Fear of Clipless Pedals

Crankin--really? What's the reason for that? I've always been told to unclip at the top of the stroke, and everyone who I know personally does the same thing. It feels wobbly if I try to unclip at the bottom.

Islandgirl--If it makes you feel any better, the night before I went on my first clipless ride, I sent a panicking text message to my boyfriend at 3AM. He had to call me to calm me down about riding with the dratted things. I did a 23 mile ride with my right foot clipped in and a tennis shoe on my other foot. The four mile completely-clipped in ride I did, I fell twice. The second time, I fell once and landed on my feet. The last time I fell I found myself sitting ON my horizontal bike. :confused: If you fall, it'll be low speed, so you're only likely to bruise or scrape yourself.

What helped me, like everyone else, was to say to myself "Okay, stop sign. Unclip, hit brakes, lean right, foot down" and other things like that. Eventually it becomes second nature.

Maybe I am misunderstanding what you mean by the bottom of the stroke?
I mean when my leg is fully extended, pedal all the way down by the ground. I have had to clip out when my leg is about half way up the stroke (knee bent) in weird situations, and while I could do it, it's not fun. So, I think, no wonder it is hard for a new rider, if that's what you are trying to do.
All I know is I just turn my heel out, and there's no tension at all with the Speedplays.. I understand that turning your heel in would achieve the same thing, if that is what you need to do.
I find when I ride with my campus pedals (dual sided spd on one side, flat on the other), I have to make a much more concerted effort to clip out, even with the tension on the lowest setting. It's not *hard*, but I do think about it more. Personally, I don't even need to think with the Speedplays.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by schnitzle

TCTrek mentioned dual platform pedals so you can easily ride with one foot clipped in, one out for practice. They sound ideal to me, but is it hard to find the clip side of the pedal when you're trying to get your cleat in? Do you have to look down every time? I can imagine that would get old once you're experienced and want to ride clipped in all the time.

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This is what my dh and I both use and really like them. It's not hard at all to find the desired side. You know it by feel, and if you don't get the right side when you take off, you let the pedal go one turn and it comes back on the other side. I don't ever have to look down. I really like having the option to go clipless or not. Maybe some day i'll always want to go clipless, and if that happens I'll just get new pedals. The dual-sided ones were only $25 so it wasn't like a huge investment or anything

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Maybe I am misunderstanding what you mean by the bottom of the stroke?
I mean when my leg is fully extended, pedal all the way down by the ground. I have had to clip out when my leg is about half way up the stroke (knee bent) in weird situations, and while I could do it, it's not fun. So, I think, no wonder it is hard for a new rider, if that's what you are trying to do.

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See, I unclip knee bent, with the pedal at about 12 o'clock, and that's how I've always been told (or observed) to do it.
Whatever works, right?