Clipping out up a steep hill?

[gabriellesca]

Sorry if my questions and paranoia about going clipless is getting to be really annoying ... but you guys are such a wealth of knowledge, I can't resist.

Any tips for clipping out when you're climbing a super steep hill, going super slow, and need to put your foot down?

The time I saw a teammate fall into a moving car was when she was trying to unclip coming up a hill - she was riding so slowly - I mean like 3 mph - and she couldn't unclip quickly enough. I realized last week while I was going up a hill, standing, so slowly that I almost fell over (it was a really hard hill for me), that how would you clip out if you were going this slow? I mean - in toe cages you still have to pull your foot back and then down. I guess.

Is there any kind of trick to this or am I, like usual, being a total freak of fear?

[TrekTheKaty]

That happened to me once. Knowing that if I tried to clip out, I would fall, was all the inspiration I needed to keep pedaling!

[gabriellesca]

LOL - yes, that's a good point - but on that hill last weekend I barely made it - though I did make it up without putting my foot down - but hmmmm, clipped in I don't know how I'd do it. I'll avoid that hill tomorrow morning.

[ny biker]

Any tips for clipping out when you're climbing a super steep hill, going super slow, and need to put your foot down?

Shift into your lowest gear and keep pedaling. That's what I do. And when I'm only going 3 mph, I start to laugh at how slowly I'm going.

[DarcyInOregon]

It has happened to me a few times, needing to unclip on a hill. A few times the grade was too steep and too long, about a 20% grade that was over 1/2 mile, and I was down in my granny gear and it was too much. I looked for a paved drive on the side, turned into the drive because it was flat, and was able to unclip. A few times I didn't anticipate the grade being quite so steep, over 17%, didn't shift down in time, dropped the chain, couldn't unclip, and fell over. Falling over doesn't bother me. I get some road rash and rarely a bruise. I topple over a few times a year for whatever reason, usually a dropped chain and no time to unclip. I am not a dufus that drops my chain all of the time, but it does happen to me a few times a year.

For me the worse case scenario is being on a new rural route, go up a steep hill, and the steep grade ends at a stop sign on a busy rural highway with no flat area to unclip before reaching the highway. I learned to turn my bike to the right, pray there is a paved shoulder and then unclip.

[redrhodie]

The week I went clip-less, I nearly had that same fall. Somehow, my foot unclipped at the last possible second, and I caught myself. I haven't had that happen again since, but I think if I was in that situation again, I'd try to turn into the direction of the foot I unclip (providing there were no cars coming) so that I was at a less steep angle, then I'd either unclip, or try "paperboy" it up the hill (zigzag across the rode). If there were cars, well, I don't know what I'd do.

[Bike Chick]

The last time I tried to unclip on a steep hill, I went down and had to nurse a bloody knee the rest of the ride and pick road grit out of my leg for the next few days.

Your timing has to be just right when you do it. Clip out with the foot that's closest to the ground.

Or.......just put your head down and keep pedaling

[gabriellesca]

Thanks guys - good to know its not a totally easy thing to do that I'm so worried about.

Darcy - I know this is a really stupid question but what happens when you 'drop your chain?' My chain has never come off - is that what you mean?

[gabriellesca]

ps. I rode on my new pedals for the first time today. It was super windy here (30 mph) so I knew I wasn't going for a long/normal ride. I rode around the parking lot a bit - clipping in and out. I did fall once when I had come to a stop and was struggling to clip out with my right food instead of my left (my regular foot) - I was thinking it might be easier since I have more power in my right leg. But then I realized that I was trying to pull up a bit to clip out instead of pushing a bit down and to the outside. So I rode around the parking lot and then down the street. I did 6 very slow miles - just kept clipping in and out - practicing stopping and starting.

But I can't imagine relaxing enough to ride at a normal speed. I wouldn't go over 10 mph - I was just so paranoid that I would need to stop and wouldn't be able to get out.

Does this get easier? Do you get used to it/confidence enough that you pick up your speed.

I have to admit it felt TOTALLY different than my toe cages but it was still a little scary.

