Fear, fear, fear, plain old fear to clip and unclip. Advice please!

[spokewench]

Make sure they are on the loosest setting; take it to the shop and have them check if you are not sure.

Then, take the bike to a grassy area. Practice clipping in and out on both sides (not just one) cause if you only do one something will happen and you will fall the other way.

Or, put your bike on a trainer first, and practice clipping in and out and in and out until you are used to it.

Now, your old ways may still be dominant, and you may still fall over at least one more time; but generally it does not kill you; you get a few bruises and some reinforcement that you don't want to do that again and you will be fine. It is like anything; it takes a little practice.

[ny biker]

+1 on practicing on a grassy area.

I had SPD pedals for years. I always clip out with my right foot first. Due to an old ankle injury, it was most comfortable to clip out by turning my ankle inward with my foot at the top of the pedal stroke.

After getting a new bike, my knee started to hurt so I switched to Speedplay pedals. With the Speedplays, I had to relearn to clip out, because it had to be done by turning my ankle outward with my foot at the bottom of the pedal stroke. I had to overcome a habit that had become so ingrained that I did it without thinking about it.

So for my first few rides with the new pedals, I repeated the phrase "down and out" to myself periodically through the ride, and especially whenever I was in a situation where I might need to stop and clip out. Down and out, down and out, down and out. Before I knew it, the new way of clipping out had become second nature to me.

So, try coming up with a phrase to remind you what you have to do. Something like "right foot down" or "foot down on the ground" or anything to remind you that you need to have your right foot on the ground before you try to unclip left.

Re: the fear, bear in mind that everyone who uses clipless pedals has fallen because of them. It's a rite of passage. Welcome to the club!!

[Cyclismette0703]

I'm a brand new rider, and just did my first ride clipping in. I had tried a set of my bf's Look Keo pedals on a trainer, but I had a really hard time clipping in and out. He then surprised me with a set of Speedplay Light Action pedals and they were soooooo much easier! The springs have less tension, so it's easier to clip in and out. I only fell over once (because I lost momentum trying to put my water bottle away, and rode off the bike path), but I was able to unclip my right foot on the way down. The bf tried them on his Cervelo, and is going to go pick up a pair of Speedplay Zeros now (adjustable float). He's an experienced cyclist, and has used Shimano SPDs and Looks, and said that the Speedplays were the easiest.

Good luck!

[Penny4]

I just moved to clipless also, and haven't fallen. YET.
So, i have a stupid question for when I do have that inaugural fall. How do you unclip when you are laying in the middle of the street?? I'm serious! It seems like it would be very hard to unclip the foot that is on the pavement side, while you are laying down with a bike on top of you??

[Maye]

I just moved to clipless also, and haven't fallen. YET.
So, i have a stupid question for when I do have that inaugural fall. How do you unclip when you are laying in the middle of the street?? I'm serious! It seems like it would be very hard to unclip the foot that is on the pavement side, while you are laying down with a bike on top of you??

While on the street I clipped it out moving the heel to the side then I was able able to stand up and pick the bike from the floor. Not pretty!

[murielalex]

i've been using clipless pedals for two weeks, and though I had only one, painless, but embarrassing, very public fall on day two, I'm still afraid when in sections of town where there is the potential to have to stop frequently and/or suddenly. I have the two-sided SPD pedals, and have been keeping one foot unclipped only because I'm afraid. I'm fine on long stretches, but get really insecure in these areas, which only makes things worse. I'm hoping to get more comfortable, but so far, no dice. I'm just going to keep on trying.

[Possegal]

I think I know what you did, or at least I've had times where (especially when I'm tired and at the end of a ride, and early in my clipped in learning curve) I would be unclipped with one foot on the ground, off the saddle, but then move as if I think my other foot can just easily move to the ground and forget that I need to twist it. By the time I realize, my body weight is taking me over to the side that is still clipped in. Also, the first few weeks, what I kept doing was unclipping the right, off the saddle but still pretty upright over the top tube, then I'd look over my shoulder, which would throw off my body weight and down I'd go. It got quite comical actually. Now I've learned if I'm only unclipped on one side, I really move my body weight to that side, even so much as sort of leaning the bike towards that side.

Knock wood, I haven't fallen in a couple years.

[Maye]

I think I know what you did, or at least I've had times where (especially when I'm tired and at the end of a ride, and early in my clipped in learning curve) I would be unclipped with one foot on the ground, off the saddle, but then move as if I think my other foot can just easily move to the ground and forget that I need to twist it. By the time I realize, my body weight is taking me over to the side that is still clipped in. Also, the first few weeks, what I kept doing was unclipping the right, off the saddle but still pretty upright over the top tube, then I'd look over my shoulder, which would throw off my body weight and down I'd go. It got quite comical actually. Now I've learned if I'm only unclipped on one side, I really move my body weight to that side, even so much as sort of leaning the bike towards that side.

Knock wood, I haven't fallen in a couple years.

Possegal, THANKS!! That's exactly what happened!! English is not my first language and sometimes I struggle explaining things specially since I'm a newbie in the road cycling world and all the lingo associated to it. Today I learned what a top tube is which I used to call the "long part" of the frame