crasher

I am a road bike newbie. Although I can clip out fine on flats, I can't clip out when I go up a hill. I normally clip out on the bottom of the pedal stroke, and on a hill my foot spins so quickly that I never have enough time to get my foot out of the clip. So I always crash at a top-of-the-hill stop sign, etc. Does anyone have some advice? Thanks!

Bontrager

Clip out before you stop completely? Why not practice clipping in and out inside in a doorway so you don't keep falling over?

gpelpel

Yes, that's tough unclipping on hills. I also had this problem when new with clipless pedals. I too went down a couple of times. I think the key is not to panick. I usually unclip at the top of the stroke and make sure the bike still has momentum when doing so, the other foot pulling the crank upward. I then keep the unclipped foot on the pedal to push it down.

operator

Just look up and see if there's a lot of traffic... If there is then burst of speed then coast and clip out.

catatonic

best bet is to know your velocity, and unclip your standing foot, and let the bike roll to your stopping point.

I have some issues on downhills, where i cleat-skate a bit sometimes, but other than that, no issues at all.

...as far as why I cleat skate, usually doubt about how stable I am at that moment while braking, so I just let friction do it's work....metal cleats don't really skate all that far

drroebuck

If the stop sign is at the crest of the hill (usually but certainly not always the case) can you stop just beyond the limit line where it's starting to level out?

oboeguy

Took the words right out of my keyboard.

MichaelW

Practice riding very slowly.

bikerski

if you are a newbie you may not need the pedal set real "hard" to stay clipped. Your power output may not require maximum hard setting. check to see if your pedal has settings and set lighter until you start to pull out during hard effort, then harden up a bit. this will help you get out faster, won't be a struggle.