Well THAT didn't go well (clipless pedals)

[TigerMom]

Well, you're ahead of where I was. My gut instinct told me to get the A530's, but I let the guy in the LBS talk me into another pedal, which admittedly will be good for long rides, as it has a shoe to pedal contact closer to that of a road pedal. Just the mental knowledge of knowing "Hey, I can go back, or transition more slowly, at any time" will probably help you relax. Which could very well make you more successful.

I, however, am an inherent clutz, and I obviously forgot that when I started trying it out. You'll probably be fine. I usually hear stories of falling once or twice, not the frequency that happened to me yesterday. I had about as many time where I was able to stay upright - and semi-gracefully, at that - but I don't think a 50% success rate is good for me or the pretty new bike.

I'm clumsy too. I definitely am NOT going clipless on my mountain bike because there are too many sudden unexpected trail changes while mountain biking.

As for my road bike, I fell about 20 times. Yes, my poor bike was scratched from day 1. Luckily, I have hard bones.

I wanted to learn unclipping right foot first because it's safer to fall away from traffic. Unfortunately, I found out that I strongly fall left.

Figure out which side you tend to fall towards and pick that foot to unclip first and only for now. You can wear sneakers on both feet and practice "unclipping". Once you start building up muscle memory, wear one biking shoe on the side that you unclip out first and wear a sneaker on the other foot (the foot that you prefer to unclip second) until you are comfortable.
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2012 Specialized Amira Elite, upgraded carbon handle bars, Jett saddle 143mm switched to 145mm 2012 Selle Italia Max SLR Gel Flow saddle
2010 Santa Cruz Juliana with R kit and Crampon pedals
2011 Specialized Ariel Sport,suspension post,Serfas Rx Women's Microfiber saddle (sold)

[luvmyguys]

I'm clumsy too. I definitely am NOT going clipless on my mountain bike because there are too many sudden unexpected trail changes while mountain biking.

As for my road bike, I fell about 20 times. Yes, my poor bike was scratched from day 1. Luckily, I have hard bones.

While I'd never wish falls on anyone, I feel better knowing that I'm not the only clumsy one out there.

I wanted to learn unclipping right foot first because it's safer to fall away from traffic. Unfortunately, I found out that I strongly fall left.

Figure out which side you tend to fall towards and pick that foot to unclip first and only for now. You can wear sneakers on both feet and practice "unclipping". Once you start building up muscle memory, wear one biking shoe on the side that you unclip out first and wear a sneaker on the other foot (the foot that you prefer to unclip second) until you are comfortable.

That's pretty much what happened to me. Unclip right, fall left.

I'm putting the A530's on the bike when they come in. That way I can take all of the advice here (and on past threads!), but at my speed, and I can still ride like I want in the meantime. I was bummed yesterday because I thought the enjoyment of riding would be delayed until I could figure out the clipless. Don't want that!

Thanks for the encouragement!

[Penny4]

Sorry for your bad experience...

I spent a long time on my hybrid with platform pedals, but when I thought about moving to a road bike, I began practicing the motion of clipping/unclipping on the hybrid. Everytime I stopped, I would put my left pedal down to 6 o'clock, and imitated the unclipping motion iwth my right foot up at 12 oclock. WHen i was ready to start again, I would be sure to flip my left pedal up to 12oclock and practice pushing down on that pedal to start, and then moving my right foot on the pedal. (I unclip my right foot, so this may be reversed if you want to use your left to unclip.) While riding iwth platforms, I was inconsistent with which foot i used to start, and stop, etc. Practicing the motion just got me used to having to think about it a bit, and also the muscle memory.

I also paid a lot of attention to what other riders were doing while on group rides. It helped me learn that I wouldn't have to clip in until I got through busy intersections, etc...

When I got my road bike, I didn't put the clipless on right away. I got used to the bike first. THen, i added the pedals and went down to the paved greenway and clipped in, rode about half a mile, picked an arbitrary point to stop at and unclipped. Over. And over. And over :-) It was a stress free way to learn.

As others have said, don't feel any pressure to use them. Riding should be fun Good luck!

[jyyanks]

I don't know if you would consider this a success story but I got used to my SPD's faster than I thought. I had 2 falls, one in public and one in private. The public one was because I stopped in the middle of climbing a hill to rest (stupid move!) and when I mounted the bike to try to finish the hill, I clipped in, found it was too hard to get going, forgot I was clipped in, tried to put my foot down and promptly fell. Since then, I've been pretty fortunate but then again, I haven't had any surprise stops. For the most part, I've been able to anticipate when I need to stop and I unclip one foot right before I glide to a stop. It also helps that the M530'ch are double sided pedals with a small platform, make it easier. The small platform means that if I'm riding through crowded areas, where I need to make sudden stop, I don't clip in. I clip in once I'm in the clear. Don't be discouraged, you'll get the hang of it.

[Elphaba]

so needed to see this! I have had a few tumbles with my SPDLs . My boyfriend tells me it will only happen the first million tries or so. It's getting better. I am still not sure I am doing it "right" but it is working for me.

L

[Dogmama]

Elphaba (love that name! from Wicked?) your boyfriend is wrong. It only happens about half a million times.

Seriously, the good thing is that when you fall, you aren't moving fast. Don't put your hand out, just fall on the fleshy part of your shoulder. Been there, done that. In fact, just recently during a bike ride through Vermont on a hybrid with platform pedals. Looking at the beautiful scenery and rode off into a ditch. Fell over like the old man on the tricycle in Laugh In. Good news - nobody except DH saw it.

I've been clipless for about 20 years and cannot fathom going back. During my Vermont ride, my quads were burning from the constant pushing on the pedals without pulling back. I also felt like I had less control because when you're clipped in, you can always get forward motion by turning one leg. Forward motion is good for not falling over.

Practice. It will soon become second nature. I ride with a lady who unclips way before she needs to. She's ultra paranoid about falling over. If you do unclip early, make sure that if you rest your foot on your pedal, your heel is on the clip. Otherwise, you may unintentionally clip yourself back in.

[Elphaba]

[QUOTE=Dogmama;658788]Elphaba (love that name! from Wicked?) your boyfriend is wrong. It only happens about half a million times.

Yes, from Wicked. She was so misunderstood, wasn't she? Actually, I took "Dotty" (My Avail Inspire) out to the Jax Baldwin trail this weekend and when I quoted my BF to a couple of other women unloading their bikes while I was trying to nonchalantly practice with the clips, they corrected him by saying "2 million"

The audience was too big, so I got the bike going "my way" and being too paranoid to stop and start, I went a straight 25 miles.

Spent some time with them earlier this week, and like I said, I have it figured out in a way that works for me and did pretty good until I took a tumble trying to deal with the keypad to our complex's security gate.

That's about 20 going on how many million?

L