Clipping out up a steep hill?

[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!

[TrekTheKaty]

11 times! In what time period? I'm up to 3.

I forgot zig zagging. My DH rides a particularly RUDE route in Babler State Park, MO. My Brother-in-Law first tried the zig zag on that route, and he said it's better than walking

[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!

[AMP]

Today was Mother's Day, my 57th birthday, and I got to ride my spankin' new Bianchi Infinito with clipless pedals for the first time. For about ten feet and 3 seconds.... I clipped in with both feet, didn't bother to check what gear I was in, couldn't move the pedals fast enough and went right down. So, all the fear I had about how I was surely going to crash, how I wasn't going to be able to get my feet off those pedals was right on. And then after the shock and the indignity, I realized I was actually quite all right. I got back on, clipped in and out about thirty times each foot while I held onto my parked truck, checked my gears, and then rode for an hour around an enormous parking lot clipping in and out the entire time. Not gracefully and not without muttering some awful stuff about new technology.

But actually, I'm glad I spilled. Helped my panicky fear. I needed to get that out of the way. My LBS told me I'd have three spills. Better than 11. I figure I'd better keep out of traffic for everyone's sake and off very steep grades until I'm much more intuitive with these pedals.

I can't help but remember that learning to ride a bike was not without it's perils and that so many women have bravely mastered these pedals. I think we can all do it, but we need to give ourselves enough time to learn to this new--and scary--skill safely.

[Crankin]

You don't have to go through any of this to put a dropped chain back on! You have to think quickly to do this, but it's second nature to me now. As soon as you feel the chain slip, you put your bike in the big ring and keep pedaling. The chain goes back on by itself. Really.
If you are on a steep hill, this might be hard, but you can carefully shift the chain down to the next lower ring as you keep pedaling once it's back on, but you have to soft pedal. The trick to steep grades is to put your bike in the granny gear (or small ring if you have a double) before you start the climb and put the cogs in a higher gear, so you can shift down as you need to.
You can put a dropped chain back on if you are off of the bike the same way. Put the bike in the big gear, pick it up and rotate the pedals by hand until the chain pops back on.
I do not like those steep climbs with a stop sign at the top, either.
Clipless pedals are not that scary. Make sure you have the tension set at the easiest setting, if you have spd pedals. All this talk of 11 falls is crazy. I never fell and as I said earlier, I am not that coordinated.

[OakLeaf]

I do not like those steep climbs with a stop sign at the top, either.

+a million. Especially if the road you're crossing is busy. Especially if it's wet. I've come close to getting in serious trouble in that situation.

What I like even less is those steep climbs with a stop sign in the middle.

Back to the OP - I think a lot of it is about anticipation, just like all the other aspects of hill climbing. Think of clipping out as your final downshift. Just as you need to shift before you run out of power, and lighten up on your pedal stroke so you're not putting a lot of torque on the chain when you shift, it's the same with clipping out. Know when you're starting to run out of steam, know the minimum cadence and maximum power where you're no longer able to keep the bike upright (by feel, not necessarily by gadgetry, although those are nice if you have them), and don't be so hung up on getting up the hill without walking that you don't clip out until it's too late.

And it's possible (but just as likely not) I might have had 11 FTU falls since I first started riding clipless in 1987. Certainly not in any short period of time after I first learned.

[gabriellesca]

AMP - I wish I had such a healthy attitude. I'm so frightened of falling and I've only done it twice and both times it really upset me. Isn't that silly? The first time I was out on a road I had no clue where I was and none of my teammates were around. I really wiped out on that one (and that was just me turning to see if they were coming). Yesterday's fall scraped up my knee but you're right - I survived - it wasn't that bad. For me its all about the memory of my friend falling into that moving car. It really scared me.

But I do have to keep trying - not give up. So many people have gone through this and have learned it - and it seems to be second nature for everyone now. Just like anything in life, its all about attitude. So its time for a better attitude.

I'm planning on going down to my old hometown Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sat - to ride those streets. I know the hills - and the hills I can't get up - I know where all the stop signs are - where traffic gets heavier. So I'm going to go down when kids are in school and parents are at work and ride. I'm hoping it will help give me a bit of confidence.

Thanks for the tips about clipping out on hill. Oak - great points that I hadn't really thought about.

I'm just wondering how long until when you ride you go back to your regular speed and you don't constantly clip in and out? I did it over and over again yesterday as if to just double check that it all still worked.

[gabriellesca]

ps. One time we saw this woman who was flying down a super steep hill with a stop at the bottom and a super busy road at the stop. She didn't have time to stop quickly and unclip and really wiped out - she was in bad shape. We had to call an ambulance. That is really scary. When I go down super steep hills I still use my breaks (I know I shouldn't) - but how in the world do you handle a hill like that? Unclip as you're going down in case there is a stop at the bottom?

[marni]

I do not like those steep climbs with a stop sign at the top, either.

Or how about the rides in the Hill Country with t he cattle guard half way up the steepest part of the steepest hills? Just when you realize that you are in your granny granny gear and can't get up enough speed to get over it safely. And it is such fun tip toeing over those things. One ride I did had nothing but hills, and most of them, or at least 14 had cattle guards on them. I walked a lot that day.

marni

[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.

[sundial]

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.

Your body follows what your mind focuses on and since you were thinking about her fall, it set you up for yours.

Like Darcy, I ride a steep hill clipped in and when I get to where I'm about to either a) fall over or b) blow up or c) roll backwards, I steer the bike at a 45 degree angle to reduce the incline and try to refocus and climb. (Note: check for traffic first. )I remember one time when I did unclip one foot and placed it on the ground, it slid backwards. If I'm too pooped I simply pull off the road and wait until I catch my breath.