Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - My first ride clipping in.

Finally decided on Shimano PD-A530's for my now 3 week old road bike. Selling point to me was you can clip in one side or use as platform the other. I'm also using Shimano M087 mountain bike shoes. I put aside the SM-SH51 that came with the pedals and using the SM-SH56 which can unclip in more than one direction.

I have nothing to compare them to but I found this combination works for me. They clip and more importantly unclip more easily than I thought. First I practiced at home, clipping and unclipping and was confident on my first ride. I clip in my left foot before pedaing then the right foot as I'm moving. They clipped in real easy by sliding the foot forward. I went kind of slow at one point and had to pedal to keep from falling over while getting the pedal in the correct position. Stopping I leave the left clipped and the right foot off the pedal.

I always said I would never get clipless pedals. I thought they would be too dangereous and difficult to use. Easy to use yes, dangereous maybe. I always felt foot pain in my right foot while pedaling, not today. If it's the shoe or the pedal I don't know. Though, I'm on a learning curve, I'm happy with what I bought.

Now you know what everyone else has been talking about! I know lots of people that don't use them and lots that do. Its just a preference thing.

It's the shoe. They're a tremendous improvement over sneakers primarily because the foot bed is so stiff.

Just unclip your foot before you think you need to and you'll never be one of those "well I fell today" posters. It always, always, always happens to people when they get distracted. After a while, it'll be in your muscle memory and you won't have any further issues.

Just remember...you will fall. Most likely in traffic and in front of a crowd of people consisting primarily of young women. It probably won't hurt that bad, but it'll leave a nasty bruise on your ego.

Just remember...you will fall. Most likely in traffic and in front of a crowd of people consisting primarily of young women. It probably won't hurt that bad, but it'll leave a nasty bruise on your ego.

I've actually fallen twice. The first time was about 1 week after I first went clipless and I simply forgot to unclip. No witnesses, though, so it didn't happen :) The second time was about two weeks ago and I honestly don't know exactly how it happened. I was approaching a red light and very definitely unclipped. Somehow or another, my cleat slipped back into the pedal just as I was about to put my foot down. I distinctly remember thinking, "Shux!". Went down in front of about 10 cars at the intersection so, yeah, this one actually happened, lol.

The driver behind me jumped out of his car asking, "Are you alright? Are you Alright?" I was laughing so hard that I couldn't answer him. I think he thought I was dead. Finally I got my act together and he asked me what happened. Told him I had no clue but that I'd bet it looked pretty cool. He looked at me a minute and said, "Yeah, it really did!" :)

Just another day on the road...

It's the shoe. They're a tremendous improvement over sneakers primarily because the foot bed is so stiff.

Just unclip your foot before you think you need to and you'll never be one of those "well I fell today" posters. It always, always, always happens to people when they get distracted. After a while, it'll be in your muscle memory and you won't have any further issues.]

**Waves** as one who has not yet got the necessary muscle memory to unclip in an emergency. I do fine when I am WANTING to stop. My thing is to get it so I can do it w/o thinking when I need to to avoid falling over.

Finally decided on Shimano PD-A530's for my now 3 week old road bike. Selling point to me was you can clip in one side or use as platform the other. I'm also using Shimano M087 mountain bike shoes. I put aside the SM-SH51 that came with the pedals and using the SM-SH56 which can unclip in more than one direction.

I have nothing to compare them to but I found this combination works for me. They clip and more importantly unclip more easily than I thought. First I practiced at home, clipping and unclipping and was confident on my first ride. I clip in my left foot before pedaing then the right foot as I'm moving. They clipped in real easy by sliding the foot forward. I went kind of slow at one point and had to pedal to keep from falling over while getting the pedal in the correct position. Stopping I leave the left clipped and the right foot off the pedal.

I always said I would never get clipless pedals. I thought they would be too dangereous and difficult to use. Easy to use yes, dangereous maybe. I always felt foot pain in my right foot while pedaling, not today. If it's the shoe or the pedal I don't know. Though, I'm on a learning curve, I'm happy with what I bought.

Good luck on your experiment. I hope it's a positive experience not a painful one.