Clipping out up a steep hill?

[ny biker]

Any tips for clipping out when you're climbing a super steep hill, going super slow, and need to put your foot down?

Shift into your lowest gear and keep pedaling. That's what I do. And when I'm only going 3 mph, I start to laugh at how slowly I'm going.

[DarcyInOregon]

It has happened to me a few times, needing to unclip on a hill. A few times the grade was too steep and too long, about a 20% grade that was over 1/2 mile, and I was down in my granny gear and it was too much. I looked for a paved drive on the side, turned into the drive because it was flat, and was able to unclip. A few times I didn't anticipate the grade being quite so steep, over 17%, didn't shift down in time, dropped the chain, couldn't unclip, and fell over. Falling over doesn't bother me. I get some road rash and rarely a bruise. I topple over a few times a year for whatever reason, usually a dropped chain and no time to unclip. I am not a dufus that drops my chain all of the time, but it does happen to me a few times a year.

For me the worse case scenario is being on a new rural route, go up a steep hill, and the steep grade ends at a stop sign on a busy rural highway with no flat area to unclip before reaching the highway. I learned to turn my bike to the right, pray there is a paved shoulder and then unclip.

[redrhodie]

The week I went clip-less, I nearly had that same fall. Somehow, my foot unclipped at the last possible second, and I caught myself. I haven't had that happen again since, but I think if I was in that situation again, I'd try to turn into the direction of the foot I unclip (providing there were no cars coming) so that I was at a less steep angle, then I'd either unclip, or try "paperboy" it up the hill (zigzag across the rode). If there were cars, well, I don't know what I'd do.

[Bike Chick]

The last time I tried to unclip on a steep hill, I went down and had to nurse a bloody knee the rest of the ride and pick road grit out of my leg for the next few days.

Your timing has to be just right when you do it. Clip out with the foot that's closest to the ground.

Or.......just put your head down and keep pedaling

[gabriellesca]

Thanks guys - good to know its not a totally easy thing to do that I'm so worried about.

Darcy - I know this is a really stupid question but what happens when you 'drop your chain?' My chain has never come off - is that what you mean?

[gabriellesca]

ps. I rode on my new pedals for the first time today. It was super windy here (30 mph) so I knew I wasn't going for a long/normal ride. I rode around the parking lot a bit - clipping in and out. I did fall once when I had come to a stop and was struggling to clip out with my right food instead of my left (my regular foot) - I was thinking it might be easier since I have more power in my right leg. But then I realized that I was trying to pull up a bit to clip out instead of pushing a bit down and to the outside. So I rode around the parking lot and then down the street. I did 6 very slow miles - just kept clipping in and out - practicing stopping and starting.

But I can't imagine relaxing enough to ride at a normal speed. I wouldn't go over 10 mph - I was just so paranoid that I would need to stop and wouldn't be able to get out.

Does this get easier? Do you get used to it/confidence enough that you pick up your speed.

I have to admit it felt TOTALLY different than my toe cages but it was still a little scary.

[AnnieBikes]

Dropping the chain can be happening for several reasons. It can be from a bike that has a bit of cable stretch (as with a new chain over time) or if the limit screws on the derailleur are not set properly and the chain either goes off on the frame side of the chain rings or the pedal side. If it happens, it is easily fixed by pulling forward on the derailleur and putting the chain back onto the smaller front ring. You might get some grease on your hands but that's why I wear black shorts! If it happens very often,take note of which side the chain drops to so you can get your bike shop to reset the limit screws. If it happens only rarely, it can be a bad shift and I think that happens to all of us at one time or another!

Check out this website for help on a dropped chain...not trying to hijack this thread!!

http://www.bicyclesouth.com/chain.htm

[AnnieBikes]

Gabriellesca.it is so normal to be so scared!! I was absolutely petrified when I started and I assure you after you ride with them a while, you will become totally comfortable with them. My bike shop said to be prepared to fall off 11 times (who knows where THAT figure came from!!) I have fallen but I have gotten better and better and now don't even think about it. It DOES take time to become comfortable and what you are doing is right...practice, practice, practice. Plan to clip out a bit BEFORE you are ready to stop...plan ahead always and you will not fall. You will learn to go faster and you will learn to feel confident. It just takes TIME!! Good luck and don't give up!

[Pedal Wench]

Check out this website for help on a dropped chain...not trying to hijack this thread!!

http://www.bicyclesouth.com/chain.htm

Ha! That's my local bike shop!

[DarcyInOregon]

Darcy - I know this is a really stupid question but what happens when you 'drop your chain?' My chain has never come off - is that what you mean?

It is like Annie said, the dropped chain typically comes from a bad shift and usually on a steep grade. When cycling up a steep hill, when shifting down, you actually have to let up a little bit on the pedaling to enable the shifting. But if you are going "oh nuts" and you are pushing to pedal just to keep a momentum going you might not be able to ease up a bit and the shift results in a dropped chain.

Last month I was on a 58 mile ride with a friend. At about mile 22, on a rural road with hardly any traffic, there is a steep hill with about a 15% grade. I've gone up that hill maybe 10 times already this year and I had no problems with my shifting, never even gave the shifting a thought because it was just automatic. However this time I didn't ease up enough when I shifted down, and the chain dropped. Now I've biked enough years that I know when the chain drops on a hill to not waste seconds thinking "oh the chain dropped, what should I do" but at the same instant that the chain drops I have to unclip and plant one or two feet on the ground. But nope this time instead of doing any of that I call out to my friend that my chain dropped and I was going to fall over, and you see my point, in the amount of time I spent hollering out to my friend I could have unclipped and planted my feet on the ground. It wasn't like there was any traffic to worry about so I could have been anywhere on the road. So I toppled over and got a few scrapes. It still turned out to be an amazingly good ride with a lot of nice speeds and finished with energy to spare.

