Road Cycling - my first run on clipless pedals

i finally got the pedals i won on ebay this week... they are time atac composite pedals. i stuck them on my bike, strapped on my sidis and went outside to the er...driveway to practice. after a few minutes of getting used to clipping in and out, i found that riding clipless was pretty easy. then i fell down. now that was a weird feeling... im glad that i did, there in my driveway, rather than in a busy street. any advice or recommendations on riding safer with clipless pedals? like best time to clip out, things to look out for, etc? i usually ride through town, colleges, and suburban areas.
also, what are the benefits of riding clipless?

Everybody who spends lots of money on clipless pedals says thay are so much better than anything they have used before. Everybody who uses clipless falls of the bike at first.
I regard them as high performance racing kit, where frequent stopping is not a high priority.
If you are commuting and have a fairly long, fast, continuous route (ie like a training ride), then they are OK, and your ride will be more efficient. If you are using the bike to hop around town, with frequent stops, then they are more trouble than they are worth.

I f you know what you are doing these should work for any ride. If you ever had to ride with toe cages and straps then you would know that these are for every ride. If you have to stop at a light then stay clipped in and lean on a lamp post.

It's better to anticipate and unclip too early....

Best advice I ever received.

55/Rad

I found out that after a few months of using them u get used to it, i.e. your muscles get "trained" to unclip unconsciously ... so you wont' have to worry too much about the timing.

That is ... of course if you unclip on a steep side of a hill because you just lost your momentum and you fall sideways as your foot doesn't touch anything ... but you won't have to worry about that. ;) :D

Everybody who uses clipless falls of the bike at first.


not everybody.

I set the tension on mine fairly loose so that it is very easy to unclip. After a few months, they have started to feel natural. I bent a dropout and came to a screeching halt a few weeks ago. I instinctively unclipped without a hitch.

learn how to track-stand...

fssb
sparky

I think everyone falls..maybe not at first, but sooner or later you fall. I had my clipless pedals about 5 months before i fell over. I unclipped the left side and fell over on my right, at a stop light down by the campus with lots of girls :(

It took me about 3 weeks to fall. I think I just got too confident too quickly. :)

You can't do a track-stand with a freewheel!

PJ

Click in leaning up against the garage, a wall, pole or something. Helps to leave your bike in a low gear so when you start off you can get your speed up easily. Im my case, my driveway goes straight up so this really helps. Just be conscious of what you are doing for a while like when you come to a stop light you will be aware that you will have to do something in the event you have to come to a complete stop. Elsewise you are going down. Like has been mentioned as above, you get better and better at it and it becomes second nature.

You can't do a track-stand with a freewheel!

PJ

Exactly, hence the reason its called a "track" stand. you can do some slow speed manuvers to keep up, and slow, but its no trackstand

Everybody who spends lots of money on clipless pedals says thay are so much better than anything they have used before. Everybody who uses clipless falls of the bike at first.
I regard them as high performance racing kit, where frequent stopping is not a high priority.
If you are commuting and have a fairly long, fast, continuous route (ie like a training ride), then they are OK, and your ride will be more efficient. If you are using the bike to hop around town, with frequent stops, then they are more trouble than they are worth.


NOT!!!! They are worth every gram!

I can't imagine not using clipless
clip out before the light or stop sign or whatever if you think you'll need to stop.
when I first got them I clipped in on the trainer and practiced clipping in and out until it felt like muscle memory.
then I took the bike out in a parking lot and practiced there until thoroughly confident. I ride where there's a fair amount of traffic so it was just for my peace of mind.

I was climbing a quick steep hill and my chain fell off switching gears, there in an instant I was stationary and going down....clipped out by reflex and didn't fall. that's when I knew it was all good.
it'll be like second nature in no time...maybe a fall or two before that

Personally, when I'm riding in town with frequent stops, i use a cages. When I know i'm in an area that is more open, i use clipless. I live in atlanta and not a bike friendly city at all, don't take any chances in the city.

One of my favourite personal cycling stories ever was from when I was fairly new to using clipless pedals. I stopped at the lights and then suddenly remembered that I should have clipped out. Unfortunately there were some road-works near the lights and on my left (left-hand traffic in the UK) was a barrier of orange plastic tape around a newly dug ditch.

