Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Clip-less pedals

I am about to try clip-less pedals for the first time. Does anyone have any tips on how not to fall. I figure the bigger we are the harder we fall and I would like to avoid breaking anything. Every single person that I have talked to about using these pedals has said "Good luck...you're going to fall" usually followed by check out this scar.

Find a nice long stretch of road/trail that's relatively flat and go for it. Don't bother looking, just get used to where you put your feet to clip in at.

Also, remember, catch the front and push forward to clip in, twist your foot out to un clip. You'll be in and out on the regular in no time at all.

"Good luck...you're going to fall" usually followed by check out this scar.

Yep its going to happen. I practiced for a while with my bike in the trainer, that helped, but in the end, 5 months after getting them I fell. Only hurt my ego though.

So my advice is simple, just realize that sooner or later its going to happen and it probably won't hurt.

Well, a bit of coordination and planning your stops ahead of time can do wonders to keep you from falling over. I've been clipless for two years now and have yet to have a spill. I'll post in the event I jinxed myself and I take a tumble on the way home from work.

Tips:

Buy a dual sided pedal, Crank Brothers Egg Beaters or something from the Shimano MT line up.

Set the tention as low as possible until you get used to them.

When approaching a situation where you need to stop (stop sign, red light etc) unclip your right foot in advance and lean on that leg as you wait out your stop.

Buy good shoes with a really stiff sole, personally I like mountain bike shoes as they allow me to walk around without doing the duck-walk shuffle. Really handy if you need to go into a store or walk a portion of your ride.

It's really not as hard as some people make it out to be. Lean up against a wall and practice clipping in and out a few times then go for it :thumb:

Yeah, it's not a requirement to fall. I'm probably nearing 1000 miles with clipless and haven't fallen yet. I keep tempting fate by making posts like this, but so far so good. I use Shimano SPDs with the tension set at the lowest setting. I've been able to get unclipped quickly. I even learned to ride on rollers with clipless. The bike came off the rollers MANY times but I was always able to get out quickly enough to not fall.

I am about to try clip-less pedals for the first time. Does anyone have any tips on how not to fall.

I'm sure there are about a million posts on this topic. Did you try searching?

In my experience, falling over while clipped in is usually due to an unexpected stop or forgetting that you're clipped to the pedals. When approaching a stoplight or stop sign, there's plenty of time to think about the situation and get unclipped. When a car pulls out in front of you or a pedestrian dodges into your path, you tend to hit the brakes and not think about the pedals until you'll falling over.

Be wary of clipping in accidentally. I've had several occasions where I had to stop early (e.g. car door opening as I'm approaching a stop sign), pedaled a few more strokes to get to my intended stopping point, and found that the foot I'd thought was unclipped had accidentally attached itself to the pedal again.

I'm sure there are about a million posts on this topic. Did you try searching?

In my experience, falling over while clipped in is usually due to an unexpected stop or forgetting that you're clipped to the pedals. When approaching a stoplight or stop sign, there's plenty of time to think about the situation and get unclipped. When a car pulls out in front of you or a pedestrian dodges into your path, you tend to hit the brakes and not think about the pedals until you'll falling over.

Be wary of clipping in accidentally. I've had several occasions where I had to stop early (e.g. car door opening as I'm approaching a stop sign), pedaled a few more strokes to get to my intended stopping point, and found that the foot I'd thought was unclipped had accidentally attached itself to the pedal again.

True on both cases. Both times I've fallen (when not on the trails...that's a different matter altogether) were because of those instances. Once coming up to an almost blind crossing and forgetting I was clipped in when I had to stop more suddenly than expected....luckily I fell into a patch of grass and the only thing hurt was ego. The second time I had unclipped for a planned stop, moved my foot a little further up the pedal to pedal a revolution or two more and accidentally clipped back in without realizing it and fell.

As suggested, lowering the tension will help. There have been a few times where I've managed to pull my foot out of a pedal without twisting (and still have enough tension to stay clipped in when pedaling normally). I have Crankbrothers Candy C on my commuter, which works well enough and is a cheap option as well.

I am about to try clip-less pedals for the first time. Does anyone have any tips on how not to fall. I figure the bigger we are the harder we fall and I would like to avoid breaking anything. Every single person that I have talked to about using these pedals has said "Good luck...you're going to fall" usually followed by check out this scar.

As to your question though, I would suggest if you are falling and have the presence of mind, just tuck into a ball and let your side take the hit. If you try to catch yourself by putting your hands out, you run a much greater risk of injuring your wrist/arm/shoulder/etc.

Just ball up and let 'er rip.

Good luck!

I rode clipless for a decade before I fell because of them... granted I was used to clips at some point...

my clipless fall was more because of a group ride though... waiting for a friend and not paying attention...

I fell twice on my first ride w/clipless and once on my second. Haven't had any problem since. I jsut kept forgetting my right foot was clipped in and kept moving all of my weight to the right side. also, all three falls happened at stoplights.

Just don't try to show off and trackstand doing a Natty Fab in front of a group of Sorority Girls, resulting in tipping over into a rose bush. :p (Ask me how I know this....or just guess. :p)

As suggested, lowering the tension will help. There have been a few times where I've managed to pull my foot out of a pedal without twisting (and still have enough tension to stay clipped in when pedaling normally).

