Crash tallies - going clipless!

[michelem]

P.S. I have the Shimano PD-M520's.

[SouthernBelle]

I ride a set of 505s and they will loosen.

When you take off from a stop sign, you should already be clipped in on one side. Then don't worry about clipping in on the second pedal til you are thru the intersection. Pedal with your toe or arch if necessary til you get thru.

[luvs2ride]

I'm also falling pretty frequently and it's been about 4 months!! Seems like I get a bit "cocky" and then down I go. Practice, practice, practice!! That's what helps for me. I'm training for a Century this june so lots of time in the seat and it's getting easier. I used to pedal about 50% of the time with only one foot clipped in (because the other one was giving me difficulty-speedplays) . . now I'm up to 95% of my time pedaling with both feet in! YEAH!! Envision yourself having a sucessful ride with no falls and it will happen. Oh yeah . . . prayer also helps for me-especially on those hills! Trust me that it will get easier-has for me! HAPPY CLIPPING!

[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!

[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.