clipless for scaredy cats?

[rivergrl]

I was scared as well but I already had a cycleops trainer so I put the bike on that for at least a week 1/2 and practiced getting in and out of the clips. It made a world of difference for me. My first ride off the trainer I did great until I came to a stop the first time and I went straight down. So far I've been riding and I've not had another fall. The key for me is to be aware and even a bit afraid while riding any bike. If I'm aware of the fact that I'm attached to the bike then I think about how I need to start slowing down to stop ahead so I clipout early. If I'm a little afraid then I'm aware that people may not stop when I'm crossing the riding trail. I always slow down and try to watch the driver to see that they see me, sometimes even if they do they KEEP on driving which always baffles me.

I'm always aware I may have to stop at any second and I'm always a little afraid of what other people will do around me. I never assume they see me but It makes me stay aware that I need to put my feet in the position I need them in in order for me to get out safely and quickly.

I've learned I clip in the same way and I get out the same way. I put my feet in a certain position when I'm getting ready to stop. The big thing is to be aware of other people.

[CyclChyk]

Midgetcycler - EXACTLY the same thing that happened to me when I first went clipless! (I use SPD reversible on my road bike)

Melstar - be brave. I wear my bruises and scabby knees with pride!!! The pain lasts for a minute but the elation and joy I feel when I ride far outweighs any bloodshed I may leave in my wake. Being clipless only makes it that much better! (ok I may have exaggerated the bloodshed but the multiple bruises really are kinda hard to explain at work............

[spokewench]

Re: the guy who was full of crap cause he couldnt unclip when he fell over because he was on his side - you were right he was full of crap!

Let me tell you a silly little story about a silly little girl (Me) who years ago went off to ride a mountain bike race (Sea Otter Classic) in California. This silly little girl was not having a very good day and had faced her worst fear in the first bit of the race when she slipped off an off camber trail and went slip sliding down the side of an embankment. Well, that little slip never hurt her and she was so relieved and off she went again to finish the race. As she was rolling along in the bottom of a meadow, she went around a blind corner and what did she see right ahead of her, but a big puddle of water! Well, the silly little girl had already faced her worst fears of falling down the side of the embankment so she decided in her wisest of moments to just GO RIGHT THRU THE MIDDLE OF THE MUD PUDDLE! Well, much to her surprise, the Silly little girl's front bike tire went down in a hole and over the girl went laying right in the middle of the puddle with her one foot stuck in the pedal (cause there was mud packed in her cleats) and she was up to her armpits in watery mud! As you would imagine the Silly Little Girl looked even sillier when a couple of bike racers came around that corner and from out of the muck she sheepishly told them that the middle of the puddle was not really the best line!

Anyway, to the point of the story, even with all that mud stuck in her cleats, lying on her side in the middle of a huge puddle of muck, the Silly Little Girl WAS ABLE to get out of her pedals and pedal away with head hung low!

Spokewench

[CyclChyk]

ok Silly little girl - when you had your head down cuz of that stupid lil mud puddle you should have held your head up and shouted at the top of your lungs cuz you BEAT THAT FRICKIN' EMBANKMENT! And that stupid mud puddle may leave you bruised and dirty and kicking yourself in the arse for getting suckered by it, but it can't take away what you accomplished on the embankment.

Silly little girl - you go wit' your bad self!!!!

[Melstar]

middle of a huge puddle of muck, the Silly Little Girl WAS ABLE to get out of her pedals and pedal away with head hung low!

Spokewench

And she pedalled off into the sunset happily ever after

[Crankin]

Well, not burst anyone's bubble, but I have crashed twice and both times I was lying in the road, on my side, still attached to the bike, and it was very difficult to get out. One time, my husband had to twist my foot to get me unattached from my bike. This is with regular Speedplays, which I love, double sided and VERY easy to get in and out of if you are upright! But, I have heard that it is not uncommon for you to stay attached to them if you fall.

