Saturday was a beautiful sunny 68º day so my wife and I decided to take a nice ride into town and back(about 18 miles total). We were getting pretty close to home and there were these two guys out by the road mixing concrete in a wheelbarrow and working on putting up a new mail box. So being the friendly type, I said "howdy" and they said "howdy" and I went on up the road just a little ways and looked around. That's when I realized my wife was about 1/8-1/4 mile behind me. So I decided to turn around and wait for her. Bad idea!! When I went to turn, I got over centered or something, lost my balance....tried to unclip from my pedals....but it was too late.....FLOP! Fell over on my left side looking and feeling like a complete idiot. The two guys asked if I was alright and I was like "yeah, I'm fine" since I was going like .5 mph when I fell over....LOL. My wife caught up about that time and she was laughing her ass off at me. I think she was embarrased almost as much as I was. It was a SMOOTH MOVE for sure. I had just been thinking about how everyone on here is always saying you'll fall sooner or later after you go clipless. I was feeling all "superior" and thinking how if I hadn't fallen yet, I probably would never fall. I guess that little exibition brought me right back down to earth. I guess I've now officially been initiated into the world of clipless pedals.

Consider yourself lucky. You only fell in front of 2 strangers. Mine was in front of like 30!!!!

L8R

No, you still have to experience the "missed pedal engagment"-- violently slipping your foot off the pedal while trying to clip-in.

That slipped foot maneuver really hurts, too.

You know that Murphy's law thing? Part of is that bad stuff only happens at the worst possible time. The reason that you hadn't fallen before is because conditions hadn't been right yet. In your case your bike has been waiting all this time for the moment when you would be embarrased in front of both your wife and the two macho guys who were mixing cement. I'll bet you were wearing lycra shorts too.

The slipped pedal thing is why I put a layer of rubber on the bottom of my road shoe where the arch is.
My mtb shoe has a rubber sole so I can be on the pedal in real slow traffic and not have to worry about slipping out or unclipping.

Happens to me all the time!

That was just a couple of people. I once took out a full starting gate (BMX) at a state championship series race. Doh! I had everyone's attention...like probably 500 people.

My brother fell because he forgot he was in clipless pedals.

He decided to pop a wheelie. On gravel.

Ouch!

I'm afraid to use clipless pedals for that reason.

Maybe when I get a road bike...

I haven't fallen but I did miss the pedal once. I had to limp out of the intersection with all the drivers staring at me. It was only a half mile to my house but it was the longest half mile I ever rode. I get home and the bruise on the inside of my thigh was like a foot long. My new shoes don't slip even if I don't clip in so hopefully I'll never experience that again.

I wonder how many have experienced the helplessness of leaning one way while unclipping the opposite foot? What the heck was I thinking - or, not thinking.

For me, the worst was riding my cyclocross bike off of a lake trail... While following impatiently behind two mothers and their 4 daughters, I cycled around them where the trail exit meets the road. The culvert at the road appeared (to the untrained eye) benign enough, looking to be nothing more serious than a gentle dip... Wrong! After performing an end-over infront of moms and daughters, and landing squarely on the side of my head, shoulder, elbow, etc., I found myself in some serious pain. The moms were quick to rush over as my feet were still firmly clipped-in... Thanks, but no thanks is all I could mutter through quickly tearing eyes. A quick inventory yielded only a nasty road rash on my elbow, encrusted with gravel, and a shoulder that thobbed violently, I realized the girls were watching me with looks filled with pity and extreme concern... I looked up, wiped my eyes, smiled (as best I could), and said, "see girls, this is why we wear helmets".

The result: great relief on the part of all the females, and my cue to suck it up and make a graceful exit.

To this day, I take no bump, hill, ditch or crack for granted... Err on the side of caution and you will enjoy your pedals, eat less dirt, and keep that pretty face.

- Rick

It's an epidemic! I was at a stop light the other day, and I had carefully and safely snapped out of my right pedal. As I stood at the light, the Earth swerved and caused gravity to exert itself on the left side of my bike - the clipped in side. Over I went - in front of 5-6 cars. I just assumed that they all thought, "He's old - the hair growing in his ears probably disrupted his equilibrium."

There's nothing like getting practice at feeling stupid!

Dean

"practice"? If I get any more expert at looking stupid, I might apply for the village idiot position that may open up in Boston in January...

Got you beat. In front of last years graduating class, stopped forgot to unclip and down I went in front of 130 people, not including their friends and family.

ive got a permanent red mark on the inside of my leg from slipping off the pedal so mayn times.

commuting + clipless is sometimes rather painful.

Doesnt help the pedals on my roadie are sharp and seem to be designed for more efficient slippage (some VP peice of crap...)...after owning thsoe pedals, my good roadie is definately going to have some shimano m-505s, since I have had such good luck with them on my talus....which i'm riding to work today for a change of pace

LOL...Well I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Been there,done that.LOL

So how are all of you crashing and no injury? I've crashed twice in mine and have two broken arms. I'm starting to think toe clips are in my future!

I've read to ride in the park for pratice so if you fall its in the grass. I adjusted mine as loose as they would go until i was use to it. Now its second nature like wiping after going to the bathroom.

I actually went to clipless to avoid the foot slipping problem. I can remember my foot violently slipping off my old pedals during a hard sprint and slamming into the ground. Now with clipless I do not have the problem...