i've done this too
came damn close to rear-ending a car, came to a stop bare inches from teh rear bumper, then got my foot on the side i was leaning towards tangled in the straps and went over
dragged myself to the side of the road, a driver pulled over to ask if i was hurt, i just said "only my ego"

My 2c..... I'd have to say that clipless are safer on the street than clips/straps with the straps tightened down, like they're "supposed" to be.

Ok. I guess I had better get ready to fall.

My turn coming this Thursday or Friday. Candy SL from Nashbar and $59 Adidas shoes. Already layed it down without any help trying to hang on to a traffic light pole all by myself the other day. Can't wait to see what happens.

When you fall don't freak out. Just go with it and don't try to break your fall with your hands. If you stay with your bike and just go over it doesn't hurt. Keep your knees in toward the center. I think I fell about three or four times. It mostly happens when you're tired at the end of a ride. I commute in town on my fixed gear and since I'm not twenty something I just use rat traps to keep my feet from slipping off the pedals. On recreational rides I use clipless. Best of luck.

So far the only time I have come close is when trying to enter my driveway after a 10 mile commute in 85 deg, 99% humidity, 20 mph headwind. I was already going very slow due to being tired, hot and large headwind and when I went to turn there was a car coming behind me, so I had to slow down and wait. I slowed, started to unclip and had a hard time balancing and had a crazy vision of getting creamed by simply falling over in the path of an oncoming car. Now I unclip about 100 yds before the drive, while I still have plenty of speed.

Are you a soccer fan? While you're learning to unclip, wear a goalkeeper's jersey with the padded elbows. Your elbows will thank you!

I like Crank Bros. Got Candys on the road bike, Mallets on the hybrid.

Most will fall once or twice before it becomes second nature to unclip. I did. I also got blown the wrong way by a wind gust one time. How you fall can be the difference between just getting embarassed and spraining/breaking your wrist. You have to resist the temptation to stick your hand out to break the fall. When I taught karate, falling correctly was a part of the training for beginners.

When I let my 18-year old son start my hybrid, I took him to a local park and had him ride on the grass awhile to practice clipping/unclipping. I also had him stop a few times w/o unclipping to get him to train himself to hold onto the handlebars and NOT put out his hand to brace. First time, he put the hand out. Second time, he started to put it out, then pulled it back. Third time, he held on and let the left side of his body absorb the impact. I'm hoping that, if he does now forget to unclip and falls on the pavement, he can do so properly and avoid serious injury.

Ok, here goes. I just clicked an order to Nashbar for Candy C. Gulp - I am 41 years old, is this too old to learn to go clipless?

I will put my clips on my wife's bike to give her a boost.

Not a chance! I'm older than you. I've only had my Trek road bike for a little over two months and just got Speedplay Ti Frogs last week. Age is only a number.

You might not fall on your first ride, but it will happen. Guarranteed. I hope it's an easy one, though.

Congratulations, I know you'll have fun with your new shoes & pedals!

My shoulder hurts from using my new pedals. Love them though, easy in and easy out. I found out that my shoes need to be laced nice and tight. Too loose and I find my foot trying to come out of the shoe. At least that's the way it is with my Candy pedals.

Your shoulder?? How does that work?

Ok...here goes. The Candy Cs arrived today and are now on the bike. Cleats are mounted and I have taken a short spin around the block - no fall yet - of course, I didn't have my helmet on so I was extra careful.

Question regarding the position of the cleats: Should I leave them a bit loose so my foot can find what is comfortable and then stop and tighten up after several hundred feet? Or should I just crank those bad boys down and deal the with the position?

I've never tried leaving them loose, but that would probably feel unpleasant and not be very informative. I would tighten them up, then ride a few miles, then adjust. Unless they're WAAY misadjusted, you won't be able to tell what's comfortable until you've ridden on them for a while.

Don't overtighten the cleats, basically tighten them until you can't possibly move them by hand, and no tighter! If they are plastic, overtightening will crack them (I've done it to road cleats).

Nahhh, I'll be 41 in a couple weeks and I just went clipless (come to think of it, I just got my first bike in over 20 years) I had to learn how to shift gears first, that came quick. I fell with my clips and straps and got the worst case of road rash I ever had, my poor mother rolled her eyes at me thinking those days were long gone!!! I got my Shimano SPD-SL pedals last Sunday, and so far I have adjusted pretty well. Even on the quick stops. The one time I fell so far, I was clipped out on one side waiting for this lady to make her left turn (from the other direction), she was going so slow I started waving her through and lost my balance to the side that was still clipped in. No biggie, but she had to stop in the middle of her turn and ask me if I was ok, I felt like telling her if she would just DRIVE instead of looking at my SpongeBob jersey, I wouldn't be on the ground!!! Anyway, I got no pride so there was none to be hurt. I figure I'll probably fall again sometime but I'm not going to plan it. Good luck and happy riding!

Survived the first ride. Clicking in got easier as I practice and unclipping was simple. I rode about 10 miles with a 20 mph headwind. It was work, but the efficiency of the new pedal impressed me. Coming up to the house, I unclipped and rolled to a stop about 20 feet short of the gate.

I am sold on clipless. Why did I wait so long?

Heh, SWMBO and I went riding lunchtime yesterday, and at the start I advised her to test the brakes before we hit the road. Imagine my consternation as soon as I said it, she keeled over and crashed down, right in front of my work colleagues! She forgot to free her foot from the Powergrips which she inherited from me. It was her first fall... she laughed about it... no rash just a slight bruise.

It hit the ground.

Darn, I jinxed myself!!! I was out tonight and fell over twice (in the same spot) trying to get clipped back in after a dead stop on a hill. I was in traffic and I still need a little wiggle room to get the second foot in. There was none so I fell over onto the curb, no road rash just a few pebbles in the leg. So far I'm still having fun!


T

I just got home from my LBS with my new Sidi Bullet Megas and Shimano PD-M424 pedals. The bike store owner set the cleat position by clipping the shoes onto the pedals and eyeballing them. He told me I may want to make some adjustments later on after riding some.

I was thinking of the same plan as you: leaving them loose then tightening them up after my foot finds a comfortable angle. Problem is, you have to twist your foot to unclip, so that plan is no good at all!

Good riding,
desmobob

A quick update - Have put about 25 miles in with the candy c's. No falls, but several wiggly saves. Glad I started wearing that silly looking helmet. I love the pedals and within 10 days I predict that I will be an expert and will start offering advice to the "unenlightened" I already told my wife, "You have to try these, you will be faster, smarter and taller!"

Got the fall out of the way this morning. Fortunately, my forward momentum was completely stopped and my fall was cushioned by nice clean gravel. Also, it was early enough that no one was out to see me. My hands never left the bar for the 14 seconds it took to go from upright to sideways.

Congrats, I'm glad you got it over with. Now you're ready to go ride like crazy

14 seconds********** That sounds like one mighty slow motion fall! Doesn't feel so bad from a stand still though. Congrats on getting that first one outa the way