Mountain Biking - 1st day on clipless

Well i put some clipless pedals on today(shimano515).Aside from having to loosent the tension on them they were great. I played around heree at the house on some singletrack we've cut. They'll take a little getting used to but i really like them.I hadn't fallen all day and was feeling a little brave so i started practicing wheelies with them. Well needless to say my rear is really sore!I busted it right in front of the wife,fatherinlaw and everyone!My brother inlaw put some on today also.He did the same thing.And when he got to the top of a hill he stopped and fell right over. Said he was amazed at how well he climbed the hill he forgot about being clipped in.I guess we'll get used to them soon.Hw long does it take?

It all depends on the rider. I didn't get "comfotable" till after my second ride. My wife got the hang of it immediately. My brother-in-law his third ride. My buddy has been using them for two years and he still falls, but I don't think that has anything to do with the pedals.

L8R G8R:D

a2psyklnut is correct it varies with the individual. Been riding clipless for years, fell twice the first day and not since. Well, not from a non-clipout problem. Now it's every other reason. Give them time you'll love them!!

Clipless pedals are definitely the way to go. My LBS showed me some of the tricks and so on when I got mine at first, so I didn't really have any problems. It takes a little time to get used to them, but I don't think I could do without them now :eek:

The biggest problem I had whenI first got clipless was putting the cleat in the right place to click-in. It took me awhile to get a mental picture of where to put my foot on the pedal. I only had clicking-out problems my first day, after that it was a breeze.

It's getting easier to get in and out.I definitely like them. I'm still a bit reserved riding them on the local trails though.Even though i was riding more cautiously i was still a minute quicked than my best time. So it definitely helped especially on the hils

I'm not sure I'm confident enough to try clipless yet but wondered about trying the cup like pedal cages - sort of like clip in pedals but just a short plastic cup at the front of the pedal and no straps. I saw someone riding with them at the weekend and they looked like a good compromise for someone as cowardly as my self :blush:.

Has anyone any experience with them? :confused:

Do people know what I'm talking about? Could they have just been clip in pedals without straps (the toe 'cup' looked quite short)? :)

Thanks Richard

Actually, I just ordered a pair for a customer. They're call shorties and the DO NOT have straps. They cost about the same as regular clips and mount about the same.

L8R G8R:D

Actually, I just ordered a pair for a customer. They're call shorties and the DO NOT have straps. They cost about the same as regular clips and mount about the same.

Has anyone tried shorties? Anybody percieve any problems?

Thanks

Richard

I've tried pedal jsut like the one described latakiahaze's post and there good, but put some presure on my foot which can cause some discomfort, and my feet/shoes won't fit all the way into the pedals. But you get the power advantage. You can get out of them fairly fast but not fast enouh usaully, two days ago for some reson my gears locked up just when I was shifting down to go up a hill and I toppeled over:p I just about flipped, I was in a bad mood already I didn't need to fall over like that:D . Any way there pretty good I don't if there better than clipless pedal, why do they call them clipless, when you have to clip into them???? since I have nver rode clipless, but there 20x better than platfor pedals.
Thank you,

Actually, I just ordered a pair for a customer. They're call shorties and the DO NOT have straps.

I couldn't find any in stock in any of the LBS's in my area but bought a pair of PowerGrips straps to fit to my pedals. I'm hoping they'll give me more oommph on the hills (desperately needed :o) yet be reasonably easy to release from in traffic. Does anyone have any tips for using them?

Richard