Originally Posted by
Roustabout
Yes, you will eventually fall over due to unforeseen circumstances. After using clipless pedals for about a month without any mishaps, last week I hit some dirt going at slow speed, lost stability, and couldn't clip out in time. Bruised my butt and hurt my shoulder. Pretty much over the injury after 3 days. Another excellent reason to wear cycling gloves and ALWAYS wear a helmet.
In my experience mistakes usually happen after a couple of weeks of using clipless pedals. For the first week or two, you're paranoid about falling over, unclip early, and never have a problem. After a couple of weeks, you start to get complacent and that's usually when you forget to unclip. Starting out with a two-sided Shimano SPD (
not SPD-SL) with adjustable release tension is a good idea. The pedals are cheap (around $30-35 for the M520), reliable, easy to clip, and easy to unclip.