clipless- thanks and questions

[spokes]

i bought clipless pedals last week. woohoo! i've made a couple trips so far, and true to t.e. chatter i did fall once. fortunately it was while i was practicing in the little crescent in front of my building. the only one who saw was the cute-ish 20-something security guard on patrol. i didn't manage to yell timber but luckily i feel on some elevated grass and minimized damage (to my bike) and injury (to me). i looked up at the security guy and called out, 'it's okay, new pedals,' and realized he had no clue what i meant by it and probably concluded i'm about as clued-in as a dust bunny. the only injury i came out with was a bruise on the inside of my knee... meaning i hurt myself on my own bike. not the smoothest thing i've ever done, but i console myself with the fact that i'm not the first one to do it.

many thanks to everyone on the forum, i was much less scared of making the transition because of the countless threads on clipless and the very helpful discussion since i've been coming here. hugs for everyone!!

so, questions: when i walk in the shoes with clipless cleats, i hear the disconcerting sound of metal on stone/concrete. is this okay? will it destroy my cleats if i stop'n'shop in my cycling gear? i'm just worried about my new babies!!

does clipping out become second nature eventually? i'm getting much better (like all things, there's jumps in learing and then plateaus, jumps and plateaus)... but i'm still worried about the odd emergency, when instant clipping out is required. will instant clipping out come more naturally with time as well?

thanks again!

[skibum]

You won't destroy your cleats if you walk around in them but it can definitely add to the wear and tear. If you think you'll stop'n'shop a lot in your cleats and you don't want to carry around shoes, pick up some cleat covers. Just keep them in your saddle bag and pop them on to protect your cleats while you walk around.

I think that clipping out eventually becomes second nature although you can still have the occasional emergency when you just don't clip out fast enough. A couple of months ago, I had to stop very suddenly when a car pulled out in front of me and, you guessed it, I didn't clip out in time. The driver saw me and stopped so I would have been okay to keep going. Instead, I lost my balance and... timberrrr. The bike was okay and I only scraped my knee. Bu much better than a possible collision with a car!

[annie]

Yep, Spokes, clipping out does eventually become instinctual. You won't even think about it, you'll just do it. Clipping back in, after stopping, becomes easier with practice, too. When I first went clipless, I purposely clipped out more often than needed, for the practice of both clipping out and getting back in smoothly.

Do have road shoes, where the cleat sits right on the surface of the shoe sole, or mountain bike shoes where the cleat is recessed? If it's recessed, you shouldn't have much wear and tear. If not, you'll have some, but if the cleats are metal, they'll still hold up a long time. One thing to think about if you walk on your cleats - be careful! It can be slippery, depending on what kind of a surface you are walking on. With exposed cleats, it's safer to get cleat covers and use them if you will be doing much walking.

IMHO, it's all worth it. I would not EVER want to go back to normal pedals.

annie

[Veronica]

I second the be careful when walking in your cleats. They are so much more slippery. AND no matter what, hold on to something when getting out of the back of a pick up truck.

V.

[Adventure Girl]

Be careful with those cleats when you are walking on a surface that you care about (hard-wood floors, marble). We're all cyclists here worried about our cycling equipment. But the rest of the world worries about scuffed floors! They will leave marks!

And I second what Veronica says about the bed of a truck. I slipped on the bed-liner of my husband's truck and fell out, off the tailgate, boom-crash to the ground! Big truck--big biff! OUCH

[spokes]

thanks for the responses. as predicted, i adapted very quickly.

yeah, i noticed the shoes were slippery too, but i appreciate the warning.

i haven't seen the cleat covers yet, but i'll buy them when i find them, they're a great idea.

The bike was okay and I only scraped my knee. Bu much better than a possible collision with a car!

true. however my split second decision-making is less than stellar.

thanks ladies!!