Mountain Biking - Woo i just got my clipless setup today

at about 12 EST i got my clipless setup in the mail, the big brown UPS truck showed up and shortly there after i was trying it out. Its amazing, but i have a little problem with the disengaging part, whcih has led to 3 crashes. I find that if my crank arms are vertical, the foot higher up cannot disengage, is this normal? Or is it just a but harder but you get used to it? Please save me from more crashes and answer my question :p

I found it's easy to disengage so long as you are not pulling up.

I also found that people tend to pull or tilt up when their foot at at the top of hte crank rotation when trying to disengage.

A good tip is to run the pedal release tnesion a bit lower than you are right now to get used to disengaging in this position, then tighten it back to where you have it now once you have it down.

You may need to adjust the tension on your pedals. It helped me when I loosened them up at first. As you get more use to them and the whole concept of being locked on you will want to tighten them back up. Loosing will help you get out quicker even if you are pulling straight up and is what you will do if your face is headed for the dirt. Been there - done that. Hope this helps. It did me.

actually i dont think my pedals have tension adjusters, im running Crank Brothers Candy SL. THe problem i found is that my instinct tells me to disengage rotate both feet inward, but on the right you rotate inward and on the left rotate outward but i think ive got the hang of it. Thanks

practice practice practice. and also the cleats will loosen up a little after some use. thats another advantage to practice,it makes the cleats wear faster. the best thing I learned was to go slow and just before falling over( on grass preferably) unclip.you either learn quick or fall a lot.also twist out at the ball of your foot and not the ankle

Thanks, i think im starting to get the hang of it. I can clip out with little effort its getting in which is difficult. I never remember where the cleat is on my shoe :p What i do is get my right foot in first, pedal so i get at slightly above walking speed and struggle with the left foot

at about 12 EST i got my clipless setup in the mail, the big brown UPS truck showed up and shortly there after i was trying it out. Its amazing, but i have a little problem with the disengaging part, whcih has led to 3 crashes. I find that if my crank arms are vertical, the foot higher up cannot disengage, is this normal? Or is it just a but harder but you get used to it? Please save me from more crashes and answer my question :p

I was about to write you a note to tell you not to crash as so many of us have (including my illustrious self :D ) on the first day in clipless pedals, but then I read further into your post! :)

Have fun, and be careful. Lubrication also helps.

actually i dont think my pedals have tension adjusters, im running Crank Brothers Candy SL. THe problem i found is that my instinct tells me to disengage rotate both feet inward, but on the right you rotate inward and on the left rotate outward but i think ive got the hang of it. Thanks

Whoa, wait a minute.
You need to rotate your heel outward to disengage from the pedal, no matter which foot.

CB pedals *will* disengage with a heel-inward rotation, but it's not recommended nor practical.

if you start to get into the habit of disengaging inwards, you may well find yourself damaging your frame...unless you aim into the triangle between the tubes. Anyway, it is far better to disengage outwards.

I tried the outwrads and it does work better. Thankyou

practice practice practice. twist out at the ball of your foot and not the ankle

that works good... thats what i did, All you realy have to do is Twist out with the ball of your foot like iamthetas said its quiteeasy once ya get a hang of it

yeah...I had alot of trouble pulling out @ the top to behind with TWIST don't pull, if you pull your cleat likes to get jammed :D

did you set the cleats on the 20 degree release, cause i know i had mine on 15 at first, then changed it to 20 and it makes a big difference....gotta read the cleats manual thing...but if you did, just practise clipping in and out till it becomes 2nd nature, i still fall clipped into my eggbeaters but not as much as i used to, be prepared to take a good few spills like me, when i rolled down a hill on my ass, still clipped to my bike...man that hurt

Oh another tip...putting downward pressure on both pedals helps when disengaging. If you cant put pressure on both pedals when they are at 6 and 12, check your saddle height :)

(at least this works with SPD [the mtn bike style ones, for sake of clarity])

I also have the Candy SL pedals. Here is what you need to know:

As a beginner DO NOT put it on a 20 degree release. That means your heel has to travel further out to disengage. I still don't use the 20 degree setting, because it is not really necessary. See my last point to understand why.

Also putting pressure on both pedals to disengage make no sense at all with these pedals! Downward pressure is not required to release.

Finally, if you are set for 20 degree release with an outward heel twist, you then have a 15 degree release for an inward heel twist. And viceversa. The point here is that one would much rather have an easier release with outward twist, than with an inward heel twist. Many system don't even allow an inward heel release!

Good luck, you will eventually love these pedals.

Alright well i rode for 10 miles today to burn off the rather large lunch :D I have not even looked at the degrees thing, im going to go adjust the degrers thing cuz i have no idea what im doing here. I will say it has become easier to clip out. I dont know why but i like the click when i clip in, its satisfying. I still have a hard itme getting in sometimes, its easier with my right foot, i guess this comes with time. I will say i noticed a huge difference, i can sort of bunny hop and it was funt o stand up and haul ass

clipless rocks man...even my big butt will get up outta the saddle and swing the bike underneath me a bit without fear of falling off

I've ridden clipless ever since I can remember... I can't see myself going back to flat pedals anytime soon.. if ever.

i finally got it! I clipped in and out like it was nothing for the first time, i find sometimes afte r i land on a drop that my left shoe will unclip. I think this is becuase i move my foot on the landing, does anybody else have this issue?

ya...i do that all the time when i drop things man, just try to get better at staying in the pedals, i think its a sub-consious attempt from your mind incase you fall...mostly its my right foot...and it only happens when im a litttle bit nervous