roadrider65

After 4 years of road-riding on the original "platform" pedals, riding friends -- and even total strangers -- convinced me to switch to bike shoes and clip-in pedals. Yesterday I went to a school parking lot to practice un-clipping and to see if I could develop a reflex -- or at least a tactic -- for un-clipping before I tipped over and hurt myself. I tipped over twice and hurt myself twice. Man, trouble sure does happen fast. QUESTION: Does anyone know of a drill (physical or mental or both) whereby one can condition oneself to un-clip before it's too late?

bosoxmrkn

Practice, Practice, Practice.

You might wan to ride around in a flat grassy field to avoid the pain while you practice a bit. It's all about developing the natural reflex. What kind of pedals did you buy?

bonz50

*watches thread carefully having never used clipless

Tulex

Yeah, practice doing it at a speed that you don't need to clip out at. At random times.

tagaproject6

Practice, experience and time. And stop looking down when you clip and unclip.

Learn how to track stand.

carpediemracing 

Couple things:

1. Push down (bottom of pedal stroke), twist.

Reason most riders fall over is they instinctively try and get away from the pedal, i.e. pull up and out. That will prevent you from unclipping. If you consciously push down, you won't be pulling up. At the bottom of the pedal stroke, you won't inadvertently power the bike forward, nor back pedal suddenly.

Later you can twist out at other points.

Try twisting in too - I twist in at the 3 o'clock position (right side), usually 6 o'clock on left side.

2. Practice while leaning up against a wall. Clip in and out 20x. Then do it in a parking lot, 20x. Best if you stop, put foot down, then get going (DON'T push off - use the clipped in foot to push the pedal down to get going), clip in, pedal a couple seconds, then unclip. Repeat.

Muscle memory. It's like drills in anything else - martial arts, music, math, whatever. Do it with good form, thinking about it, slowly. Repeat endlessly.

Tip: unclip and put a foot down at every stop sign, every light. You're stopping anyway, might as well practice clipping out/in.

cdr

SteveDave

I always try to clip out as I begin to see a situation unfolding where I think I may need to stop and it seems to help a lot. I view it kinda like braking lightly in a car as you see a traffic light turn red instead of slamming on the brakes.

Phantoj

Yes, find an off-road trail, preferably with a lot of roots and large rocks and ride it after a heavy dew or a light rain.

nycphotography

All you have to know is: LEAD WITH YOUR HEEL

If you ingrain that simple thought into your head, after practicing it some, you won't ever have a problem again.

Lead with you heel. Lead with your heel. Lead with your heel.

Give it a try.

snowman40

I cheated.

I practiced on a trainer when getting my Felt fitted, so no chance in me falling. I was only in getting fitted about 45 minutes and most of that was me getting a feel for clipping in and clipping out as the bike really fits me well and all he was doing was fine tuning.

Now, I just unclip one side as I begin to slow for a light or busy stop sign intersection. I have Speedplay Light Action on my Felt and Shimano MPD-520 on my commuter.

3v1lD4v3

I also practiced on the trainer.

That being said, every single time I've fallen (4x so far), it's entirely because I had my pedals level. In order to clip-out, you will need to have your weight transferred off the foot being released.

ericm979

Practice, like cdr says.

I like to clip out with the pedal at the top, not the bottom. But do whatever works for you.

And if you can't clip out, don't panic and stop. Keep moving unless that would put you in traffic.

dmcdam

Take a few bad wipeouts with your feet clipped in - take special note of the pain involved - then make a conscious effort to avoid such future pain.

Seattle Forrest

(1) Slow
(2) Unclip
(3) Stop

Don't get #2 and #3 backwards.

Slow down, and grab a chain link fence with your hand while you're still on the bike. Or a phone pole. This will let you stay upright on the bike and clip in and out and in and out...

Don't look down when you do it. Just pivot your heel outward.

Practice track stands once you get this down.

winterrider

One more thing to know, everyone has a couple of falls when they're first learning, so don't feel bad about the fact that you went over twice. At least you were in a parking lot, mine were at a stop sign and a red light with lots of people watching! At that point all you can do is laugh at yourself and get back on the bike.

