Wobbly starts; how to fix?

[mimitabby]

SadieKate
do you agree with what Sheldon Brown says (us beginners need consensus)

[SadieKate]

Yes, except I don't think he goes far enough in emphasizing the speed you need to obtain before a beginner starts hunting for pedal to clip in the 2nd foot.

If you can't ride a straight line at very, very low speeds (aka almost a trackstand), don't worry about clipping in the 2nd foot until you have enough speed to ride a straight line.

I see beginners topple when the bike has barely moved because they don't push hard enough with the clipped in foot and they start searching for the 2nd pedal with the other. Just slam the 2nd foot on top of the pedal and start cranking.

A tip - learn to push hard with the clipped in foot without pushing off with the other. If you are in road shoes with exposed cleats and try to push off with the foot on the ground, you'll probably bang important parts of yourself on the top tube because you'll slip.

[mimitabby]

Yes, except I don't think he goes far enough in emphasizing the speed you need to obtain before a beginner starts hunting for pedal to clip in the 2nd foot.

If you can't ride a straight line at very, very low speeds (aka almost a trackstand), don't worry about clipping in the 2nd foot until you have enough speed to ride a straight line.

I see beginners topple when the bike has barely moved because they don't push hard enough with the clipped in foot and they start searching for the 2nd pedal with the other. Just slam the 2nd foot on top of the pedal and start cranking.

A tip - learn to push hard with the clipped in foot without pushing with the other. If you are in road shoes with exposed cleats and try to push off with the foot on the ground, you'll probably bang important parts of yourself on the top tube.

I'm going to practice this on my bike without the SPD's to see if i can do it before i kill myself.
thanks

[Celeste]

I don't think he goes far enough in emphasizing the speed you need to obtain before a beginner starts hunting for pedal to clip in the 2nd foot.

If you can't ride a straight line at very, very low speeds (aka almost a trackstand), don't worry about clipping in the 2nd foot until you have enough speed to ride a straight line.

I see beginners topple when the bike has barely moved because they don't push hard enough with the clipped in foot and they start searching for the 2nd pedal with the other. Just slam the 2nd foot on top of the pedal and start cranking.

Yup!! This is what happened to me!! Duh! I will practice again today. Scraped knee and all! LOL Will work on more technical aspect of "on and off" with the bike on the trainer and see if that helps too. Thanks ladies!

[SouthernBelle]

Yup!! This is what happened to me!! Duh! I will practice again today. Scraped knee and all! LOL Will to more technical aspect of on and off with the bike on the trainer and see if that helps too. Thanks ladies!

Agreed. I think the hardest thing to get in your head is that you can pedal without being clipped in, on one or both sides if need be.

[Celeste]

What I found today was that my brain and feet did not make the connection that when one foot is clipped in, you can still pull it back up and around to get going and slam the other foot in. Ahh! Momentum! A glorious thing.

I did that this afternoon and had a smooth start. I was quite proud of myself! Rookie-ness and all! LOL

[SadieKate]

Yahoo! Speed can be your friend.

[li10up]

2 o'clock depends on what side you are looking at...I would just say your starting foot should be forward of 12 o'clock. I agree...pushing off with the unclipped foot often causes slipping - do this carefully. I've also found that "ratcheting" your clipped in foot works pretty well. What I mean by this is push your clipped in foot down to the 6 o'clock position and then back-pedal (pull the pedal back up) to the 12 o'clock position and push back down to 6 o'clock. I find this easier than trying to pedal a complete circle when just starting from a complete stop. Doing this once usually give me enough forward momentum to clip the other foot in and pedal off. If you do try to pedal with you unclipped foot be very careful. On more than one occasion my foot has slipped off the pedal doing this and almost sent me off the bike. Hitting yourself on the top tube is not fun - man or woman!

[roadfix]

When taking off, it also helps to look straight ahead instead of down at your foot while trying to click in. Practice pedal engagement without have to look down.