Going clipless...

[Kuota Rider]

I did read a lot about it, and I practiced at home before my commute today. Yet, I still managed to have a spill out on the road. I'm glad I don't embarass easily because I fell over at a red light in front of cyclists and drivers alike! Fortunately I just have a scraped knee, so no real damage done.

I have learned my lesson tho - unclip well before getting to the red light!

I really feel your pain. I am still healing the scrape on my knee from about 2 weeks ago. My trick?!? Unclip right foot......somehow end up leaning to the left side. Uh huh.....yeah...not good. I also was at an intersection. But seeing how this was not my first time going to the ground under similar circumstances, I have gotten really good at rolling with my bike so I end up on my back with my bike straight above so I take the damage and my bike doesn't. Skin heals better than carbon fiber (don't wanna scratch the pretty stuff).

[aly]

I'm just so happy to hear I'm not the only one! So far, I've done the leaning onto the clipped in side. I unclip right, but had just made a left turn. It happened while my neighbor was watching out his window, so I'm prettysure he got a good laugh. The second was while trying to clip in while starting up a steep hill. My boyfriend was there for both, Today he kept wanting to hold the bike for me to clip in if we were starting on a steep incline, it's actually very sweet. He told me off the bat that he wasn't going to fall- and he hasn't...yet.

I've found my falls pretty funny, but I realize they could be tragic if they happened in the wrong place or time, and that kind of scares me. The split second when you suddenly go into slow-motion and you know what's happening, but can't do anything is so strange. I'm hoping I've fallen enough to learn my lesson, but who knows.

[KnottedYet]

I've got Speedplay Frogs on my zoom bike. Very nice.

On my utility bike I want to put BMX pedals. (Kona Jacksh*ts, to be precise.) They are out of stock at the moment, but I love these HUGE platform pedals. One of my bike gurus at my LBS was waxing rhapsodic about the Kona pedals after I told him I wanted to put them on my Surly.

If you don't want to go clipless, the BMX style pedals really are sweet.

Edit: these are the Kona pedals, http://content.konaworld.com/webstor...category_id=22

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

On my utility bike I want to put BMX pedals. (Kona Jacksh*ts, to be precise.) They are out of stock at the moment, but I love these HUGE platform pedals. One of my bike gurus at my LBS was waxing rhapsodic about the Kona pedals after I told him I wanted to put them on my Surly.
If you don't want to go clipless, the BMX style pedals really are sweet.
Edit: these are the Kona pedals, http://content.konaworld.com/webstor...category_id=22

Why are they so great??

[FH Cyclist]

Hi guys, I've been clipless for about a year and really like how much more power I get. I started out on my mountain bike and learned to do both as is suggested here.

One of the best pieces of advice I got was from a sales guy at REI. He suggested I bring my bike in the house and put the bike in an open doorway. Using your arms to keep you upright and balanced, he suggested practicing getting out of the clips - on either side. It was excellent advice because I could practice and figure out how tight I wanted my clips. I ended up with my clips being fairly loose on my mountain bike and a bit tighter on my road bike.

When I purchased my road bike the store owner also suggested that I practice pushing down and then out, instead of the out that I had been doing. That helps a lot as well. It comes out a lot quicker when you push down first.

Thanks for the advice on turning the wheel. I'm not sure I do that so I'll try that tomorrow.

One last piece of advice - get you, in your clips, on your bike fitted by a professional. I had my clips adjusted by the bike store owner where I bought my road bike and it was fabulous. I'm still trying to match how they feel - my left is great. My left foot and pedal seem to be wedded to each other and working completely in synch. I'm not quite there with my right yet. But it makes a huge difference!!! - at least it did for me.

[hellbells123]

hi every one im new to this site ..but already getting some great advice!

im assuming clipless means the pedals that you need to clip in and out of ?? im due to try mine out for the first time on saturday but havnt spent that much time practising at home..should i be doing more ?

im gonna be rereading this post several times to memorize all the tips..

helen

[bikermomma]

hi every one im new to this site ..but already getting some great advice!

im assuming clipless means the pedals that you need to clip in and out of ?? im due to try mine out for the first time on saturday but havnt spent that much time practising at home..should i be doing more ?

im gonna be rereading this post several times to memorize all the tips..

helen

I had my husband keep me upright while I practiced clipping in and out. SO then I went out and tried clipping in/out in my driveway. Then the road.