I am tired of falling!

[hsmpcycle]

Lately I have been having a horrible time with my clips. It is very difficult for me to get in and out of them. I often really have to plan ahead in order to get out of them safely.

We went on a family vacation last week to the Outerbanks. Had a great time. I even took my two wheeled sister with me. The first ride out was great. The sun was out and the temperature was a good 75 with no humidity. The roads there were great. The average speed limit on the highway was between 35 and 45 mph and absolutely no traffic. What more could you ask for?

After riding for about an hour, I arrive back at our rented beach house, which sits on top of a small hill. Just as I turn into the driveway, I try twisting my foot to get unclipped, but I couldn't get loose. I continue up the drive getting closer and closer to the garage door still unable to get loose. Finally I stopped right next to the truck and fell towards the truck hitting my head (I had a helmet on) on the foot rail and still clipped to the darn bike!!!

I have tried everything with these clips (Look A5.1). I had them for three years and they are nothing but a problem. Does anyone have recommendations for new ones?

[Veronica]

Try looking at the screws that hold the cleat to the shoe. I had some problems with actually twisting my cleat out of position because the screws that came with the cleats were too small.

V.

[KnottedYet]

check those screws, and any other moving parts. could a piece of rock or something be caught in the mechanism?

If you decide to get a new pedal system, do take a look at Speedplay Frogs. No moving parts. Nothing to adjust. Lots of float. (of course, if you don't like float they will be totally wrong for you.) Yeah, they are mtb pedals and the fashionistas will roar, but who cares?

[hsmpcycle]

I did look at the pedals and found a screw missing in the left cleat. However both cleats have been a big problem. I might try replacing the screws first, then replace the cleats if the new screws don't work.

Thanks ladies.

[Kalidurga]

Do your pedals have adjustable tension? If so, perhaps you need to make them looser so that they're easier to twist out of.

[RoadRaven]

OK... I'm looking at this from a slightly different angle... absolutely check pedals/cleats for position and for wear'n'tear...

But also... how about when you are riding with no intention of stopping, when you are not going too fast along a straight and flat stretch of road, you just practice clipping in and out...

Just keep practicing til your foot knows exactly what to do without reminding it... just like your foot moves to the brake (in a car) when approaching an intersection with little thought or reminder from you...

Good luck - toppling off a bike sucks.

[spokewench]

I rode a Look Pedal for years (old red pedal with red cleats with float) and they were never hard to get into and out of. They were great. The only problem that I have ever had with a Look pedal, as with all other pedals, is if your cleat is worn out it can be hard to get into and out of a pedal. I usually change my cleats once a year, sometimes more if needed. Like this year, I had almost brand new cleats in the Spring but I was getting ready for a 480 mile 6 day ride in Colorado so I rode a lot and then I did the ride and you had to walk in your cleats a lot and I just destroyed them. I'm not familiar with the Look pedal you referred to ,but a lot a pedals have adjustments to make it easier to get into and out of. If you tried everything I'm sure you tried that. Maybe they were just defective pedals?

Anyway, I have a pair of Dura Ace pedals now. A little pricey but very nice. My girlfriend has a pair as well and she likes them very much. She is a more or less newbie rider so she is probably a better tester of pedals. What we like about the pedal a lot is that it is weighted really nicely so, it is always top side up - you hardly ever have to flip the pedal to get in.

I think it is easy to get in and out and she has never complained about that either.

spoke