[Bad JuJu]

when a couple of bike racers came around that corner and from out of the muck she sheepishly told them that the middle of the puddle was not really the best line!

I'm impressed that, even lying in the muck, you could still manage an ironic and funny little line to other bikers. Never lose your sense of humor, you Silly Little Girl!

[quint41]

I'm a newbie, too. And I was afraid of going clipless, although every week my group friends would tell me that I HAD to go clipless. When I went to LBS and was fitted for my new bike, the first thing he told me was that I had to go clipless to improve both power on the bike AND posture. I left there with pedals and shoes.

I have the SPD's (mountain bike shoes and pedals). He did tell me it would be easier to get out of those than the LOOK style. He adjusted the pedals so they are at their loosest possible point. I have ridden about 4 or 5 times on them, and (knock on wood) I haven't fallen over yet! Everyone tells me I will, and I'm afraid of that day. But, so far, so good!

Whenever I approach a traffic light or something that I may need to stop for, I just twist my angle outward and the shoe pops right off the pedal. I dangle that foot out and prepare to lean and put my foot down on the road as I stop. Always the left foot, as that is the foot I always tended to balance on anyway. I've had people tell me that it's smart to get used to using the same foot so you don't forget or get confused when you stop. So far, so good! Go for it!

[littlegrasshopp]

When I still had my road bike I road with Speed Plays and loved them. The only word of caution was that I had to be pretty careful not to get dirt in them. I carried cleat covers. They were easy to get in and out of and I never had a zero mph crash with them. I'd tried two other kinds but they never worked out well for me.

I'm trying to switch to clipless on my mountain bike but every time I get close someone tells me a horrible crash story from when they switched. So far I'm working on the trainer clipping in and out, in and out

[betagirl]

You've gotten a lot of good tips. I personally have found clipless pedals easier to manage than toe clips. It's pretty straight forward to get your foot out of a clipless pedal.

I started with Bebop's, but those are pretty rare and were something my LBS carried. They look similar to speedplays. After about a year or so, I switched to Look pedals/cleats. I like thsoe better. Very easy to get in and out of. I gave my Bebop's to my friend who was getting started with clipless, and she did great. She fell more with the toe clips

Good luck!

[Jen]

Scared to death but I did it anyway. Bite the bullet. I have fallen twice. I have the Look pdeals which I kinda like better than the spd. Maybe not easier. You can loosen up the bolt that holds your foot in so it is easier to get out of the clip. Youdo this while you are learning. You have to look ahead so you can unclip when you come upon a place where you may have to stop. I am still scared but I keep on going.

[aicabsolut]

After a long time of spinning with SPDs and knowing how easy it is to get on the bike (usually) but how hard it can be to get OFF, I did not want to get that system for my new road bike. (Frequently, I have no problem clipping in and out to adjust the seat on a spin bike, but by the end of class I'm stuck in at least one pedal. Once, I had to take my foot out of the shoe and kick at the heel of the thing to get it off the pedal (wrenched up the bottom of the shoe as the cleat tried to turn first despite being screwed on tightly).

So I get Look KEO Sprints with the red cleats, because I'd gotten good feedback on those from friends (well, red KEO cleats in general).

I sat on the bike next to my couch and practiced clipping out a million times, especially with the left. But I couldn't practice clipping in with any speed and stationary tires. I tried to sneak in some practice at the bike shop when I went for a fitting with the pedal system, but the mechanic kept holding the back break until I was clipped in, saying "Wait, you're not in on this side." Duh. I'm trying to figure out if I can do it while pedaling.

I think my problem is not knowing how to pedal with one leg while staying upright, going forward from a stop, and simultaneously trying to stomp down with the other leg. So first 3 seconds on the bike ended with slamming into pavement in the parking lot, of course falling over on the clipped-in side. With a bloody elbow, I move my experiment over to the grass, where I proceed to keep falling over. There, the ground is soft, but I can't get good momentum before clipping in. My problem is getting a hang of nudging the pedal with my toe so that it's right side up and the clip in process is started. Once it happens, I generally have enough power to keep on pedaling (once, on a hill, I didn't, slow-mo fall to the other side).

