Mountain Biking - Falling with the bike

I finally went out and gave my bike a good beating this afternoon. I hit up some awesome single track with some large hills. Clipless was good for the climb up, but going downhill is another story.

I crashed, flipped, endo'd and slid over at least a dozen times. at each time, i was unable to unclip and fall properly. and instead, when i did fall, i was still attached to the bike. THis made falling 2x as bad because i could avoided falling into the brushes if i wasnt clipped in. My clips are loose so i should unclipped with ease, but i didnt.

Now im consdering moving to platforms. My friend tell me its better for XC and much better when you are falling off your bike.

Im hurting and sore right now, so this is all for now. Did i mentionn i landed on my "men"? I moved quickly and avoided much severe pain, but it still hurt.

God it hurts.

did you just get clipless pedals? it took me some time to adjust to them, but i LOVE my clipless pedals and hate riding platforms. if they are new, i would say take some time getting used to them as your riding style will differ when your feet are clipped in. take a few spins a little slower to get used to your new setup. but you will learn to love them and worship them when you get used to them. let's just say i was learning to manual with clipless and wouldn't do it without being clipped in. it was a stupid idea and resulted in falling on my back a few times, but hey, i love my clipless pedals.

After a while you learn to instinctively unclip during a fall or crash. I come away from crashes forgetting how it was I actually had unclipped since I never remember actually doing it.

Maybe for DH or Freeriding, platforms are ok but XC? How are you going to pull up on the pedals without clipless pedals?

I don't know why you can't get out of the pedals... are you new to clipless?

no, ive been using clipless for over a year now.

Originally posted by killerasp
no, ive been using clipless for over a year now.

I will put one in for the platform movement. I honestly don't believe you can clip out fast enough on technical stuff. Especially falls. The reason I say this is because I watch a lot of pro riders and racers and guess what they stay stuck. In bikecross there is ALWAYS one or two riders a race that stuck in mid air trying to throw the bike away but it isn't unclipping. Crashing is a part of the sport there is no need to make it worse by risking (yes it is a risk even if you have been clipless for a while) being attached to the bike.

It is even funnier to see clipless on skinnies...the injuries and accidents increase quite a bit :)

BEsides when you learn how to really bunnyhop without them you can REALLY say you are bunnyhopping :)

BTW congras on what sounds like a fun ride :)

My need for a full even pedal stroke far out weigh the fear of falling over without unclipping. Try to loosen them up. I have my right set up so it is easier to come out. But the only time I have any trouble is in muddy condtions.

I personally will take my chances with clipless. The pain of falling and staying attached to the bike (which I don't - in time, unclipping is intuitive, but I don't bikercross either) is significantly less than the pain of slipping a pedal and peeling those little flesh curliques off your shin.

what kind of pedals are they? I've had bad endos with my Time Z's and I always seem to clip out somehow. Its when im going slow and i try to clip out that I sometimes get stuck.

Originally posted by Maelstrom
BEsides when you learn how to really bunnyhop without them you can REALLY say you are bunnyhopping :)

What if you can bunnyhop without clipless but happen to be riding clipless at the time? Does that mean you can't bunnyhop?And who the hell thought up the term "bunnyhop," anyway? Sounds pretty lame if you ask me.

Look at someone when they bunnyhop...it looks like a bunnyhopping...makes sense to me...really it is no better than a fufanu or abubaca...I find 'trick' terms are meant to be a bit fun...

And the point about clipless is more clipless guys are doing a double wheel lift. Check out a bmxer bunnyhopping. Very VERY signifigant difference between the two :)...If a clipless guy can bunnyhop properly thats cool but I don't see many doing it.

I used to ride with clipless pedals on my rigid but now that I have a full suspension bike I've found that I don't need clipless anymore. I can compress the suspension before a jump which helps in getting more air and I've learned to wheelie up and over many obstacles such as trees across the trail or large rocks and curbs. I don't think I'd ever go back to clipless; the difficulty in unclipping during an endo wasn't worth it...

If you really need some proof of how unnecessary clipless pedals are when riding through difficult sections of trail simply watch some Trials videos. I haven't seen a single trials rider use clipless and they do some amazing things on their bikes...

