spietrek

So I finally broke down and bought a pair. First set ever. Went with Crank Brothers SL Egg Beater pedals and Shimano SH-M121G shoes. Pretty much was limited to the shoes thanks to my shoe size (50). So far so good with the setup. It took a little bit of practice to get comfortable clipping in. They are super easy to disconnect. Had a good time cranking through the neighborhood. Hopefully now I can avoid the 25-mile "toes going numb from getting squeezed in the toe clips" issue I have been experiencing the last couple rides. Can't wait to ride this weekend.

CACycling

Congrats on going clipless. Just be prepared for your "clipless fall". Most have experienced it (I know I have) although my wife avoided it so far (for a year and a half). Practice clipping in and out. Get in the habit of unclipping the same foot at each time so you also get into the habit of unclipping ahead of time and leaning the same way. Enjoy.

spietrek

Funny. When first practicing my wife attempted to hold me up while I attempted to clip in. You can see where things went. I had my right foot unlocked but fell to the left. At the last second I was able to disconnect and didn't totally fall. Had to laugh.

billio

I've been using Shimano SPDs for a long time and recently switched to Looks for my road bike. I usually unclip on my left foot as I come to an intersection.

One funny note, and the only time I've fallen, I was on a bike trail and slowed waiting for one of the guys. Unclipped my left foot getting ready to stop and heard someone say something to me. I looked over my RIGHT shoulder and promptly fell on my right side in the grass. It had to be hilarious if anyone saw me. I just sat in the grass and laughed as it was a slow motion TIMBER moment.

snowman40

I had one of those Saturday as I was stopping next to my car. Unclipped the left foot as the car was on my left, reached out to grab and came to the realization that no matter how far I reached, the further away it got.....I'm now going to avoid ever having to unclip the left foot first.

spietrek

I had a good two days riding. Rode 20 miles Saturday and 43 miles Sunday. Only two close calls. Saturday I thought I heard my front tire losing air and quickly stopped only to realize I unclippled my right foot but was looking to go down on the left. As I was falling, at the last second, I unclipped my left. Glad nobody was around! Yesterday I was looking to turn around and didn't have much room. Again subconsciously attempted to put my left foot down while it was clipped in - this time fought through it and stayed upright.

As far as the pedals:
1. Toes did not fall asleep as they usually did when using toe clips.
2. Felt MUCH stronger on the hills.
3. Didn't notice a huge difference on the flats though I did not bang my heels on the frame like I did before. I'm sure I was much stronger though.
4. Still need to work on clipping my right foot in. Sometimes it took 5-10 swipes before I could clip in.

Varina Drag

It finally happened to me. I got clipless pedals about three weeks ago. Did the "clip in, clip out" thing several times, rode some slow circles around a parking lot, and then hit the road. For three weeks, didn't have a single problem. I stopped at stop lights and uncliped just fine. I got in the habit of unclipping on the left side, which benefited me for the next part of this story.

On my ride today, the toes started feeling tingly a few miles into the ride. I found a pull out and stopped to adjust the velcro. When I was getting ready to get back on the road, I waited for a gap in traffic, got clipped in, and then saw a truck coming around the corner that I didn't see before. Stopped the bike but couldn't unclip! Fell on the left side, fortunately. No damage or pain except to my pride. That'll learn me!