These things are so slippery if I can't hit it right, how do I get going and get my other foot clipped in without getting lucky right away?

Fall 3 broke the tip off the right cleat, so now it's super loose (I had the springs already as loose as they'd go, which is not loose at all!), and I'm keeping it like that for now, being careful -- no standing, no big hills, so it can be my emergency release get a foot down leg.

Surprisingly, my practice paid off for unclipping with the left, and I didn't fall at all while stopping. I gave myself PLENTY of time, though, as my default coasting position is not my ideal unclipping position. The problem is getting started again. I think I'll get better at stopping, and I'm not going to be riding in traffic anytime soon with all the toppling over. Right now, I'm still pulling off in the grass to stop (just in case) and to start, though getting momentum in the grass is impossible, so if I'm doing this wrong, I'm never going to learn right--particularly since pulling up with the broken cleat is now hard. I could put on the gray ones, but those are so tight. Having a broken cleat kept me vertical even if stationary.

Am I using the wrong system? I thought these platform-like road pedals would be great. My new (non spin class) shoes will not take SPDs, and I don't want to go there. Someone suggested lollipops, but those are so tiny, I'm sure I'd miss those as well. I hope to get the hang of this without removing more skin and causing more bruises.. at least until these heal some.

Thanks for listening to my story.

[mimitabby]

After a long time of spinning with SPDs and knowing how easy it is to get on the bike (usually) but how hard it can be to get OFF, I did not want to get that system for my new road bike. (Frequently, I have no problem clipping in and out to adjust the seat on a spin bike, but by the end of class I'm stuck in at least one pedal. Once, I had to take my foot out of the shoe and kick at the heel of the thing to get it off the pedal (wrenched up the bottom of the shoe as the cleat tried to turn first despite being screwed on tightly).

So I get Look KEO Sprints with the red cleats, because I'd gotten good feedback on those from friends (well, red KEO cleats in general).

I sat on the bike next to my couch and practiced clipping out a million times, especially with the left. But I couldn't practice clipping in with any speed and stationary tires. I tried to sneak in some practice at the bike shop when I went for a fitting with the pedal system, but the mechanic kept holding the back break until I was clipped in, saying "Wait, you're not in on this side." Duh. I'm trying to figure out if I can do it while pedaling.

I think my problem is not knowing how to pedal with one leg while staying upright, going forward from a stop, and simultaneously trying to stomp down with the other leg. So first 3 seconds on the bike ended with slamming into pavement in the parking lot, of course falling over on the clipped-in side. With a bloody elbow, I move my experiment over to the grass, where I proceed to keep falling over. There, the ground is soft, but I can't get good momentum before clipping in. My problem is getting a hang of nudging the pedal with my toe so that it's right side up and the clip in process is started. Once it happens, I generally have enough power to keep on pedaling (once, on a hill, I didn't, slow-mo fall to the other side).

These things are so slippery if I can't hit it right, how do I get going and get my other foot clipped in without getting lucky right away?

Fall 3 broke the tip off the right cleat, so now it's super loose (I had the springs already as loose as they'd go, which is not loose at all!), and I'm keeping it like that for now, being careful -- no standing, no big hills, so it can be my emergency release get a foot down leg.

Surprisingly, my practice paid off for unclipping with the left, and I didn't fall at all while stopping. I gave myself PLENTY of time, though, as my default coasting position is not my ideal unclipping position. The problem is getting started again. I think I'll get better at stopping, and I'm not going to be riding in traffic anytime soon with all the toppling over. Right now, I'm still pulling off in the grass to stop (just in case) and to start, though getting momentum in the grass is impossible, so if I'm doing this wrong, I'm never going to learn right--particularly since pulling up with the broken cleat is now hard. I could put on the gray ones, but those are so tight. Having a broken cleat kept me vertical even if stationary.