[AnnieBikes]

Dropping the chain can be happening for several reasons. It can be from a bike that has a bit of cable stretch (as with a new chain over time) or if the limit screws on the derailleur are not set properly and the chain either goes off on the frame side of the chain rings or the pedal side. If it happens, it is easily fixed by pulling forward on the derailleur and putting the chain back onto the smaller front ring. You might get some grease on your hands but that's why I wear black shorts! If it happens very often,take note of which side the chain drops to so you can get your bike shop to reset the limit screws. If it happens only rarely, it can be a bad shift and I think that happens to all of us at one time or another!

Check out this website for help on a dropped chain...not trying to hijack this thread!!

http://www.bicyclesouth.com/chain.htm

[AnnieBikes]

Gabriellesca.it is so normal to be so scared!! I was absolutely petrified when I started and I assure you after you ride with them a while, you will become totally comfortable with them. My bike shop said to be prepared to fall off 11 times (who knows where THAT figure came from!!) I have fallen but I have gotten better and better and now don't even think about it. It DOES take time to become comfortable and what you are doing is right...practice, practice, practice. Plan to clip out a bit BEFORE you are ready to stop...plan ahead always and you will not fall. You will learn to go faster and you will learn to feel confident. It just takes TIME!! Good luck and don't give up!

[TrekTheKaty]

11 times! In what time period? I'm up to 3.

I forgot zig zagging. My DH rides a particularly RUDE route in Babler State Park, MO. My Brother-in-Law first tried the zig zag on that route, and he said it's better than walking

[DarcyInOregon]

Darcy - I know this is a really stupid question but what happens when you 'drop your chain?' My chain has never come off - is that what you mean?

It is like Annie said, the dropped chain typically comes from a bad shift and usually on a steep grade. When cycling up a steep hill, when shifting down, you actually have to let up a little bit on the pedaling to enable the shifting. But if you are going "oh nuts" and you are pushing to pedal just to keep a momentum going you might not be able to ease up a bit and the shift results in a dropped chain.

Last month I was on a 58 mile ride with a friend. At about mile 22, on a rural road with hardly any traffic, there is a steep hill with about a 15% grade. I've gone up that hill maybe 10 times already this year and I had no problems with my shifting, never even gave the shifting a thought because it was just automatic. However this time I didn't ease up enough when I shifted down, and the chain dropped. Now I've biked enough years that I know when the chain drops on a hill to not waste seconds thinking "oh the chain dropped, what should I do" but at the same instant that the chain drops I have to unclip and plant one or two feet on the ground. But nope this time instead of doing any of that I call out to my friend that my chain dropped and I was going to fall over, and you see my point, in the amount of time I spent hollering out to my friend I could have unclipped and planted my feet on the ground. It wasn't like there was any traffic to worry about so I could have been anywhere on the road. So I toppled over and got a few scrapes. It still turned out to be an amazingly good ride with a lot of nice speeds and finished with energy to spare.

[gabriellesca]

11 times - HOLY ****! Maybe I need to fall more often so I can see its okay and not a big deal. The fall today killed my knee - but then I tend to be a wimp. I really think seeing my teammate fall into a moving car because she couldn't clip out really freaked me out. I kept thinking of that all day. And I'm just worried this was something that is going to deter me from getting back into cycling instead of help me get back into it. But I will go out again and ride this week - I just hope I feel more confident and can enjoy it. I'm off on Wed, Thurs, and Fri - so I think I will ride each day down on my favorite route. Maybe a few of those rides being able to stop and start up again, etc., will give me some confidence.

Darcy - That sounds scary - but you seem like its not a big deal for you! I'm such a newbie I don't even know grades to hills, etc. - and the chain - I think I understand it and now that you mention it I think that my chain did come off once (is that the same thing?) and I managed to put it back on. But I'm going to stop thinking about that now as I don't need another thing to add to my paranoia.

[Pedal Wench]

Check out this website for help on a dropped chain...not trying to hijack this thread!!

http://www.bicyclesouth.com/chain.htm

Ha! That's my local bike shop!