Sculptor7

Today I was ascending a pretty steep hill on my normal route when suddenly I was caught balancing with both feet clipped in at 0 MPH. Luckily I unclipped in time to avoid a catastrophe.

What I realized had happened was that a hill I normally would have shifted to the small chain ring for I had been trying to take in the large front gear. In fact I have been noticing that hills I used to ascend in gear 1, 2 or 3, I am now taking in 4, 5, and 6. In other words when I first bought my new Trek last spring I used the lowest gears for ascending certain hills but now usually can take them in higher gears. That's a good thing. Unless of course I get absent-minded as I did today.

Phil85207

At least you didn't crash and burn.

Shimagnolo

Meh.
Let us know when you find yourself clipped in a -3mph.

gcottay

Ah, a very brief track stand.

NOS88

There is a short (quarter mile) hill I must ride to get back to my home after most rides. It tops out at 17% grade with the average over 14%. About once a year something will happen (i.e. squirrel darting in front of me, hitting an ice patch, etc.) on my way up that stops me dead in my tracks. The first few times this happened I did the Tombay routine. Lately, I've been unclipping with remarkable speed. If my heart rate isn't already in the red zone, this usually gets it there. Glad you avoided the horizontal plunge.

Ken Brown

Been there, done that.

woodway

Mountain Biking while clipped in will hammer the "emergency unclip at 0 MPH" technique home pretty quickly. Glad you survived your episode unscathed.

Pat

That nearly happened to me on Thrill Hill. It is the steepest hill in Central Florida and probably the steepest in the state. It is not really a hill. The road goes from one ridge to another. You have a steep hill and a not so steep looking climb on the other side. I came up on it and went down in my big ring in the high 30's and maybe over 40. I started up the other side and thought I could do it in my big ring. I got about 3/4 of the way up and got hit by the 16% section and my bike speed dropped rapidly. I realized that I needed a double shift fast and I risked losing a chain if I tried it that fast. So figuring that things would work out better than going backwards with a dropped chain, I clipped out and walked the last bit up the hill. That is the only hill I have ever walked in Florida.

I did see it in action on another ride. I was doing an organized century. There were quite a few riders from out of the area. Each and every one of them fell for this hill. They got up to the steep part, slowed rapidly and cursed loudly as they tried to shift in time. I took amusement at this because I had mentioned that it was best to take the climb in the small ring but they all knew better.

badamsjr

In my attempt to avoid renewing my membership in club Tombay, I have loosened the clip-in pressure adjustment on my pedals to minimum. I have yet to pull my foot off the pedal while pulling up for extra spin, and it is much easier to do an emergency dismount!

stapfam

15 years of SPD's and I can't remember the last time I had a Clipped in problem---

Yes I can-- A couple of years ago I was up for new pedals as I reckoned the 10 year old set I had were getting a bit worn and tightening the tension was not working. Being a New Roadie Convert- I went for the A520's. Didn't even think about it but changed the pedals and rode- No problems unclipping though I did have to tighten the tension a fair amount. Then bought a new pair of shoes and put new cleats on them. First stop and it was a quick circle round to release the shoes.

It wasn't the old pedals that were worn. All that tightening of the tension screw does work- Especially with New cleats. 15 years of wear on the old cleats had made them very sloppy.

byte_speed

Recently, I decided to try some new Wellgo Look Delta compatible pedals so I could use the same cleats on all 3 bikes.

The Wellgo's with the new cleats that came with them were so tight (even on the loosest setting) that I really thought I was going to have to roll up to a mailbox and hang on until someone saw my plight and stopped or came out to get the mail. I couldn't twist my foot far enough to get loose. Finally, with much effort, I got my left foot loose. I usually unclip with the right.

Luckily I decided to try to unclip before I had to stop. I put some grease on the cleats before the next ride and they released pretty easily. Now they are worn a bit and no problem.

Bare Feet

^ I'm gonna give it a try ^
_____________________
The same thing happened to me last week, although I was completely ignorant initially as to why I couldn't downshift my rear anymore. In that brief second of panic at track-stand, I saw I was in the large front gear so I managed to quickly shift to the small front gear, then quickly shifted the rear up as fast as I could. Phew!! It worked. I didn't realize I risked dropping a chain . . I was just lucky I didn't fall. I was shaking. Never even thought of unclipping!

Then yesterday a new group member made an unpredictable turn in front of me. I hit the brakes, yelled 'stopping' and unclipped faster than I thought possible. Disasters avoided while building experience.

smoore

Yep, we've all been there I suspect. My driveway goes uphill on the way to the street and I can't tell you the number of times I had to unclip after doing the 0MPH trackstand because I was certain I could make it up the hill in a gear too big.

TomD77

About 2 weeks ago, didn't quite get unclipped in time. Was crossing a major road, saw a clear and was maybe 1-1/2 strokes in, still on the shoulder and here came a car going hell for leather, on the brakes hard and----------

Could have been worse.

berner

Sculptor, I'm at the same place as you regarding hills. I began cycling in March. At first, most any hill caused much suffering, even in flat coastal Rhode Island. At this point, like you, I'm taking hills in higher gears and almost enjoy the new found strength. So far SPD use has been incident free. The big problem is suicidal squirrels.

mikeinsa

Hey! I can assure you that modern technology is a LOT better than when we used cleats that had a slit for the quill pedal and leather straps around cages! At least now, unclipping is almost second nature! twist and your out! (Isn't that a song line?)