To do Clipless or Not to do Clipless ! ?????

[julbee]

Hi to all!

Thanks for the reminder "techno!" ("...those who will fall... those who have fallen.. those who will fall again....")

I am quite frightened of falling! I didn't used to be... many years ago!
I am, however, in chronic severe pain. I have had extensive pain management treatment and am on very potent pain meds every single day.

I still ride.. now that TE has inspired me to try it again anyway!

My pain is overall and so severe, docs don't expect to ever get complete pain control. It doesn't take much to exacerbate the pain to "excruciating,"
despite several types of main meds combined!

I will fall... sometime... because I am going to continue to ride. It is actually easier and less painful for me to ride a bike than to walk!

Does anyone have any tips on methods of "breaking the fall?"

So... many have the initial fear of clipless pedals and the "fall." I wonder if it's helpful to discuss any possible techniques for minimizing the impact of the fall?

Thanks!

[Technotart]

I am told that the Bike Medic program in Houston puts all of their trainees through a "How to fall" course. These guys have to ride in where ambulances can't go, they climb steps in cities on bikes, they cruise into ravines that are very steep and wooded. I am sure there are techniques to reduce the chances of pain or injury after a fall, I would think that the primary thing would be to spread the impact out over as large an area as possible. Don't throw your hand out to catch yourself, just ball yourself up as much as possible when you go over. Easier said than done. That kind of falling takes practice. Got an old mattress you can throw out in the back yard?

[CorsairMac]

Hi to all!

Thanks for the reminder "techno!" ("...those who will fall... those who have fallen.. those who will fall again....")

I am quite frightened of falling! I didn't used to be... many years ago!
I am, however, in chronic severe pain. I have had extensive pain management treatment and am on very potent pain meds every single day.

I still ride.. now that TE has inspired me to try it again anyway!

My pain is overall and so severe, docs don't expect to ever get complete pain control. It doesn't take much to exacerbate the pain to "excruciating,"
despite several types of main meds combined!

I will fall... sometime... because I am going to continue to ride. It is actually easier and less painful for me to ride a bike than to walk!

Does anyone have any tips on methods of "breaking the fall?"

So... many have the initial fear of clipless pedals and the "fall." I wonder if it's helpful to discuss any possible techniques for minimizing the impact of the fall?

Thanks!

One of the best pieces of advice I got when I started MTB'ng: we found a big sandy patch and I fell - several times. It's the intial fear of falling that scares most people - once you've done it you know A) how you'll react {as a rule} and B) what it feels like. That being said, up there with Techo, Don't throw your hand out to try and "catch" you. I tend to relax when I fall and just let the fall happen so the damage is minimized but I also have no fear of falling. I just assume it's going to happen and each day it doesn't is a "good" day!

[julbee]

Hi Ladies!

Thanks for the ideas for practicing the inevitable "fall!"
I will take it all into consideration, for sure!
And very soon!
Please see the "news" I want to share under "Am I in heaven?"

With Gratitude,
Julie

[yzylan]

my first set of clipless shoes were shimano mountain bike shoes--MO38s. they were recommended to me as a good shoe for not-so-seasoned clipless riders and spinning class afficianados. that sounded like me, and in retrospect, it was a good suggestion. the advantage of this sort of shoe is that the cleat is recessed into the bottom of the shoe, which otherwise looks like a regular old hiking shoe (i.e.: it has a tread). this helps for two reasons: the shoe doesn't slip on the ground (when you put your foot down, or when you're off the bike) and it doesn't slip off the pedal. i used them with a set of combination pedals (SPD on a platform) and within about a month i was completely comfortable engaging and disengaging the cleats.

i didn't appreciate these "non-slip" features until i got grownup clipless road shoes a few months ago. there is nothing quite as embarassing as trying to get going from a dead stop, and having your foot swipe off the top of the pedal 6 or 7 times. suave.

i still use my "beginner" shoes for touring and commuting because they're very comfortable to walk around in, though they're a bit clunky for fitness/distance rides.

[ccnyc]

Hope this helps anyone who may be nervous about switching to a clipless pedal.

I had toe clips and straps and was very nervous about switching because I had tried my DH's Look 5.1 pedals on the trainer and I couldn't get my foot unclipped no matter how hard I tried (Yikes... I'll never be able to use clipless pedals!). After reading all the clipless pedal threads (thanks everybody) I decided to go with the Speedplay Zero's (non-recessed, road bike pedals).

I've had the Zero's about 1 month now and they are excellent. Easy to clip out and easy to clip in (once the screw tension on the cleat was set properly). I practiced for about 30 minutes on the trainer and knew I would not have problems clipping out. I have absolutely NO ANXIETY about not being able to clip out in time, even in an emergency stop. They definitely give me more pedal power overall and especially going up those $%!#$ hills. Also, if you are not yet clipped in you can still pedal with your foot just sitting on the pedal. I've had one foot slip off the pedal but since the other one was clipped in I just pedaled with that foot until I could get my act together.

I had one "Artie Johnson" fall at the beginning (I was clipped out with one foot but fell to the clipped in side, on the George Washington Bridge, in front of 3 experienced riders) and last weekend I fell because when I put my unclipped foot down as I was coming to a stop the cleat (which is metal) slid on the pavement and I went down. My first road rash! Advice: put your heel down first (my shoes have a rubber heel thingie) when you're stopping, not the ball of your foot.

For Do-It-Yourselfers: The pedals and cleats were easily installed by my DH in about 20 minutes. (Our LBS took 2 hours trying to install them, but they couldn't figure it out so I went home with my toe clips and straps. What losers.) Some minor adjustments were necessary – one cleat needed to be moved a little for comfort and the screws on the cleats needed to be loosened to make clipping in easier.

I wish I had switched sooner because it really has made the cycling experience much better.

Carol

[Wendy]

What LBS didn't know how to install pedals and cleats? I need to know which one to avoid on my next trip into the city. Egad.

[ccnyc]

Wendy:
Appalling isn't it? It was Sid's on 34th street.
I've always had pretty good service there and the person I usually deal with, Alan, was not there that day. I'm sure if he was I would have had a totally different experience. They've put on new handlebars, a new crankset, etc., for me and lots of major stuff done on my husbands bike, and everything worked out well. So this was a real surprise.

Perhaps this was a defective pedal/cleat set. It was the only Speedplay Zero they had in stock. Or, the woman who was trying to install it was just a moron.

Carol