1. the problem cannot be solved on a bike equipped with derailleur shifting, only minimized.
2. yep, so what?
3. Hogwash. It ain't a pecker size contest or a race on unfamiliar terrain. Of course we can all be surprised by an unexpected grade, but when you commute daily over the same route there should be no unexpected grades. If you choose to ride a bike that isn't geared properly for known terrain, sorry, I got no sympathy for you.

Yes, I swore, shucky darn, it's how I talk - sue me. Or better yet, volunteer to be a moderator, sheriff. ;)

That's totally weird, I've never had my chain jam like you describe, sounds freaky.

My only suggestion, other than making unclipping habitual, is that I've developed a habit of always leaning slightly one way (usually to the right, as that's away from traffic) any time something starts to go wrong at all. If I did fall it would mean I fell the least scary way, but more importantly there's only one foot to think about unclipping - the right foot.

I guess saying "don't panic next time" isn't really helpful, eh? lol

If my wheel jammed, that would be bad bad news. But if just my chain jammed, and I didn't panic, I should be able to stay upright, right? I mean - unless I was going so slow that the loss of momentum caused me to no longer be able to remain upright.

One suggestion I've heard is taken the bike onto a softer surface like a grass field and practice leaning a little and clipping out. Try not to fall over, but try to become very comfortable with unclipping as soon as you start to lean.

I like clips on hills cuz I'm working on climbing out of the saddle. I'm doing it more and more and because of my ITBand Syndrome I'm pointing my toes more. I actually cut them down and don't use the straps so they are kinda like mini-clips.

I use platforms for road and mtb shimano for dirt. As mentioned, mtb clips may be eaisier to get out of than road pedals. For mtb shoes, make sure the sole does not interfere with the clip, I usually need to trim a little.

I may not do it for extended periods of time. but if I'm lagging from my normal pace and I start thinking "UP", I accelerate. I'm pretty sure it's not because I'm pushing down harder. Could it all be mental... hmmmm... maybe, but I don't think so. I use SPDs, and I hate riding without being hooked in.

Do you think you're pulling the pedal during its upstroke (which requires a foot-pedal attachment), or could you be merely unweighting it (which does not)? I don't know if I could feel the difference. But then, some people claim to be able to discern their current gear ratio by feel alone.

I've had far more accidents cused by having my feet slip of flat pedals than from clipless pedals.

That being said, my worst accident was caused by clipless pedals, I was trying to trackstand at a light, and didn't think to unclip first. I fell down at exactly 0 mph. Worst part, it was in front of a large tour group. At least my other accidents have been relatively private.

Slipped on ice in january. Went down so fast I didn't unlcip in time.
Two fractures of the tibula.
Still all seems good now and I should be back in the saddle next monday.
(With clips. Unless it is still icy)

Yes, I'm pulling the pedal up during the upstroke. I clearly feel the pressure of my shoe on the top of my foot. IMO, there is SOME affect even when not focused on the upstroke. It's clearly there when I do focus. It's on my personal "lessons learned" list from my year of commuting. To go fast, think UPstroke.

That study has been mentioned numerous times but it's also somewhat suspect. I doubt anyone pulls up on each and every backstroke and you personally may not pull up at all, but that doesn't mean that nobody ever pulls up ;)

Last year I was experimenting with riding sockless and that pretty proved to me that the oft cited study is either misrepresented or was poorly done. Once my feet got sweaty I was nearly pulling them out of my shoes when riding hard. I had to stop and tighten them. Under normal riding conditions my feet stayed firmly in place so I was either not pulling up or not pulling up as much.

I'd recommend that the OP just skip the clipless pedals if they're making his commute less enjoyable except that I think going uphill is one area where they give a commuter a significant advantage.

One other point. For me it is really clumsy to get my pedals into proper position for a good start if not clipped in. My SOP is to clip one foot in the SPD, then rotate it backwards (pulling) to get into position to crank with that foot. If not attached to the pedal, I have to hook my toe under the pedal, which is messy and far less precise. I might go too far and have to do it over again, even. And then the light could be changing! Horrible!!

Did you have studded tires?

elaborate

I ride a fixie a lot and clipless makes it a whole lot easier to control the bike through the cranks. For me, clipless is almost a must for fixed gear, but not such a big deal for a geared commuter.

Exactly, all these people telling him it is so easy, you must be a ******** if you can't figure it out and that he should spend hours practicing are just setting the guy up for putting the bicycle under a tarp in the garage. I cringe everytime a new rider gets clipless tossed at them. I hope OP keeps the platforms and builds up enough confidence to make up his own mind...

If you are pulling up with your clipless, that isn't a bunny hop, just a simple hop... a common "bad" clipless technique (ask any BMX guys)

Yup, lastly the OP needs to be aware that if he doesn't have the cleats setup correctly and the float isn't generous he can really mess up his knees! This is certainly a trial and error issue reserved for more experienced cyclists.

