Falling Over
 

There have been plenty of threads about falling over with clipless; hopefully I'm not the only one to fall over while using toe clips? Please? My non-bicycling relatives got a kick out of it (I'll smile when the swelling subsides).

I'm sure it's just as easy (if not easier) to fall over with toe clips rather than clipless.

I once fell over and I don't use toe clips or clipless pedals. I just plain old forgot to put my foot down. Over I went.



Ok, not really. I was just trying to make the OP feel better. ;)

Thanks guys--I feel sooo much better now ... :) I did feel pretty stupid at the time, but having 6 cars behind me (I was stopping for a break at the top of a hill) and then holding them up (as I fell into the lane) kinda made it a horrible experience. Live and learn.

I've tipped over twice. Fortunately that was a long time ago, and there's no photographic evidence to confirm it that I know of.

From all the reports of tipping over I have read, it is never done when there is no one to see it. lol

I tipped over once.

The funny thing is, it happened in slow motion, so I got to savor every nanosecond of it.

Timmmmmmberrrrrrrrr!

That was about how mine occurred--top of the hill, wanted a break, come to a stop, oops, suddenly can't get that foot out. Why I didn't just pedal forward is beyond me.

It took a couple of hours before I noticed a huge gash on my arm. It helped explain why so many people looked concerned about when I stopped though. How I gashed the arm on the other side of the fall is beyond me, though.

Worst part was, almost did a repeat when I rode through town in traffic later on. I (wisely) decided to not ride in the clips while there...

Yeah, the "just pedal forward" option came to me in a flash as I was lying on the ground trying to get one of my feet free so's I could stand up and take a bow for all the motorists behind me.

Gravity check: successful.

:D

I sometimes think you look better to just leave the feet in the clips. When you try to yank them out you start flailing all over the place, get a crazy expression on your face and provide far too much entertainment for the inevitable audience. If you think you're going down, just accept it and fall over. Everyone who sees it will be confused for a long time. "The guy just rolled up to the light and dropped over on his side! Didn't even try to put a foot down." The effect is best if you don't even let go of the bars.

Joe

HAHAHA! chocolate milk in my nose.

That is awesome.

LOL at Spencejm's post. I literally sat here cracking up.

And yes, quite literally. I cracked up. Thank God for superglue.

i don;t really like toe clips i usually feel like i am going to break my ankle

+1
Claiming to be narcoleptic helps if onlookers press for an explanation.

I'm usually already laughing my ass off by the time I hit the ground, so there's no breath for an explanation. Once I fell down almost on top of a girl that was walking by. She must have jumped 3 feet backward, and squealed "oh my god! are you ok?" I couldn't even say "yeah, i'm fine," I just nodded because I was laughing so hard and trying to wrestle my foot out of the toeclip while the bike was on top of me.

When I was first getting used to clipless, I fell over at an intersection, reached out to the nearest object to help stabilize myself ... which was my riding partner, and took him down with me. :D

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHA.

Saw this on a charity ride- 6 or so roadies in a line at traffic lights- all with their left foot down. A fresh rider joined them on the left- unclipped Left foot and fell right- Pack of cards came to mind.

Now as to using clips- I hate them I even fell over with the bike at a spinning class once. To get the same effect of being clipped in- I tighten those toe straps right up so I don't lose the pedal on the upstroke. End of session and pulled left foot out of the toe clip and stepped off right and the right foot did not come out. Weight was already sending the body over right with the right fot stuck in the clip. Grabbed the bars and over went the bike with me still in the clip.

I went down a stupidly steep slope playing at trials riding on my folder - in toe-clips. Got the saddle in the small of the back, end of the bar in my elbow joint (gave me a bruise like i'd messed up injecting myself!) and i couldn't get out of the clips so i landed in a tangle upside down and still strapped into the pedals.

I now ride flats... :D

Trust me, nobody cares. If that's any consolation to you.

I don't care anymore, at least now. At the time, it peeved me a bit. The gash on my arm is almost healed, once that's gone it'll all be a distant memory.

Just thought I'd commersate here, that's all.

May I suggest a hearing aide.:rolleyes:

I have done this three times in three years.

1. I put my right foot down and fell left at a car race. The bottle cage caught the release of my right prosthetic foot propelling it about two feet away. Some people looked on in horror while my friend was laughing so hard he cold not ask if I was alright.

2. I fell leavng the Post Office when I was boxed in by a boy on a bicycle and a mother with a kid in a stroller.

3. I was doing a trackstand at a four-way stop with cars stopped at all four signs. It was my turn to go when the guy to the left decided he had the left-away and sped through the intersection. The partial pedal stroke forward and sudden stop was enough to lose my balance. This was 1/2 block from the Post Office one year later