OK, I finally bit the bullet and bought some Look clipless pedals. I searched loads of threads, but couldn't find answers to these two newb questions:

How far ahead of stop sign/red light do you unclip your one foot out? couple of seconds beforehand or much farther out?

At what position in pedal stroke do you unclip on the one side? -- at 6 o'clock, 12 o'clock, etc?

Thanks

Go out and practice and see for your self but use a line on the road and where there is not a lot of traffic. Some riders, my self included, do not unclip but just do a track-stand until the light changes. I know others that will unclip 5 or 10yrds out. Do what ever you feel most comfortable with. After a while it will become second nature and you wont even think about it.

You unclip before you come to a complete stop.

There's no answer to your question. You can unclip half a block away from the stop or 10 feet. And it doesn't matter where your pedal is possitioned.

But is there a pedal position you find it easiest at?

I"ve been doing clipless for the last week and a half and I'll try my best to pass along a bit of advice of what I've learned thus far -

1) Better to unclip earlier than later - esp when starting out
2) I usually prepare to unclip one foot when I begin to coast to a stop (for a stop light or stop sign) - usually when my speed drops to around 10mph or so I'd say
3) I usually bring my clipped foot up to around 2 o'clock for a good kick start from a stop, and begin clipping in the other as the unclipped pedal hits 12 o'clock. I get my foot in position on the pedal and press forward/down with the down stroke to engage the cleat in the pedal.
4) Learn to always unclip one foot or the other - and stick with that foot. I knew from previous rides that I always stepped down with my left foot first and mentally reminded myself of that the first few stops clipped in. After that it was just second nature to do so.
5) Unclipping one foot - usually around 6-ish. I just let my leg fall naturally to the bottom of the stroke and then kick my heal out to disengage.

Good luck - and remember rule number 1.

I try to unclip at some point before I fall over.

Seriously some times I track stand, some times I unclip as I come to a stop and some times I unclip 50 or so feet ahead of time.

You can unclip at any point in the pedal stroke but I would guess I normally do it near either the top or the bottom of the stroke, unless it is an emergency situation.

Cuda2k

That's pretty much the way I do it.

I unclip one side only just before I'm about to stop (maybe a couple of metres at most). I also usually unclip one side if I'm passing kids, very amateur looking cyclists or dubious pedestrians on multi use trails.

Unclip at any point in the pedal stroke - the pedals won't care.

The first few times, think about unclipping BEFORE you stop but be prepared to lean towards that side so you don't flip over to the other side. I'd say unclip a good 5 seconds before you have to stop.
Also, adjust the tension to the LOWEST. Coast with the foot you intend to clip out at 6 o'clock (straight down). When you're at the light, back pedal the other foot so it's a little bit pass 12 o'clock so that you can get the most torque to push off with when you start again, then when you're rolling, clip the other foot back in.
With LOOK and road shoes, I'd be really careful cause the bottom of the shoes, the cleats, and the pedals are slick, if you miss and push your foot down, you can risk sliding off the pedal and slamming yourself down.
When you're clipping back in, don't mash down, with the pedal pointed forward, try to gently slide your cleat in like you're sliding into a pair of slippers. The front has a tab that should catch, when you feel that catch, push down to clip back in.

Well--maybe it's not quite that simple. I unclip the left foot, brake to a stop, and come off the saddle and wait for the light to change with the right foot clipped in and ready to power the bike forward. Standard practice for many folks, and best to make whatever you do so automatic and unvarying that it indeed becomes unthinking.

But I found out the hard way that unless the left foot is at or near 6 o'clock when I unclip, there's a good chance of scoring your shins with the pedal. Once I'm unclipped, I then rotate the right pedal to about 2 o'clock, which brings the unclipped pedal safely behind my leg while I'm standing.

Of course, if you're not a klutz like me this is either obvious or unnecessary.

Watch out for this one. If you only practice with one foot then what will you do when you start to tip to the other side? I would say become proficient with unclipping both feet just not at the same time.

Being able to quickly unclip (and clip back in) with either foot is an important skill for mountain bikers. Road bikers really shouldn't be tipping over accidentally. Road bikers can pick up a lot of good bike handling skills by taking up mountain biking.

And test for a good lock on the upstroke. You don't want to find out that the click you heard and felt wasn't really the pedal re-engaging your cleat by mashing down as you spin up to speed.

