But that's what I meant.
Once you're in that position, yes your options are limited and there's a probability you'll fall (probably a smaller probability than what it actually FEELS like, but it happens for sure, probably to all of us, it's definitely happened to me).
My point was that now, I dismount BEFORE that happens. When I'm starting to run out of muscle or oxygen and I look up at that hill and it's only getting steeper and/or it's not going to crest any time soon ... that's when I dismount. Not when it's "OMG I'm going to fall over and I need to get off my bike."
ETA: to the OP, you can only actually flip over backwards if your weight is behind the rear axle. It would have to be a steeper hill than I've ever heard of where you couldn't prevent that just by moving your weight over the pedals ... which you naturally do when climbing anyway, to get the force of gravity behind your pedal stroke. What's much more likely to happen is that you un-weight the front wheel enough that it loses traction and slips out from under you.
Last edited by OakLeaf; 04-21-2011 at 04:06 AM.
Speed comes from what you put behind you. - Judi Ketteler