As I slowly toppled over to the left, I fell through the tape and head-first into the ditch!

I was completely unhurt, but as I climbed out I saw that the driver of the car that had stopped behind me was laughing so hard he was crying.

It still makes me giggle when I think about it today :-)

Clipless pedals are fine for city riding. I use clipless for a 5-8 mile commute (some city, some bike path) without any problems since the first week. They make riding much easier. Like everyone else, I had my obligatory slow tip-over. Fortunately, no one saw (there is a God). The others are right when they say you will begin to unclip unconsciously. I did have one non-pedal related accident, and my feet came out of the pedals just like they are supposed to (and again, no one saw).

One thing to watch out for is winter weather. Before I got studded tires, I unclipped just before icy spots, just in case.



If a bicyclist falls in the forest and no one sees . . . .

You can't do a track-stand with a freewheel!

PJ
Au contraire! I ride with a guy who track stands with a freewheel all the time. The trick is to use the crown of the road. Turn your front wheel into the slope and apply pressure to the pedals. He rarely unclips.

I was climbing a quick steep hill and my chain fell off switching gears, there in an instant I was stationary and going down....clipped out by reflex and didn't fall. that's when I knew it was all good.
it'll be like second nature in no time...maybe a fall or two before that

Yep, as was mentioned before, after a while it becomes automatic. As ngateguy can testify, I was attempting to climb a fairly steep wet and slippery wooden bridge once when my bike tried to swap ends. My inside leg immediately unclipped without me having to think and I saved myself from a nasty fall.

i can "track" stand on a road bike. there was a thread about this not too long ago...

The only problem I've had with clipless was at the end of a ride one time. I'd ridden the last 5 miles or so pretty much as hard as I could and instead of doing a lap round the block after reaching my house spinning nicely to cool down I went straight up my drive and jammed on the brakes to stop. I did it all so quickly that I forgot to clip out. I came to a nice stop, stood motionless for a split second and then fell over still clipped in. It's a lot easier to clip out when the bike is upright than when you're lying on your side still engaged!

I've been riding for years and thousands of miles and haven't fallen because of my clipless pedals.

not everybody.

Me either.

yes, today was my second day out on the time atacs and im getting used to them really quickly. i ride early in the morning, before i go to work. it was cold and windy and i experienced something that i never encountered until switching to clipless pedals and sidi rampas: my toes got so cold that they were going numb. maybe i need to wear thicker socks or something... or would covering the mesh with tape or something work? i was thinking about attaching some velcro hook stick pads and a piece of thick fabric with velcro fuzzys to cover the area. easy on, easy off. any other suggestions?

Get yourself some booties. Doesn't that sound dirty? ;)
http://www.pearlizumi.com/pearlizumi/image/product/9071-1.jpg (http://www.pearlizumi.com/pearlizumi/site/catalog/product.aspx?iProductTypeSubID=23&iProductID=3535&iProductColorsTB=7149)

In the meantime, use plastic baggies over the toes.

Exactly, hence the reason its called a "track" stand. you can do some slow speed manuvers to keep up, and slow, but its no trackstand

i can trackstand on my road bike perfectly well, thank you. and if i'm feeling especially frisky, i can do it no-handed.

i rode home from class today with duct tape over the vents and my feet stayed not cold. its a ghetto fix but it simple and works.
i hope to learn to track stand eventually... ive found some good sites that demonstrate the trackstand in a road bike.

Yep, I had that happen, trying to get in one last ride before winter set in. And no, it's not funny when you can't feel your toes. If you want to keep it cheap, just put a small plastic grocery bag inside your shoe (wrapped around your sock). Isn't noisy and does keep icy breezes away. Neoprene shoe covers are what I use now.

The duct tape method is a good temporary measure but I would strongly suggest booties in the long run. They're useful when it's not only cold but also raining. What happens when the weather starts getting wet is that even if you're wearing nice warm tights and rain pants the water will hit your body and legs and run down to your socks and shoes where it will start to collect. This of course produces two annoying side effects. One being that the water in your shoes will cause much discomfort over time. Secondly, that water will chill your feet.