It is well worth it though, enjoy your new pedals

crhilton

What he said.

spwelton

just give it a few days. After a bit, you'll be trying to unclip even on platform pedals

Wylde06

I practiced on the Trainer also. Bought my pedals and shoes in January so I got a few weeks of trainer practice before I actually got out on the road with them

sdold

I'm surprised I don't see the "Multi-release" SPD cleats mentioned more, I've been using them on all my bikes (road, mountain and tandem) for a few years and I like them a lot. They cost about $20 and work with regular SPD shoes and pedals. They aren't as picky about exactly what direction you pull your foot out, so I think they are great for someone who wants to try clipless but is nervous about having to make just the right motion to unclip. I've heard that these can come out more easily in hard sprints etc., but it's never happened to me.

BengeBoy 

This might seem obvious, but it helped me learn (and continues to help me 10's of thousands of miles later):

- Pick a foot to be the one that unclips first. Always, always, always use that foot. When I first started I would sometimes vary my "unclip" foot and that would confuse me when I needed to unclip in an emergency situation (like when a car moves into you as you are slowing at a stoplight and you have to stop *right now*).

With me, it's my left foot. I never, ever, never unclip with my right foot. I will even adjust that cleat to make it a little looser; gives me confidence that I can always get the "unclip" foot out in a hurry even if the other foot is practically welded into the clip.

SteveDave

I should probably unclip with my left foot first because I use my right foot to start from a stop but I always go with the right, that way if I fall, I don't fall into traffic.

aboss3

As every one already suggested: practice makes it perfect. Ever since I got my first road bike, I've upgraded the clipless pedals. Well, after a couple of falls early on, I've learned my way. It's different for every set of pedals. For my Keo Look Classics, I could lead my heel out & away from the bike, while Shimano 540's are "into the bike".

Whenever I see some road congestion or some slow riders (I usually ride on the beach), I unclip one foot, but keep it locked on the pedal so I can easily clip back in. Do it in advance, and you will prevent more falls and injuries.

kevinvin

I practiced a few Dzn times holding on to a wall in my house.. AFTER reducing the clip out adjustment to almost minimum (made a big diff..) My first "ride" I went to a local park with a 3ish mile loop that has LOTS AND LOTS of run off room and played a game of "whatever happens.. Clip the left foot OUT" Any time I passed a ped.. clip out... any time a bird took off.. Clip out.. hit a bug.. clip out.. Ect Ect.. then clip in and back to speed...

After about an hour of this, I loaded up the bike to go home, pulled the car up to the road and when I pulled my foot off the clutch.. I clipped out.. at that point I figured I had it..

I have had 0MPH falls.. DO NOT! Clip both feet out and then stand on your right foot to lower yourself.. clipped out pedals / cleats are made of teflon and ICE.. covered in super super slick oil.. covered in grease.. that first second of 'hey I got this' is followed by your feet very suddenly not supporting your weight.. so it went..

Clip Clip.. Stand.. Slip.. boys hit front of seat HARD.. Boys hit top bar HARD.. sudden lack of traction under body make things go in uncontrollable directions.. PAVEMENT.. bike land on top of you.. takes just a split second..

Still.. I wouldn't trade them back in.. makes your legs work (hurt) in BRAND NEW WAYS.. LOL..

StephenH

Use platform pedals. Practice stopping and taking off (or as close as you can come to a stop) without putting your feet down. Then learn to ride a unicycle. Practice riding the bike around in the parking lot very very slowly while waiting on the other guys. Then get clipless pedals. Can't say if it works for everyone, but it worked for me.

alexp247365

the advice I gave to my friend new to pedals....

1) Grab the brake hoods
2) stand up while pedals are at the 3 and 9 position. Move the pedals to the 6 and 12 o'clock position. Support weight on the 6 o'clock pedal.
3) twist your 12 o'clock foot out of cleat and straighten leg so your foot is hovering over the ground.
4) Apply brakes and fall toward clipped pedal when the bike is almost stopped.

He had no problems with me... but crashed when he rode again the next day. Whatever method works for you, practice practice and practice.

The other day my wife laughed at me for trying to unclip my sandals while messing around out in the street in front of our house. It will become second nature eventually