right-handed.
congrats and welcome to the club!
i usually unclip left, unless i have to unclip right. but left is the one i don't think about unclipping, it just happens.
Wow, I am really in the minority here. I am right handed but always unclip RIGHT. I do like that that makes the lean before stopping against traffic, but I don't know if I consciously learned to do it that way for that reason. I think, actually, that my DH taught me to use clipless years ago, and that's the way he did it, so that's just the way I learned. He is also right handed, btw. It feels totally foreign to even imagine doing it the other way, but now that I am mountain biking more than road riding, I've been told I really do need to get comfortable unclipping on either side. There is even a skill when going around a tight turn/switchback to unclip the inner foot, put it down and kinda pivot the bike around the turn if you can't make it without putting a foot down. I can kinda do this on a right turn since that's the side I unclip on, but haven't dared to try it on a tight left yet.
Emily
I unclip left and am right handed. It works for me and I have no desire to worry about learning to unclip right. Maybe when that's the only thing left on my 'stuff to learn about cycling list' I will... :rolleyes:
I'm right handed and unclip on the right. When I first went with clips (clipless) it really made me notice that my left leg was kinda lazy; my right leg was doing most of the work when it was all about simply pushing down. There was no way I was going to trust my left foot to get the job done. Now that I'm clipless, both legs are working equally, but I don't think I would ever change.
I unclip my right foot most of the time. I am right-handed, but left foot dominate. My left leg is stronger and I get a better push when the light turns green. My right foot is better at flipping the pedal to clip in, so it works for me!
I think the two go hand-in-hand ... if there were bike lanes everywhere in America, and they were maintained properly, and there were aids to help us at intersections, etc., I have no doubt you'd see many more people using bikes as their major means of transportation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mimosa
My town takes great pride in it's paved bike path, which runs through town in three directions. The afternoon that I tipped, I had ridden out on the road, but decided to take the path home as I hadn't been on it in a while. What a MISTAKE! It was covered with leaves, acorns, twigs, sand, puddles ... it was an absolute mess! I crawled down that path very carefully on my slicks until it intersected the road again, and immediately got off. I was on another section of the path a month or so ago, and it was just covered with grass growing from cracks in the pavement; it was like riding on a washboard. So, we have motorists who grumble that the bicyclists are always on the road when they "should be" on the paths. Obviously, the complainers don't ride and have no idea what condition the paths are in.
I live 10 miles from work. I would love to ride to work. To do so, I would ride part of the way on the washboard path, which ends at a very busy four-lane heavily-developed street, which then intersects with another heavily-developed four lane local highway, which then crosses the river on a newly developed pedestrian walk, which then snakes through downtown Hartford with all the commuters racing into work. I might need body armor for the journey.
OK, OK, I'LL GET OFF MY SOAPBOX NOW ..... :eek:
By the way, MDHillSlug -- I love your avitar!!! :)
One last thought (I promise) ... who's the smarty pants who decided to call these things CLIPLESS pedals?? Have you tried to explain the technology to anyone lately? "Well, there are special shoes with cleats under the ball of your foot, and those cleats CLIP INTO THE PEDALS. They are called CLIPLESS pedals." Huh??
Only because this is a WOMEN'S forum and I'm SURE there are no men reading, I'll suggest this ... did a GUY decided to call them clipless??
OK, I'm sorry in advance! I love men, too. :D
Oh I'm sure it was a guy thing.
Most definately.
you know i always wondered the same thing quint
When I bought my clipless pedals and shoes (i.e., without toe clips!), I was taught to unclip left and push down on the pedal from one o'clock position with my right (stronger) leg. This makes a big difference in our group social rides as I can get a good straight push with my right leg and can get going, wobble-free, on a straight line.
I saw one of our group stop and lean against a curb with her right foot. When she took off she was dangerously against the curb, with the gutter trash, etc. When she moved away from the curb she almost caused a major wreck by running into all the riders on her left who were keeping their lines :mad: . Lesson for me: stop where I want to be starting from especially when riding with someone else.
Saw lady go down due to clipless incident on Thursday night. Her friends on both sides were able to catch her and help break her fall. Would rather go down like that than some other ways I know of!
I'm right-handed, right leg is my stronger, dominant leg, so I unclip left, so right foot is ready to push off.
But, I've got a question. I get really bad rookie marks - chain ring tattoos on my calf. I've always attributed it to the way I unclip. When I'm stopped, I lean my bike against that calf to keep it from rolling, and thus, I get tagged. Is this just my own problem, or is this common to everyone who unclips left?
I love my tatto marks PW! But then, I AM a rookie!!! Especially since I found out eye make-up remover takes the grease off, presto. Since I don't wear eye make-up I've finally found a use for the freebies I've collected over the years.
Only other way to stop the bike is hang onto the brake but you know that. I lean my bike against my right leg also.
Thanks! I wish I could take credit for it but I stole...er...found it out on the web.Quote:
Originally Posted by quint41