[gabriellesca]

11 times - HOLY ****! Maybe I need to fall more often so I can see its okay and not a big deal. The fall today killed my knee - but then I tend to be a wimp. I really think seeing my teammate fall into a moving car because she couldn't clip out really freaked me out. I kept thinking of that all day. And I'm just worried this was something that is going to deter me from getting back into cycling instead of help me get back into it. But I will go out again and ride this week - I just hope I feel more confident and can enjoy it. I'm off on Wed, Thurs, and Fri - so I think I will ride each day down on my favorite route. Maybe a few of those rides being able to stop and start up again, etc., will give me some confidence.

Darcy - That sounds scary - but you seem like its not a big deal for you! I'm such a newbie I don't even know grades to hills, etc. - and the chain - I think I understand it and now that you mention it I think that my chain did come off once (is that the same thing?) and I managed to put it back on. But I'm going to stop thinking about that now as I don't need another thing to add to my paranoia.

[Faster Pussycat]

For me the worse case scenario is being on a new rural route, go up a steep hill, and the steep grade ends at a stop sign on a busy rural highway with no flat area to unclip before reaching the highway.

This was my situation last week except on a steep hill in a reasonably busy suburb! I was with a group and they stopped at the top of the hill as there were cars parked on each side and we were going to make a right hand turn but needed to give way to traffic. I unclipped ready to stop and the girls moved forward. I pedalled over and my foot clicked back in (I use speedplays). I had already started to lean my weight to the left to stop but just couldn't get my foot out in time. I didn't help that I was totally unfamiliar with the route.

The worst part wasn't the fall - it was that on a 500m stretch of road I fell right next to a pallate of roof tiles on the verge. Which my head bounced off of. I was pefectly OK except for some dropped dignity and the need for a new helmet.

gabriellesca, I used to think that every other cyclist knew something I didn't. That they all had these superior skills and reaction times and I just didn't think too fast. In all honestly, this isn't the case. In a lot of situations they are likely to come a cropper as well. Some things are just harder to navigate than others. So keep practicing and take baby steps, you will get there.

I have had quite a few nerve blocks in my upper c-spine and so my balance is rubbish. It has taken many months of solid practice just to be able to take a water bottle. About four times a week I head to a quiet, big car park and just practice skills. Starting, stopping, riding one handed etc.

I am an over thinker as well and there is some truth to just doing it. At the same time you need to enjoy your cycling and being scared kinda sucks the fun out of it.

It really is a matter of practice and don't beat yourself up because it doesn't come as naturally to you as it may seem to come to others.

[gabriellesca]

You guys are so right - I am overthinking this to death and I am letting myself picture non-stop the falls, how bad my falls have hurt, my friend's fall. I'm not picturing the positive side of going clipless - of enjoying the benefits of it (which I'm sure I will feel once I relax). I'm so caught up in the negative that I'm not seeing the positive. I trait that I battle in every aspect of my life but that I am working on.

Shoot - there are so many good suggestions and posts I want to respond to them all. AMP - I like that we're in similar places and both trying to get through it. Tulip - DEAD ON - you're so right that I'm focusing only on my fear and the negative. I know I need to change this. Sundial - I always forget to paperboy it (isn't that what it is called) - I can always do that if I need to and there are no cars. NY - TOTALLY need to just envision it going smoothly. Withm - I do keep thinking this - hello - everyone rides this way - I can too! And Faster - thanks for just reminding me that it may SEEM easier for others.

Everyone here has been so helpful - sometimes I need a smack. And I need a smack!

This may be a bit much - but the one thing I've learned through cycling is how it is such a metaphore for life in general. I think of how when you approach a hill from the base it looks huge and you think you can never get over it - you can't imagine how you will have the power to get up it - and then slowly you make your way up - chugging along - and you get to the top and you're so proud! There was this hill on my training rides and it was so huge to me - we would take a route that took us down it for weeks. The first week we had to go up it I paniced. But I got up it and celebrated all day. So ........ you now have me excited to do this. To get past this fear. To picture myself reaping the rewards!

When I signed up for my Century in 2008 with Team in Training I NEVER thought could train and ride it. No one in my life thought I would do it. On the morning of the ride my brother-in-law told my sister he thought I wouldn't make it 5 miles. But I did 17 weeks of training - every training ride - I only sagged 2x - and I rode every mile of the 103.3. So if I can do that - I certainly can do this!

(How's that for a pep-talk?) THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

[ny biker]

When I signed up for my Century in 2008 with Team in Training I NEVER thought could train and ride it. No one in my life thought I would do it. On the morning of the ride my brother-in-law told my sister he thought I wouldn't make it 5 miles. But I did 17 weeks of training - every training ride - I only sagged 2x - and I rode every mile of the 103.3. So if I can do that - I certainly can do this!

I don't like your brother-in-law. Don't listen to him. Or any other doubters, for that matter. Listen to us instead.

[gabriellesca]

He's actually an awesome guy and I adore him. I think he started driving the route and couldn't imagine I would finish. He also saw me starting out and I was a wreck and very slow at the start - getting used to all the riders etc. - He and my sister rode the ENTIRE 103.3 miles - they would go up ahead 10 miles and then park or find a little place to put lawn chairs out and then cheer me on. WHen I came in at the end of the day (10 hours later) he was bawling right along with me and my sister! So he's a good guy!

But I know what you mean - not good for people not to believe in you. I think they were just shocked that I did it. I was too!