Clipping out up a steep hill?

[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?

[OakLeaf]

NO, don't unclip during a descent! That really increases the chances you'll lose control.

Covering your brakes is good; feathering them when you start getting beyond your comfort zone is good; riding them until your wheels lock and your tires skid (another loss of control), or until your rims heat up and you lose braking power, is not good.

Do a search on descending, there are lots of good tips on the forum.

[Biciclista]

This particular thing has also terrorized me. In the first year I was using my SPD's, my husband led me up a very steep hill. There were cars behind me. i started to panic because I knew i couldn't unclip because i might fall over from inertia... So i headed towards the curb and threw myself to the right, bike and all, where there was some nice grass! YES! That particular fall was not painful.
I have my SPD's set up at the loosest settings so i can just yank my feet out any which way (Which i have done more than once!) and i did that day too.


I have gone through a lot of pedal types and what i have now is an SPD type that has a regular pedal that you could use with street shoes and the SPD for the other.
Gabriellesca, you should try riding with just one foot clipped in for a bit. Once you realize that you can get out of the pedals whenever you want, it gets less terrifying.

About a month after i started riding with the SPD's, i was riding with my son, he noticed i was clipping and unclipping and was concerned that the cleets were too loose. i explained to him that i was practicing... he never had to do any of that. he just got onto the bike, clipped in, and that was it... sigh...

[gabriellesca]

Thanks Oak - that is what I do - feather my breaks. But I took some heat on my team for applying them during a decent. I didn't care what they said, I felt safer using them.

Biciclista - that sounds terrifying. Its that kind of situation that really makes me wonder why, as someone that is NOT athletic and a major scaredy-cat, I chose cycling as my hobby.

My boyfriend and I have been talking - he's concerned this fear will deter me from riding. I can tell he's trying reverse pych on me because he's encouraging me to go back to toe cages and that is not like him. So I told him - I will ride 4 or 5 times on the pedals - as I mentioned good routes I know and know what to expect. Then I will reassess. If I still can't relax enough and am not enjoying the rides because I'm constantly clipping in and out and scared - then I'll go back to toe cages!

[ny biker]

Thanks Oak - that is what I do - feather my breaks. But I took some heat on my team for applying them during a decent. I didn't care what they said, I felt safer using them.

They saw a woman crash spectacularly because she lost control on a descent, but they still think you're not supposed to brake on a descent?

Go ahead and use your brakes. Oak's advice is spot-on.

[Catrin]

It sounds to me like you are doing great! I had a failed experiment with clipless earlier this year - but I just got on a bike for the first time in my life in December 2009! I was overly ambitious with my timing and need to get all the other stuff into muscle memory before I start adding things like clipping in. I won't admit how many times I fell over in a 3-day period...

It DID work right for me a few times though, enough to see the advantages of being attached to the pedals. I am currently using BMX pedals - and while I will eventually make the switch again, it may not be this year, but time will tell

Anyway, I wanted to say that I think you are doing great!

[gabriellesca]

Thanks Catrin - mostly this is really p*ssing me off - I hate that there is this thing out there that is frightening me and I just want to overcome it. I saw everyone on my team ride with them and I know that there is obviously some strong benefits. I want to make this work and do NOT want to chicken out.

I'm a pretty slow and overly cautious rider anyway. I'm not into speed and rarely ride in a group or on busy streets. In the 17 weeks I trained for my century - not once did I have to stop abruptly or have a panicked moment where I had to put my feet on the ground quickly. (I had lots of panicked moments decenting though.)

So I need to grow-up and just practice - enjoy the ride while I'm doing it. And realize that if all of you could learn to do it - I can too!

[gabriellesca]

Actually ........ on my century - I remember coming up a small but semi-steep hill - it came up quickly and I was pedaling slowly and wanted to stand to get out of the saddle. I didn't have the power in my legs so I did need to put both of my feet down at that point.

I think its those kinds of moments I feel most worried about - when I don't have the power to go further - so I need to put my feet down. I'm worried that I won't have the strength to unclip that quickly.

I'm also scared of riding with cars that are parked and what if one of them backs up not seeing me - but then again - even with Toe Clips - I'd have a problem having to break suddenly.

Oh boy - I need to chill. I was so hoping this would be easier.

[OakLeaf]

I'm also scared of riding with cars that are parked and what if one of them backs up not seeing me -

You want to be in the lane of traffic, NOT in the parking area. You don't want to be weaving in and out of the traffic lane as you pass parked cars. You also want to stay far enough to the left of parked cars that you don't get "doored."

[ny biker]

I'm also scared of riding with cars that are parked and what if one of them backs up not seeing me - but then again - even with Toe Clips - I'd have a problem having to break suddenly.

Tips on safe cycling:

http://www.bikearlington.com/pages/b...n/safe-riding/

http://www.bikearlington.com/tasks/s..._Bicycling.pdf


Oak is right about staying in the traffic lane.

Also remember that you will see rear brake lights turn off in car where the driver is about to do something that you need to be alert to. They will take their foot off the brake because they're about to pull out of a parking space or back up, or they've just shut off the engine so they're probably about to open the door.

You can do this. Just take a deep breath and go.

[gabriellesca]

Yes - I'm in the traffic lane - not in a parking lot.

This is silly - I'm sitting here doing the worse thing I could do which is reading everyone's posts on falling and having accidents - some because of going clipless and others just because of road/riding issues.

I've now totally frightened myself into thinking that I should sell the bike and take up knitting.