I tried clipless pedals on Saturday

[gilly]

... and broke my wrist

They did feel good, and I was doing very well, clipping in and out with ease. Fortunately, we were only in our local park.. I spotted a pinecone (I collect them from places/times I want to remember). stopped (almost an emergency stop according to my DH ), couldn't unclip quickly enough and down I went, making the classic mistake of putting my hand out to save me

Now I can't ride at all Well, not for a little while anyway

[Veronica]

Ow! Ow!
Ow!


Heal quickly!

V.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Oh, ouch! It sounds like you had a classic just starting with clipless pedals crash - unfortunately with a really bad outcome. Hopefully your attachment to the pedals (and use of your new clipless pedals) won't suffer from this once you are able to ride you bike again. And hopefully that will be fairly soon.

It should become second nature for you to unclip (easily). I guess the key when falling is to try not to put an arm out to break the fall - but at least your pedals kept your legs safe.

--- Denise

[SadieKate]

Yowza. Heal quickly. Seems like there are a lot of broken bones on this site lately. At least everyone was just out doing what they love to do.

[AutumnBreez]

That one was the last one, no more broken body parts for a while ok gang?!!!!
The quarterly qouta has been met and then some.

Go back to enjoying your cycling without the ouchees.

[emily_in_nc]

So sorry gilly!

I'm healing from a broken pelvis at the moment, so I do feel your pain. Not riding, especially at this time of year (we've had a bee-yoo-ti-ful May in NC - cooler than normal!), is very very tough! Hope you'll be back in the saddle again soon!

Emily

[RoadRaven]

Wow, what bad luck gilly... usually those crashes/falls because of the clip-in pedals are at slow speed (like yours was) and result in minor grazing
You must have just caught your wrist at the wrong angle
Hope you heal in record time

[Hakberg]

Yikes, that is a bad outcome. I just registered and wanted to get started just finding out more about what I am actually getting myself into. I went on my 3rd ride today. My boyfriend is coaching me. Unfortunately there aren't too many flats to ride on and he is trying to break me in quickly so that I can start riding with groups. My first fall was definitely because of clipping in...we had stopped to get some water and I was just nervous to clip in while going uphill...(I was reading someone else's recommendation on going downhill, clip in, then go up hill...I might have to try that). You forget that you can actually keep pedaling even though you are clipped in--until you can get the pedal turn the right way...At least with my falls, I've only gotten a few scratches, bruises, and the spokes in the legs...Sorry that you are "out of order."

I have a question concerning clipins... I am trying to adjust the shoes so that I can get maximum output from my input...do you all find it is better to be clipped in closer towards the front of the foot or a little further back.

Thanks..

[DeniseGoldberg]

I have a question concerning clipins... I am trying to adjust the shoes so that I can get maximum output from my input...do you all find it is better to be clipped in closer towards the front of the foot or a little further back.

First, welcome to the board!

I'd highly recommend getting a fitting so that you can get your bike and the cleats set up to match you. Jim Langley's bike fit page recommends "The cleat should be positioned so that the balls of your feet rest over the centers of the pedals (the axles) when you’re pedaling" and also says "Ideally, your cleat position allows resting your feet in a natural position on the pedals. Otherwise, you could injure your knees". Here's a link to his article on bike fit: http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefit.html.

Happy cycling!

--- Denise

[SandyLS]

Sorry to hear about the wrist. I started to ride clipless about mid-way through the summer last year. I was quite proud that I had not taken a fall. You know the saying that goes something like "Pride goeth before the fall", well, this week came the fall. No real dammage done, just some pretty bruises. I landed softly on grass with my bike on top of me. I had unclipped the right foot and remembered what I had read here about turning the tire towards the unclipped foot. I guess I must have panicked when I couldn't get the left one unclipped and somehow fell toward the unclipped side. I guess I just need to practice some more.
Safe biking to all.
Sandy

[gilly]

The weather here is perfect for cycling Hopefully, tomorrow we will try me on the tandem.

It is however, helping my resolve to not use the car so often.. I can't drive either

My feelings and thoughts on the unclipping are exactly those of yours Audio-A. I can't wait to get on and try again, if I can unclip at the top of the stroke then perhaps it won't feel so alien.

Thank you all for the virtual hugs, and helium balloons

[spazzdog]

Gilly, do you have an indoor trainer? You could put the bike on it and sit straight up (look ma! no hands) and just pedal... and practice:

Mr Miyoshi say: clip in, clip out, clip in, clip out... pedal big circle.

spazz (a "karate kid" fan)

[Try-Chick]

Ouch!
A month ago, I went out on my bike taking my 8 year old daughter for her first ride of 4 miles. Well, 5 minutes into the ride she stopped right in front of me. My first concern was to not crash into her so I slammed on the brakes and frantically tried to get out of my pedals. Unfortunately, I was not able to, however, I did have the sense to hang onto my bars and fell on my shoulder, not my hand. Bruised Ego!

Then at another stop (yes the same day), while watching for cross traffic and making sure my daughter didn't ride out into it, I did the same thing, but fell on the other side. Luckily no damage except a doubly bruised ego. I was able to go out after I dropped her off with my hubby and rode 20 accident free miles. Felt Great. My new bike Equinox 9 Tri Geek bike is so sweet (I just got it in March...) It is so much lighter than my mountain bike which I hadn't ridden much since the kiddos were born (8 and 5 yrs old). My husband started doing Tri's about 4 years ago and only when the kids were old enough did I think it was feasible for me to train on the bike also.