Crash tallies - going clipless!

[Eden]

Thanks, IFJane...my helmet looks ok. I was expecting to find a crack, but I don't see any damage at all. I'll check it again though. Thank goodness it's only the helmet I need to be concerned about this time and not my skull!

If you hit it on the ground at all - and it certainly sounds like you did... you should replace the helmet, wether or not there is any visible damage. Most manufacturers have a crash replacement policy and will give you at least a discount on a new helmet. Helmets aren't meant to take more than one hit, so don't take chances on your head.

[Cyclo Kitty]

I fell three times the first day I rode clipless. Shimanos that are clip one side, platform the other. It really hurt, twice on the road and once on a soccer field. Or maybe it was four times, and twice on the soccer field?

DH told the BSGs the next day... who told me is it easy to unclip left and lean right (or vice versa) and to practice on a field. My best recommendation for practicing is pine needles! Very soft, if there's room under the trees! I work on clipping in, starting up, and then clipping in the other foot. The day I unclipped both feet at once in an emergency felt great (aside from the dog coming after me).

I put clipless on the commuter first and then started riding clipless on the cross bike because it was new and shiny. And I still have pedal problems some days...but the BSGs told me they still mess up sometimes, too, and that made me feel better (because I know it is true, and they ride a lot).

[northstar]

Three falls in three weeks since getting the new bike with clipless pedals. The most dangerous one was while crossing an intersection on a bike path (which was technically on the left side of the road). A car gunned it from way behind me and cut me off to make a left turn. I now know what people mean when they say they feel safer if they are on the road than on an off-road path. Needless to say, I went down in the middle of the intersection. I learned my lesson.

The traffic was very scary, but the falls weren't. Slow tips, all of them, just scraped knees and elbows, and a good ding on the inside of my right knee. I did bend the brake hood in on the right side with my last fall (that was a horrible feeling, but I was able to bend it back in)...but I am undeterred and LOVE the clipless. I have Crank Brothers Smartys. They've been easy to get into and out of from the get-go.

[DarcyInOregon]

I realize everyone says to only unclip one foot, but do what is best for you.

I unclip both feet in advance of the stop and pedal on the back of the shoes until I stop. If it is a stop sign and nobody is coming, I don't need to stop and I can then gear up and continue to pedal across the road and clip in while I am crossing the road. If I need to stop because it is a busy cross road, or it is an urban setting with a stop light, I plant both feet on the ground and then clip back in with my right foot; I then scoot back up on the saddle and clip the left foot back in while crossing the road.

The reason this works best for me is because I am lame in the left foot; I shattered the left ankle joint in 1985 and I feel blessed to have enough mobility in the foot to cycle once again. I've only fallen twice in my first 1500 miles of cycling clipless, the first time being on day one of learning the pedals, and the second time when my left foot inadvertently clipped back in as I was braking to a stop.

Just because everyone says you only unclip one foot, it doesn't mean you have to do the same. Always figure out what works best for you, and do it that way.

Darcy

[RolliePollie]

It's nice to know there are others out there who are struggling just like me! Well, it's not exactly NICE...it's not like I'm wishing all these falls on anyone else...but I guess what I mean is that I like having other people to commiserate with! We should start a follow-up thread in two weeks and see what kind of progress everyone has made.

My new plan is to unclip both feet for a while every time I stop. And to make sure they haven't clipped back in. My first fall was because my left foot had clipped in and I didn't know it. My second fall was because I unclipped my left foot and the bike leaned right. My falling-into-the-bushes fall was all the bush's fault. How dare it grow so close to the edge of the driveway!

As far as starting goes, I'm keeping both feet unclipped until I get better at this. I have Crankbrothers Quattros and they are very easy to pedal when you're not clipped in. Which is a good thing, because in traffic or other potentially dangerous situations, I'm keeping one foot free. Of course, just because one foot is free doesn't mean I couldn't easily topple over the other direction. But it makes me feel better anyway.

I think my problem is that I get nervous about NOT falling, which then makes me more likely TO fall!

Eden - thanks again for the helmet advice. I know my helmet does have crash protection...I'll look at the paperwork and see if I can get a new one. I want a different color anyway, so maybe this could work to my advantage!

[redrover77]

DH told the BSGs the next day... who told me is it easy to unclip left and lean right (or vice versa) and to practice on a field.

Cyclo Kitty... doesn't unclipping on the left and leaning right mean falling over??? That's exactly what I'd been doing wrong...

Yes... my new tactic is now unclipping on both pedals, but to practice keeping my right foot on the pedal as long as possible - cos I've noticed that once I put my left foot down on the ground, my next move is automatically to move the right foot down too. Also will try turning my handlebar away from left foot...

The problem is over here in the UK it is left hand drive, so my left faces the kerb. Which means when I do topple over, I topple over onto the road, and luckily, the last 3 times I fell there weren't any cars - can't bear thinking about if there were!

Will persist persist persist! Thanks for all your encouragement This forum's great!

Will report back on next ride (this weekend, hopefully a on a 2 or 3 day tour!)

