Originally Posted by
gear
I understand that there is some humor involved, when I do something clumsy (these things occure with more frequency than I care to admit) I also like to joke about it. Its also nice to feel like you've earned your stripes and belong to a special club (and I use the word "special" in that small school bus sort of way).
But I disagree with your theory that it doesn't scare people off to hear those stories; the most common response I get when I ask a non clipless rider if they have considered clipless pedals is that they "heard they are dangerous". You have to ask where are they getting this impression.
If this (clipless pedals) is some secret that we want to keep to ourselves; we are going about it the right way.
They are dangerous! Stairs are dangerous. Dogs are dangerous. Swimming is dangerous. Bicycles are dangerous.
Humor is one way of informing that the danger can be managed and isn't as bad as some would have you believe.
My contention is that after reading the humerous stories about fall overs the folks that say "that's too dangerous for me" wouldn't have tried the pedals anyway.