Ms. Coordinated Here. Falling with Clipless Pedals

[MamboGirl]

Ugh, I fell once in front of an entire bus full of people. And I was just congratulating myself on not falling for about a year... then fell over twice in one day. And not on emergency stops either. Bleah.

I also unclip coming to a planned stop; I like my cleats a little farther back than the middle of the ball of my foot, so I can use the ball/toes to keep pedaling. I unclip my left pedal, and lean over while still on the saddle, with the right foot up at 1-2 o'clock ready to go. Saddle height is related to leg length... you should be able to do this(?)

I've learned that if I'm doing something that requires thought (like reading a map) that I'd better unclip both feet and hop off the saddle, otherwise at some point I'll shift weight too much and tip over on the right, very amusing for bikers that were also reading the map. I also wasn't good with sudden stops, but now I can get my foot out and down before stopping, even if it seems pretty close.

I am saving up to get Speedplay pedals for my roadbike, but in the meantime I have Shimano pedals, and I got the cleats that will come out at a variety of angles. I have Crank Brother mallet pedals on my 'cross and mountain fair / bad weather commuters -- good with and without clipless shoes -- and initially had the cleats set up with minimum float, which meant that I had to rotate less to get them out of the clips.

Just out of curiosity -- how many people drive sticks? I am wondering if people put their left foot down more often if they are used to putting the clutch in with their left foot for stopping. (The real test would be asking the right-foot clutch "island" people in the UK, Japan, and down under.)

LOL - your post cracked me up. Thank you so much for sharing (I thank everyone for sharing!) It does make me feel better so many have shared my experience.
Yeah, I can't lean the bike and touch the ground while still on the saddle. The guy at the bike shop did the fitting, raised the seat up and moved it back a bit, so my legs and knees are all at the correct angles while spinning. My son (who is a bike enthusiast) told me that on a road bike I shouldn't be able to touch the ground while on the saddle. If the saddle is too low, he and the bike shop guy explained, I would eventually damage my knees. But, when sitting still at a light, I stand on my left foot, forward of the saddle, and keep my right foot on the pedal at around the 1:00 position, ready to go. I'm doing this with the clipless too. I just got to learn which side to clip out of to come to a complete stop and step down without getting confused and falling over.

[emily_in_nc]

I barely averted a clipless fall on today's ride. The screws in my right cleat (Eggbeaters) had become loose, and I didn't realize it. When I went to unclip my right foot at a stop sign, I rotated my heel out and out and out until my toes were pointed RIGHT at my frame, and I still couldn't unclip. By this time I'd slowed to nearly zero mph and had gone off into the grass on the right side of the road (thank heavens there was grass as I knew I was going down very, very soon). It all happened in slow motion, and I kept thinking "Damn, I'm gonna fall, and double damn, the guy in the car coming the other way is going to see me!"

Somehow, someway, at literally the last second, I was able to send a signal from my brain to my almost completely irrelevent left foot (I NEVER unclip on the left), unclip it, and lean my bike that way. One second later, and I would have been in the grass. I still can't believe I didn't fall!

I took my foot out of my Keen sandal on the right and figured out why I couldn't unclip: one of the two screws had fallen completely out, and the other was loose, allowing the cleat to rotate 360 degrees around on the pedal but not unclip. My DH tried a couple of tools but could not get the shoe off, and I just knew I couldn't ride having to clip out on the left all day. Fortunately, I was finally able to muscle the shoe off the pedal somehow, and we ended up putting the 2nd screw from the left cleat onto the right cleat so that I could clip out without freaking out.

I rode 43 more miles with only one screw in my left cleat and nary a problem! Disaster averted....

[MamboGirl]

I barely averted a clipless fall on today's ride. The screws in my right cleat (Eggbeaters) had become loose, and I didn't realize it. When I went to unclip my right foot at a stop sign, I rotated my heel out and out and out until my toes were pointed RIGHT at my frame, and I still couldn't unclip. By this time I'd slowed to nearly zero mph and had gone off into the grass on the right side of the road (thank heavens there was grass as I knew I was going down very, very soon). It all happened in slow motion, and I kept thinking "Damn, I'm gonna fall, and double damn, the guy in the car coming the other way is going to see me!"

Somehow, someway, at literally the last second, I was able to send a signal from my brain to my almost completely irrelevent left foot (I NEVER unclip on the left), unclip it, and lean my bike that way. One second later, and I would have been in the grass. I still can't believe I didn't fall!

I took my foot out of my Keen sandal on the right and figured out why I couldn't unclip: one of the two screws had fallen completely out, and the other was loose, allowing the cleat to rotate 360 degrees around on the pedal but not unclip. My DH tried a couple of tools but could not get the shoe off, and I just knew I couldn't ride having to clip out on the left all day. Fortunately, I was finally able to muscle the shoe off the pedal somehow, and we ended up putting the 2nd screw from the left cleat onto the right cleat so that I could clip out without freaking out.

I rode 43 more miles with only one screw in my left cleat and nary a problem! Disaster averted....

Wow Emily that is quite a story! Since you are experienced, you were able to recover quickly. I gather from this you carry some sort of tool set with you? What do you carry? I've read that it is good to get one of those multi-tool all in one things... I just have the little pack under the saddle with my patch kit and extra tube, and enough room for my cell phone, so I would need to get something small.

[MamboGirl]

Did you all get my play on words? Ms. Coordinated... miscoordinated... get it?

[emily_in_nc]

Wow Emily that is quite a story! Since you are experienced, you were able to recover quickly. I gather from this you carry some sort of tool set with you? What do you carry? I've read that it is good to get one of those multi-tool all in one things... I just have the little pack under the saddle with my patch kit and extra tube, and enough room for my cell phone, so I would need to get something small.

Yes, you should DEFINITELY carry a multi-tool, even if it means changing to a slightly larger, more functional seat bag. My DH carries all that stuff when we ride together, but if I were riding alone, I'd be carrying it (and tire irons, tube, etc). We couldn't have gotten the screws swapped around in my cleats without the proper sized hex wrench, and there are many other uses on rides too -- like if you seatpost slips and you need to tighten it back up. I've lent mine to a racer decked out in full team kit but no seat bag before. Felt kinda smug.

[jobob]

I took my foot out of my Keen sandal on the right and figured out why I couldn't unclip: one of the two screws had fallen completely out, and the other was loose, allowing the cleat to rotate 360 degrees around on the pedal but not unclip.

Too funny, I had the exact same thing happen to me once, with Keen sandals and eggbeater pedals, no less!

... I don't mean to imply that is an inherent problem with Keen cycling sandals or eggbeater cleats, it's just a coincidence.

I had simply forgotten to Loctite the cleat screws once I decided I had them set correctly on the soles of my Keens, and eventually the screws came loose.

Luckily I discovered it in a stress-free location near my home (like, not at an intersection ), and I was able to ride back home OK and unclip with my "vanilla" foot.

My husband and I had a heck of a time getting that shoe removed from the pedal though, oy!

So no harm done, but lesson learned! I now remember to use a bit of (blue) Loctite threadlock on the screws once I have the cleats set to where I want them, and to check the tightness of the screws occasionally.

[emily_in_nc]

So no harm done, but lesson learned! I now remember to use a bit of (blue) Loctite threadlock on the screws once I have the cleats set to where I want them, and to check the tightness of the screws occasionally.

That is funny that we both had the same experience! DH chastised me for not having him adjust my cleats before this happened, since he would have used Loctite too. I had no clue. Now I know!