Dismounting and clippless pedals.

[SnowMouse]

I've never got on or off of my bike by swinging my leg over the saddle and the back of the bike. But the fact that as a cross country novice, I get off my bike frequently. I want to be able to do it with a little more speed and grace. So, my question is, when you dismount by swinging your back leg over the back of the bike, do you unclip before swinging your leg over (and standing on the pedals platform) or after you have swung your leg over and planted it on the ground, releasing the clipped in foot as it moves to contact the ground? Clear as mud?

[Veronica]

I usually unclip my left foot, put that on the ground. Unclip my right foot and swing that over the back of my bike. All the while keeping at least one hand on the bike, so it doesn't fall over.

V.

[pedalfaster]

snowmouse, it sounds like you want to master the basic cyclocross dismount (in other words you don't want to come to a complete stop when you get on and off the bike).

Basically it depends how fast you are going and how comfortable you are with unclipping. If the race is muddy, be aware that the clipped in foot may be jammed with mud (I've had a few spectacular crashes that way )


I now try to at lease wiggle the clipped-in foot around a bit at first to make sure it will release. If you dismount is "planned" and you have time to slow down, go ahead and unclip.

Try to find some 'cross videos and watch and learn. Then go practice in a nice soft, grassy park or field.