Bike Forums - Clipless pedals or not?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by DrIsotope (Post 20682390)

I'm right-handed, kick with my left foot, and always, always unclip the right foot when coming to a stop. Unclipping the left feels genuinely unnatural... to me. I've tried starting off with the right foot clipped in, and it's as if I've forgotten how to ride a bicycle.

That said, most people I see unclip the left foot at a stop. Which is weird to me here in the land of driving-on-the-right. With my right foot unclipped I can stand on the curb and stay in the saddle at stoplights.

Same here. Then I broke my right ankle. In retrospect, I should have learned to unclip equivalently from either side. Now I have to twist my right ankle inward toward the bike to unclip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RubeRad (Post 20690339)

The cake is a lie!

well, if it's a lie, it sure is a delicious lie.

https://media.giphy.com/media/3o6ozk...C6wU/giphy.gif

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrIsotope (Post 20682390)

I'm right-handed, only started riding regularly this year and unclipping came naturally for my left foot but is still weird for my right.

There's almost no time I'm ever going to be up next to a curb so it's interesting that you bring up a potential benefit of unclipping the right foot. Here, either the intersection is going to have a place for the bike to trigger the traffic sensor a few feet away from the curb, or it's going to be a right turn only lane and no way am I stopping there, or I'm taking the lane to not be squashed by a right hook.

Quote:

Originally Posted by surak (Post 20695502)

I'm right-handed, only started riding regularly this year and unclipping came naturally for my LEFT foot but is still weird for my right.

There's almost no time I'm ever going to be up next to a curb so it's interesting that you bring up a potential benefit of unclipping the right foot. Here, either the intersection is going to have a place for the bike to trigger the traffic sensor a few feet away from the curb, or it's going to be a right turn only lane and no way am I stopping there, or I'm taking the lane to not be squashed by a right hook.

I'm strongly right-handed, and earlier on this thread I posted:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 20684422)

On further reading, I noted the right vs left unclipping discussion. We have plenty of curbs and I unclip RIGHT. In fact, when I'm on the left side of the road, left foot unclipping seems awkward.

I first to thought about it when I started riding with a regular companion, and he always unclipped left.

Under those circumstances described by [MENTION=473679]surak[/MENTION], I'm always cognizant and anticipatory and I would defer to any car that attempted it. A rearview mirror is essential to such observation.

I like the brief respite at a stoplight to rest my right foot unclipped on the curb.

BTW, in the first year of clipless, I had about four falls when stopped (only), so I follow this rule: "Unclip (right) even if you just think about stopping."

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyccommute (Post 20685069)

And what is the margin of error on the measurements? One mpg might be significant or it might not be. Given that the listed fuel economy is often inaccurate, I’d say that 1 mpg is within the margin of error. In essence, you can’t say that one is better than the other.

But you can say (or least I can) that one kind is far more fun to drive.