Shimano SPD pedals combined with their SH-56 multi-release cleats work well for this, I've found. A panicked yank in virtually any direction will cause the pedals to release if the tension is set low, but they won't release during a normal pedal stroke. I've been using this combination on the mountain bike, because I haven't been riding off-road for long and it's been difficult for me to tell when I'm going to make the bike fall over...

I was riding with my wife and making a slow U-turn when we wanted to explore a little more on a bike path. I was picking on her for clipping out to make the turn when I tilted over and didn't clip out in time. I don't think I laughed that hard in my life. Karma 'eh.

You shouldn't have any worries, the only time you're going to fall generally is when you're slowing to a stop so the only thing that's only going to get bruised is your ego.

tsievert: I am also in the same boat as you (going to try clipless for the 1st time). So far, I've heard a lot of good things about the Time ATAC Z (and control Z) pedals. They have a larger platform so you can unclip and still pedal sucessfully (makes stops and starts easier IMO). You may want to add them to your list.

I am up to 2000 miles with my SPDs, and I have yet to biff it. I started with the tension about as loose as I could make it, you get some of the feeling of what it is like to ride clipless, without the difficulty getting out. I have had some close calls, not because I messed up or lost my balance,but because of emergencies on the road that I had to avoid.

I think the key is to not psych yourself out and fall just because you think its impossible not to. Plenty of people ride clippless and don't fall. If you just give up as soon as you start to lose your balance you will fall for sure, just practice a little and get comfortable with them.

To add to Village idiot's answer, make sure to clip out one foot ( The foot that will support you when you are stopped)while you are coasting to a stop. The problem that most people have is that they wait until the bike has completely stopped before they decide to unclip themselves. That's when the falls occur. You will like the clipless pedals after a few rides. Then you'll never want to ride with anything else.

To add to Village idiot's answer, make sure to clip out one foot ( The foot that will support you when you are stopped)while you are coasting to a stop. The problem that most people have is that they wait until the bike has completely stopped before they decide to unclip themselves. That's when the falls occur. You will like the clipless pedals after a few rides. Then you'll never want to ride with anything else.

I went for a 17.5 mi road ride that seemed like nothing but hills yesterday. If you're on a particularly nasty hill, I'd suggest unclipping if you're starting to lose momentum and pedal that way. I had to stop and push on two of the big ones and almost didn't have the strength to unclip.

How NOT to fall...

Put your arm out and lock your elbow. That will guarantee that something breaks.

I have been riding with the pedals a few months now and I have not yet fallen. I'm sure it will happen someday, but I managed to avoid it so far.

ok I was not going to post so as not to jinx myself. I am now safe from that *grin* so thought I would post.

I took my third ride on clipless Friday. As I was coming to a stop I unclipped the right pedal (Im using Crank Bros Smartys) I tried leaning to the right as that had helped previous.... It did not help this time the bike went to the left.

After my fall the main advice is just hold onto your bars, hope no one is driving up behind you (I fell onto the road) and let your shoulder take the brunt. All I ended up injury wise was a bruised ego and a couple of nicks on my leg from the contact with the road *LOL*. By letting the shoulder take it I had almost no injury and neither did my bike (edge of pedal scuffed thats it)

Hope this helps

Steve

Hello, my name is Jay and I am a Clipless Moron.....Hello Jay!

Last year I went clipless. I remember those first days. I hopped on and took off, clipped in and out and in and out and for the next 100 or so miles, no problems. I remember thinking, "what is the big deal?".

Then one night while riding (and really I don't think this counts as a clipless fall) I ran through a huge spider web and ended up with the spider on my cheek. I freaked out and started batting my head and knew I needed to stop and get off to end this problem, but my feet were not paying attention to the spider. Me, the bike, and the spider all went down. Bruised my shoulder and cut my leg a little where the bike jabbed me on impact.

Next, I was at the end of a very nice 33 mile ride over to an adjoining state. I remember pulling up to a trendy little coffee shop and feeling very proud of myself for the bi-state accomplishment. I looked in the window and saw a couple looking at me and knew they were saying, "that guy is really COOL. We wish we were just like him". That was when I realized that I was completely stopped and I had not even considered starting the unclip process. As I was falling, I had a flashback of something that happened when I was 6 yrs old (note to self, need to discuss this with therapist), then the impact. Laying on my side, I unclipped, got up, walked into the coffee shop, pulled out my wallet and asked the couple how much it would cost to erase what they had just seen.

Finally, this past February 1st, I was out on my brand new 29er that now had these same clipless. I was crossing a small bridge sans guard rails and I was only going a couple mph when I looked over the edge to see the ice in the creek below. I am a whitewater kayaker and there is a rule that we follow. "Look where you want to go". Well, my bike started toward the edge of the bridge and I freaked out and again, was giving no thought to unclipping. I knew I need to plant my feet, but they were not privy to this knowledge. Over I went, into the creek about 8 ft. I landed on my left side and I heard a crack and felt electricity in my neck and shoulders. Turns out, I broke2 ribs.

After six weeks off the bike, I removed the pedals and got a set of really nice platforms with pins and have not looked back. I ride for fun. I ride like an assault weapon and I don't have to think about anything. My 29er is fast and climbs like a goat. I do not miss any part of clipless. This is not meant to influence, just telling my story. They are just not for me.

Good luck with yours.