fietsbob

cleat to shoe bolts loose ..

coasting 

i had really tight shimano pedals and i had to unscrew the resistance thingy a long long way before it felt relaxed.

BradH

When I started using clipless pedals I made myself a reminder. I took a label maker and made a sticker that said "UNCLIP". I placed this on the stem. It worked. Don't give up.

If you fall keep your knees & elbows tucked in, hands on the bars and ride the bike to the ground. It's better for you and the bike. What crashes I've saved myself from by remembering to unclip I've probably made up for on the ice.

woodcraft

My son is newly clipless,

& he's up to about 10 tombays on his mtn bike.

His friend who's been hearing about how great the pedals are is unconvinced.

milkbaby

As mentioned by another forumite, your second foot didn't release because it didn't move in the direction required for the cleat to release. In a crash it's not uncommon for one foot to unclip and the other foot to stay clipped in, simply because the tumbling bike is moving in just the right way for the one foot to unclip but not the right way for the other one. It's also possible for both feet to unclip if your bike and legs are moving in all different directions upon a bad crash.

I vote with the others to stick with clipless because you'll only get better at something the more you practice. The more you practice something, the better you get at it. Keep at it, good luck, and happy riding to you!

grampa.sjb

Completely agree! You literally have to develop a new mylenated neural pathway in your brain sufficiently strong that it becomes the "go to" pathway when your executive function says, "Stop!" This takes time and repeated action. The more often you repeat the unclipping action, the stronger and more easily activated the unclipping neural pathway becomes. We all went through this, we all fell early on, usually in front of interested bystanders, and we all survived. Now the action for us is automatic, smooth, and without thought. Hang in there, and don't go backwards! It really is a better way to ride!

CliffordK

I agree.
Anticipate stops and unclip one pedal early. You may still need to do the occasional emergency unclip, but most stories of people tipping over seem like the people who stop their bike, then try to simply put the foot on the ground.

rick458

Fortunately I have ridden the handlebars down both times, and stayed in the saddle. I did put my left knee out for the last on and took about 2"x2" of hair and hyde off. but kept the bike untouched.

I have the shoes, and pedals wrapped until Wed night (it is when the Family will do Christmas =Shiftworker)
so I will recheck the adapter, and C Clip tension (should be finger loose correct) and try again.
Honestly I am getting ready for my 9th 12 hour shift since I had the first tump. I wanted to ride today but we have my folks coming in from Ark and have to get stuff ready for that.

Thanks for the advice I am listening, the UNCLIP sticker sounds like a winner.

Al1943

Are you sure you had the left cleat on the left shoe, and the right on the right. Don't laugh, it is possible to mount them on the wrong shoe and that will make them nearly impossible to release. Don't ask me how I know().

rpenmanparker 

Wut? Look cleats aren't symmetrical? Since when?

WhyFi

The thread is about Speedplay...

banerjek

You realize you could have just taken off your shoe?

bbattle

I couldn't reach them. I was on the side of a hill. I did try.

spdracr39

I don't have speedplays but I did practice clipping and unclipping for about 30 minutes before riding and then short clip in and out ride for another thirty. I still fell over a couple of times after that but now it is muscle memory. Practice and practice some more.

rick458

I checked the cleats this morning, and the clips WERE too tight so I backed off about 1/4 turn and got both cleats where they move with some finger pressure.
Put the Speedplays on the bike, and got the Doutap on and talking to my phone

MDfive21

i have zeros myself. if you tighten the 4 screws that hold the outer cleat plate really tight you will have trouble getting in and out of the pedals. unscrew them all teh way then tighten them til you feel the screw click 4 times. i think it's 4 clicks, maybe 5. at any rate, they will seem to not be tight enough but they are.

rpenmanparker 

Well that is obviously the problem.

rick458

I took some blue locktite and redid all 4 screws on both cleats, to where I just make good contact with the cleat, the C Clip is much looser, put on the Keep on Kovers, and clipping in and out went from med high effort to low effort.
I also like how the Keep on Kovers help align the pedal into the cleat (and the keep the wood floor happier)
Now I need to learn how to ride light, while unclipped as I have a 2" lip from the street to the driveway and just pinched the back tire.
But hey I am improving greatly, 2 Saturdays ago I endo-ed, last Saturday I had a failure to unclip when stopping (that one hurt pretty good as I put my knee out) Today I only pinch flatted the rear never felt it (felt the front hit hard, but saw the rear was flat when I went to rack it)
I need to check air for every ride, front was solid but never touched the rear.
I will go for a 8-10 mile ride tomorrow morning when I get off work (only had 10 days off since Sept 26th)
and will keep improving.
It is frustrating to have such a nice Bike but such little time to ride it and get better.
If I can just get lower on the bike and stop crawling the saddle.

rpenmanparker 

You need some fit advice. I'm not saying it has to be professional and paid for. But you need some fit advice.

rick458

Yes I will take it in next week to get the saddle right, and make sure the stem is not too long, I will also have them check cleat position.
I feel comfortable on the bike, I just keep moving to the nose of the saddle, it is as far forward as the rails will allow unless I reverse the post.
hands and arms feel good but very little bend in the elbows. It might be a combo of back issues/flexability or just too long a stem.
I fit the bike well with the original saddle on the trainer at the store, but the stock saddle was too narrow, maybe I reversed the post going to the interum saddle, and kept it reversed for the Brooks.