So I just went clipless. A good friend of mine gave me an older not-so-gently used set of SPDs for my new roadbike. Considering how much I splurged for the bike, getting pedals for such a low cost (read: free) I thought it was sweet! I had been itching to go clipless since I did the Autumn Escape Bike Trek last year on my Trek hybrid with the seat too far low (rookie mistake) and platform pedals. I happened to get a great deal on Craigslist for a brand new set of SPDs with cleats so I put the old ones on my trek and the new pedals on my roadie. The new SPDs are a little tougher to clip into and have a little more float as well. I finally got a chance to take my roadie out yesterday and did about 13 miles with the biggest hill in the last push home. Needless to say I was a little tired (hadn't ridden in a few months because of the winter...embarrassing I know, but that will change!!) I unclipped one pedal in front of my house and shifted my balance the wrong way, leading to that awkward slow tipping of the bike away from the free leg. I fell over into my garden. Thankfully my leg broke the bike's fall and I have a nice scrape on the calf and a bruised ego. That being said, I love clipless. I don't know if I am faster, but I feel faster and more efficient both in and out of the saddle on my hybrid and my roadie...

My .02 is to get a set of clipless, but get a set of those plastic platform inserts so you can convert your pedals to platforms at a moments notice. Then you have the best of both worlds without using a pedal wrench!

Oh, I understand the need for clipless on a fixie, but these are two things that put together with city traffic would scare me as I would never ride a fixie in traffic, plus clipless pedals = scary. Not putting it down, it's just something I would not have the guts to do.

Front wheel skidded sideways? I bet this happened fast! You'd most likely still fall clipped or not. When it happened once to me I went down so fast I still had hands on bars and I bet at least one foot on a pedal when I was wondering WTF just happened. I was lucky: I ended up with bruise on a shoulder, a bump on a head and cracked helmet - one of few events that made me a believer in helmets... and studded tires, BTW :D

Obviously the pedals' fault:

Yes, and I assure you - for 99% of us, this would *not* be the end of the post, lol -

I agree with you, electrik, that the benefits of clipless pedals are often oversold -- by bike shops who have products to move, and by well-intentioned cyclists who try to justify their fondness for them by making arguments that overgeneralize. I did this myself, foisting them on my poor wife, who tried them a few times and decided that cycling wasn't for her -- until we swapped them out for platforms. Sweet relief!

But scare stories like the one you linked to don't help much, since of course clipless pedals aren't foolproof. They cause people to fall and hurt themselves. I have the hardware in my elbow & humerus to prove it. But that isn't so much an argument against clipless pedals as it is an argument against any activity that entails risk, such as cycling.

OP, here are my dogmatic two cents. You can live with clipless pedals, and you can live without them. You can tailor your riding style on hills, whichever way you choose. Beware of arguments for the manifest superiority of one over the other. Ride what feels good and live with the risk.

Elaborate



:D

In part your sarcasm is just wrong. Riding clipped in increased the risk and penalty for him of not being able to clip out. So, instead people blame the rider for making a mistake, nice. You can't ignore the clipless pedal has actually played a key part in that accident and i'm sure that fact isn't lost on most people.

I'm not really sure it is a frivolous "scare" story, I just wanted to post something that shows the risk of being clipped in during a crash. Best case it is just skinned hands and knees at a red light.

When I figure out what "pop up into a manual" means - maybe I can figure out whether the clipless pedals were completely incidental to the story or not, lol.

Tibia or fibula?

Yes, you fall faster on ice, because you don't fall "over" - the bikes skids out from under you and you drop straight down.

See I read that as showing the risk of being clipped in while popping a wheelie. Or perhaps the risk of popping a wheelie. But if you want to go on and claim the guy's pedals "played a key part," you should probably explain why mountain bikers use super-scary clipless pedals at all.

Sorry but I really don't think you understand the issue here which explains your simplistic response to the problem. I know my route and know it well, the variable here is my load and the way I feel when i ride that route. Sometimes I am cycling back from work with extra gear and sometimes after a joy ride. Depending on which ride it is and what time of the day it is my body might respond differently. So I don't use the same gear for the same part of the route all the time. I sort of let my body tell me what the right one is at the time.

You sound like an experienced cyclist so maybe this reasoning is just unfathomable to you. Maybe once i am half as experienced as you are I will know my body much better so that I can predict which gear it wants me to be in.

I appreciate everyone's response. I just like to emphasize that this really happened to me once. I really don't think it had anything to do with me not switching gears in the right moment or not. I believe these kind of things just happen on bikes once in a blue moon but when they do being in a clipless is just really scary IMHO. I am not sure what I am going to do for now, as I say i have hybrid SPDs so I might use the platform side on the uphills for now or work furhter on my technique.

Cheers,
Jerry

I don't think he's implying that you should know which gear you'll be in every step of the way, only that you'd know where the steepness of the inclines change.

There's one hill on my summer group ride that's just a killer. I quickly get into my granny gear as it starts out really steep but then the incline becomes more gradual so I can gradually shift up.

I think what other people have suggested is to ride up that hill in a lower gear than you really need to and downshift well before it becomes really difficult to pedal. That way you're not putting so much pressure on your drive train, and more importantly, not as much pressure on your knees.

I would bet it was mostly because it carried over from their road riding days. As to explaining why he was riding clipless that isn't my responsibility and anyways I don't see you saying his pedals didn't play a key role. Was i wrong to interpret when you wrote "blame the pedals" as glibness about the rider being an idiot? Because despite your sarcasm it seems to me that you're reluctantly on board with the idea that riding clipless ups the penalty and risk of injury when you fail to clip-out.