[LadyinWhite]

I read through this thread thinking to myself "It's been ages since I've crashed." I crashed the first day I went clipless last year. I crashed a few weeks later after tightening the cleats and then coming up on a group of cyclists who stopped very unexpectedly. Spent the winter in PT getting the knee back in shape after that one.

This morning I head out, happy as a lark, down the driveway and towards the main road. Resetting the bike computer as I go, keeping an eye on the approaching intersection (very busy road), coast towards the stop sign and unclick the left w/out thinking about it. (Last summer I worked very hard to get into the habit of unclicking left instead of right so as to avoid the grease tattoo).

Braked, cruised to a stop and as my left foot came down, my right foot reached for the ground too, yanking the bike right out from under me. CRASH!

I was so surprised. I actually said "What was that all about??" out loud. Untangled my legs and stood up to survey the damage.

Lovely road rash on the on the right calf, pedal bites on the back of my left foot. The Girl seemed ok til I climbed on and headed across the road. The saddle was crooked. Had to stop, break out the tools, readjust the saddle into place, readjust the cadence reader.

SHEESH!

FINALLY - after all that - I headed out and enjoyed a comfortable rolling hills ride of 20miles w/out mishap. Got back home just as the sprinkles started.

[F8th637]

I realized on my last ride that I have horrible form when it comes to pedaling. Somehow I always end up with the pedal in the middle of my foot, especially on the left foot. I realized I use to ride my bike as a child that same way. I was thinking of going the Powergrips route for a little while. Should I just practice on my form first without clips, grips, etc. or am I hopeless case that just needs to go ahead and go clipless?

[ShubieGA]

I put Crank Bros. Candy SL pedals on a couple weeks ago, and practiced in my hallway - clip, unclip. No problem. I have taken a couple short rides, with no problems, but then - you know what's coming - I forgot to unclip my right foot when stopping yesterday. Crash.... I looked like an upside down turtle with a bike on top of me! My 1st concern was if I ripped the shorts (busy road -scary thought). I will survive the road rash and bruises (great one on my tail), but had to take the baby in for a bent derailleur hanger. Hopefully I will get her back Thursday. Then back in the pedals again...bet I don't forget to unclip for a while.

[smilingcat]

Thanks, IFJane...my helmet looks ok. I was expecting to find a crack, but I don't see any damage at all. I'll check it again though. Thank goodness it's only the helmet I need to be concerned about this time and not my skull!

Dear Sara,

todays helmets generally do not crack. The "styrofoam" core usually compresses a bit. If you notice any deformation on the "styrofoam", please replace your helmet. My serious crashes resulted in "styrofoam" compressing about an 1/8 inch or so but it didn't crack. The plastic shell are generally made out of some sort of film like mylar or some kind of polycarbonate and they tend to flex rather than crack. They do get scratched but they don't rip nor do they crack.

If you hit your head pretty hard, I would highly recommend that you replace your helmet.

be safe,
smilingcat

[sgtiger]

When l went clipless 6 yrs. ago, I somehow(I'm kind of a klutz! ) managed not to fall the first day. I was definitely unsteady, though. And clipping out was at the forefront of my thoughts any time I slowed. It wasn't until 2 mo. into it and I was feeling more confident that I fell over. I was on a casual ride with DH and we were talking when we came to a red light and slowed down. I went to put my right foot down only to find that it was GLUED to the pedal. And over I went in front of DH, peds and people in their cars stopped at the red light with us. Every one asked if I was okay and I was more embarrassed about all the attention then the actual fall itself. DH asked me what had happened and I sheepishly answered that I had totally forgotten about clipping out.

Fast forward through a few years of off and on riding to two Saturdays ago. I did a 42 mile ride to Alki Beach and back where I bonked with 10 miles to go. Thanks to my riding group's encouragement I decided to finish the ride. The last miles were incredibly s-l-o-w. At the end we have (I think) a mile climb to my friends' home and I was already exhausted! At one of the stop signs on the way to her home, I fell over trying to clip out while slowing down. I was too tired to clip out in time and I let out a yelp as I went over. I got a few bruises,too. Two days after that, I fell when I was riding on the trail towing DD. There's a short but steep uphill part that I was trying to shift gears for halfway up, but I had a case of the brain farts. I shifted the wrong direction and I couldn't pedal anymore. Oops! Sometimes you just gotta laugh at yourself!

[run it, ride it]

Oh boy. Make sense of this: started riding clipless in July. Not a single fall. Fast-forward to April: I fall right over at stop signs a good five times in group road rides, and don't even get me STARTED on the number of 'clipless incidents' incurred on the mountain bike since I took that up.

I'm still young and bouncy, so the worst I get are some bruises and limps for a few days.

I find what helps in a situation where you're stopped with one foot unclipped and falling the opposite direction is to plant your already freed foot on the other side of the bike through the space between the frame and front tire.

[redrover77]

So it looks like I might as well accept that 3, 6, 24 mths from now I'll probably still have the odd clipless incident!

Any final words of wisdom before I set off on a 2-day tour this weekend?