Quote Originally Posted by shewhobikes
My LBS guy, what a sweetie, advised me to get used to my new road bike (Cannondale SR800) for a few weeks on platforms.
That was excellent advice on his part !

It amazes me how many people who might be unfamiliar with road bike geometries and clipless pedals are sold road bikes equipped with clipless pedals from the outset. What are these LBS folks thinking? Most mortals need a bit of time to get accustomed to the position, shifting, and braking of road bikes, and then to add clipless pedals into the mix from the beginning, yeesh.

There were a couple of people in the Intro to Road Bike Riding class I help teach who showed up with brand-new road bikes with clipless pedals. I felt so bad for them, they were having such a hard time dealing with the pedals on top of all the other information overload they were experiencing - one poor guy tipped over virtually every time he came to a stop that first day. He's doing better now, but I for one don't think I would have survived that kind of trauma

I wholeheartedly agree with your LBS guy - get accustomed to the bike first, get proficient in stopping and shifting and manuevering, then switch over to the clipless pedals. OK, end of rant