Am I using the wrong system? I thought these platform-like road pedals would be great. My new (non spin class) shoes will not take SPDs, and I don't want to go there. Someone suggested lollipops, but those are so tiny, I'm sure I'd miss those as well. I hope to get the hang of this without removing more skin and causing more bruises.. at least until these heal some.

Thanks for listening to my story.

Hi girl, I read every word. I hope you heal up soon and get the hang of those silly things. please introduce yourself on the getting to know you thread, it sounds like you'll fit right in with the rest of us!

[tygab]

Aica,

I have SPDs and use my shoes both in road and in spin class. I know that at the gym they have the tension MUCH higher than I do on my road bike. I can clip out of (or in) my road bike easily, with almost just a flick. At the gym, I sometimes fumble around for a while to get my clips sorted, and I am sure the rest of the people are thinking does she know how to use them or what?? The difference is on my own pedals I can, and have, set the tension nice and low. The gym ones are stiff/tight - I am not a 170 lb burly guy so the gym pedals are a pain.

I learned clipless after I got my new bike. My bike came with SPDs so I didn't think about it at the time, and SPDs are considered very universal. One other thing I like is that I don't have to worry about sided-ness - with the Looks you can only clip into one side, right?

My relatively newbie comments, so take as you like: I would make sure you adjust your tension down to a very low setting (I guess you have done this). Next, always clip out to the same side. The bike shop manager I purchased from told me this. You want it to be a reflex action. If the left is working, stick with it. As you gain confidence the right side will come along, and you're clipping out on the same side (left) anyway so you don't need to force it.

My husband has the 'lollipops' which are Speedplays, and if/when I upgrade, it'll be to those, because of the two sidedness. I think trying to spin the pedals around to clip in would stress me unnecessarily. Also, I doubt you'll miss them, they're not as small to the foot as they are to the eye... Our friend swapped his SPDs for Looks just recently and while it'd be a stretch to say he regrets it, I don't think he is fully happy with them either. One thing that is better about the non-SPD styles are that you generally get more float, or knee rotation with them. This could help in the long term.

Also, it's ok to pedal unclipped for a while. Just place the heel of your foot on the pedal instead, if you can on the Looks. I have to do this regularly in intersections, or stopped/restarting up hills. It's ok, once you realize that you can pedal without being clipped in.

Of course, there are many many Look users who swear by them. I am sure most have had to go thru what you are experiencing. Every pedal system appears to have a learning process with it.

Edit: To clarify, I unclip left, and leave my right foot in while stopped. So to go again, I push off with the left foot, or have my right positioned at say two oclock ready to push, and clip in my left at my first comfortable time to do so. Sometimes this is right away, sometimes I just leave it unclipped til I have some momentum and have more time to clip in. Usually as Karen points out, simply placing the cleat with mild downpressure on the pedal stroke does it at that point.

[aicabsolut]

Thanks. I do try to always unclip left, start right. The only problem there is when I'm not 100% balanced when I jump off the seat to put my left foot down.

I see what you're saying about SPDs, but the shoes I just bought for the road bike won't work with them anyway. And there are other things about these shoes I like a lot better than my other pair for spinning. I also really really like the float. These pedals are awesome once I get going. So it's between sticking with these or going with Speedplays.

My problem is always *needing* to get the left clipped in on the first try. What you said about figuring out that I can pedal unclipped is key. Because I haven't gotten there yet. I tried a couple of times, though I was in grass because I was sick of falling which is slow, but if I don't get pretty close to making it on the first downstroke with the left, then I slip off the pedal entirely (darn carbon soles), and by this point I'm not in one-legged-pedaling mode anymore. So I go too slow and the slo-mo fall always to the clipped side (right is usually back down at this point) begins. If I'm in the viscinity of the right place, then I'm clipped in right away and things are gravy. It's the building momentum and try again part that I haven't mastered. Any tips for that? I'm searching for the clip with my toe to get the pedal right side up and get the front part engaged, so I don't know if I could switch to heel pedaling so easily. Thanks