Who said that clipless are needed on technical trails or for bunny hopping? Clipless pedals let you have a full even pedal stoke. See when you actually ride UP hills you need the ability to pull and push the pedal. I am talking about steep loose stuff. Most DHers and FRers can't walk up hills much less ride them. So don't be mistaken for their original purpose.

If you can bunny hop over stuff with clipless who cares if it is the "right" way?

If you really need some proof of how unnecessary clipless pedals are when riding through difficult sections of trail simply watch some Trials videos. I haven't seen a single trials rider use clipless and they do some amazing things on their bikes...

Did I miss it or are we talking about XC not trials. I can see not clipping in for trials riding but for XC the power delivery is a more prevalent need than needing to be unclipped. This isn't much downhill that is too technical to slide down clipped in. I rode one of the hardest downhills I have seen (For technical not speed, and not to say the most ever). I was clipped in and it was all about balance.

For those of you with an endo problem try adjusting your front brake so that it isn't quite so strong. and If you are going downhill you need to be back behind the seat.

I'd have to go with the I won't ride without cliupless [in an XC situation] ever again.

Originally posted by Feltup
Who said that clipless are needed on technical trails or for bunny hopping? Clipless pedals let you have a full even pedal stoke. See when you actually ride UP hills you need the ability to pull and push the pedal. I am talking about steep loose stuff. Most DHers and FRers can't walk up hills much less ride them. So don't be mistaken for their original purpose.

If you can bunny hop over stuff with clipless who cares if it is the "right" way?

Having a full, even pedal stroke doesn't mean you need to pull up on the backside of the stroke. Pulling up only allows you to halve your downward force on the pedal... I can get a very full, even pedal stroke with platforms. As for riding up steep loose stuff, try ditching the bike when you slip on that same steep loose bit and you're wearing clipless... it's difficult to do because you're already off balance trying to keep the bike in motion. As for bunnyhopping the "right" way, I don't care about that either, but I do know that when I used to bunnyhop in clipless pedals it was quite a surprise when the cleat would suddely release midair sometimes sending me down on only one foot...

I fall over all the time going slow but other than bumping my hip on the ground or having my bike fall on my leg (it only weights 23 pounds) I don't consider t uphills too dangerous. Falling down is part of riding (Was just reading another thread about this topic)

When i say full and even I suppose what i mean is power transfer. I can push and pull while a platform has only the ability to push. I found I was able to almost double my endurance and power just by putting clipless on.

There is a place for everything and everyone has preferences but I don't see much in the way of XC or even agressive XC that is too much for clipless. I am going to fall regardless of the type of riding or even my pedals. I figure if trials riders can do some of the crazy stuff they do the least i can does is go down a technical trail clipped in and stay upright. The balance required is much less than that of th trials riders.

I honestly don't have much trouble getting out of my pedals when i do fall (And Falling means you need better balance anyway right? :p). What type of clipless are most everyone riding. I have found my eggbeaters are some of the easiest i have used to slip in and out of. They have great float and release when I want.

Originally posted by Feltup
Most DHers and FRers can't walk up hills much less ride them. So don't be mistaken for their original purpose.


Do you have a stat on that? I would love to know where you got most? Come to the shore you should see the mountain they have to ride up to get to their trail heads. Same with Whistler. Thats a pretty broad statement.

And the clipless statement I made is half made in jest. I listen to guys bragging about how high they can bunnyhop. Look down and some of them are wearing clipless. Well it takes no skill to hop clipped into a bike so that was my little dig. So I am never impressed. My statement above came accross wrong, I definately see a need for clipless and would use them if I didn't prefer riding skinnies and stunts. Even on dh, but for me the risk is too big on my skinnies :D.

Originally posted by oxygen_77
Having a full, even pedal stroke doesn't mean you need to pull up on the backside of the stroke.

Wrong. Heels down and pull. Its proven by the roadies and it applies on the trail.

Originally posted by Maelstrom
Do you have a stat on that? I would love to know where you got most?

It is the bike weight as much as conditioning. You can argue the fact but DH and FR bikes are not made for climbs. But you are right, "most" is a broad statement. I will take that back and say "a lot I have come in contact with".