which foot do you unclip? (shoe pic for Zen)

[li10up]

I unclip with my left foot and start out with my right foot clipped in. There is so much glass and other debris along the curbs I stay as far away from them as possible...I don't use them to prop myself up at lights. I can unclip my right foot but it doesn't feel very natural.

[SadieKate]

Worn cleats cause unclipping at unexpected times (like in a race or a critical emergency manuever) and foot instability which can cause pain in other places (knees, hips, ankles, etc.).

What's a few bucks to save some pain?

I also don't prop myself up on the curb at intersections. Guaranteed way to confuse and anger motorists. You're in the way of the ones who want to turn right -- and you stand a good chance of getting clipped because they'll turn into you.

[OakLeaf]

I unclip right.

Someone actually asked me the other day whether I was left handed (I'm not). They said that most everyone that's right handed unclips left.

I don't know that the horse analogy holds, either, because on a motorcycle, you always put your left foot down first (because your right foot controls the rear brake). If foot-down habits translated from other sports, you'd think that motorcycle habits would translate to bicycles a lot more strongly than horse habits.

For me, I think it's the curb thing. I had years of urban commuting before the ADA. Nowadays, that doesn't hold, especially where I live now. The other riders in my club are mostly (though not all) younger than I am, and most of them grew up in the community we now ride out from... small to begin with, and blessed with miles of bike trails we can use to get out of town and onto the "real" roads. So on the rare occasions when we're even around curbs, there are wheelchair cuts which have probably been there as long as most younger riders can remember.

Interesting....

[VeloVT]

There was a long thread about who unclips how and why a few months ago (I spend too much time here ). Turns out most (though not all) like to start with their dominant foot clipped in. Just like it's more common to be right-hand dominant than left, it's more common to be right-foot dominant. Thus many a rightie who unclips left!

I'm a leftie who is right-foot dominant. So I'm a leftie who unclips left most of the time. Though I can unclip right if I'm in danger of falling .

[Voodoo Sally]

I unclip left. I do believe it comes from years of mountain biking & racing. When you're either going to dump your bike in a bail out / crash, or you lay it down for a rest stop, you lay it on its left side, so as not to damage the derailleur. Leaning left became automatic.

[Eden]

hmmmm I'm right handed and unclip right (I'm left foot dominant though...) I prefer to start with my dominant foot clipped in so the right one is always the one that comes out. I'm naturally right handed though I can be fairly ambidextrous if I try.

[OakLeaf]

I'm extremely right handed and pretty right footed, but I'm left eyed. I wonder if that has anything to do with it?

[emily_in_nc]

I'm right handed, clip out right first, clip in left first. I developed this habit from learning to ride clipless on the back of a tandem, so it was was easier/more natural to follow what DH did. He's a right-handed person who also unclips on the right first. Just call us oddballs!

Emily