About only clipping out one foot, I personally think it is a bad idea (from my experience) since sometimes you may end up suddenly changing to the other foot or losing your balance. My first fall actually happened because of this--I was in a parking lot (don't do this, use a grassy field) practicing clipping in, and I started slowing down to try unclipping. And I had already planned out exactly which foot should come down, etc., so I only unclipped my left foot. But whaddya know, somehow my center of mass shifted to my right and I ended up falling over, not being able to do a thing since I couldn't unclip my right foot fast enough--scratched up the derailler on my nice new 04 fuji roubaix pro.

Lesson? Clip both feet out when coming to a stop, at least if you're gonna be riding in a busy place with cars and etc. Just in case you do something stupid like I did. And like Stubacca said, unclipping near kids or passing ain't a bad idea either.

Anyhow, usually after that first fall you'll never fall again.

I've been riding my new clipless pedals and road shoes for less than a week. I tried the "unclip left side only" thing (is that what a "track stand" is?), but the second time out, I got literally blown over by the draft from a passing car! Toppled onto a granite curb -- ouch. At least the car driver stopped and asked if I was OK. She was too close to me, but I told her it wasn't entirely her fault. "My pedal got stuck."

I did a test ride on a car-free bike path, clipping and unclipping at random times. I learned that I can coast down to a very slow speed before unclipping, because I'm confident in it now. Low pedal tension helps. But here's hoping I get better at clipping back in... that's still hard without looking at the pedals...

While coasting a few yards from where I intend to stop, I unclip my right foot while it's at 12 and let it hang. With my left down at 6, there are no worries about the pedal swinging up (back or forward) or feeling unbalanced. Clipping in is what I needed to get used to. There are few feelings worse than rushing, missing the pedal and scrambling to "find it" while in a busy intersection. As you lift your foot, slide it over the axle rather than trying to stomp on it and the front of the cleat should catch the front of the pedal and as you apply pressure on the downstroke the rear should clip in.

I think clipping out both feet is a bad idea when you're riding in traffic. When the traffic light turns green, you usually want to clear the intersection as fast as you can. Clipping in both feet takes more than twice as long as clipping in only one foot. You just need to learn to clip out and in without tipping over.

Has anybody else noticed that if you don't unclip you can just teeter over and land on the heel of your shoe? Usually in that split second where one teeters I can unclip the opposite foot and then just throw myself off. This has saved me from several disgraceful dismounts

I do this too. Especially important to test that you're properly engaged if you want to stand to accelerate (e.g. away from traffic lights). Nothing worse than starting to put out some big acceleration power, only to have a foot fly off the pedal and have your meat and potatoes become one with the top tube...

Speedplay suggest their pedals are easier to unclip at 3 or 9 o'clock. I tend to unclip them at 6 o'clock anyway.

When to unclip? Gee, when you know you are going to stop and just before you stop.

Unfortunately, I've got a habit of only unclipping the left foot. I don't know if I would/could react fast enough to unclip my right foot if I had to in an emergency. I don't think so.

..rickko..

I know plenty of experienced roadies who for some reason had a brain fart and started to fall the opposite of the foot they regularly unclip with so they instinctively unclip the wrong foot which makes for some good laughs after the ride

Trackstanding is balancing the bike while not moving with both feet on the pedals. It's named as such because it's generally easier with a track bike, and track racers would often trackstand before starting a race so they didn't have to waste time getting their other foot secured to the pedal. Or they just had someone hold them.

Trackstanding a road bike (or any bike with a freewheel) is significantly more difficult but possible especially if there is a slight uphill incline so that you can roll backwards slightly.

If you're worried about falling the wrong way, just turn the handlebars away from the side you've unclipped as you stop. Turning the handlebar to the left will naturally throw the weight of the bike and you to the right, and vice versa.

I'm fairly comfortable clipping out at any pedal position which I think is important. You never know when you might have to make an emergency stop so it pays to be able to clip out at any position.

Unfortunately I'm pretty bad with clipping out with my left foot first, which I need to work on...

I started unclipping way in advance and now can time it right down to the second when I want to... Start gradually and eventually you will reach your optimum unclip point... Oh and usually the the foot I am about to cunlip, positioned at 6 o clock works best for me...