First clipless pedals....how to practice??
 

New pedals and shoes should be here in a day or two. Never used clipless before so it's gonna be a new experience. I guess I'm just a little "skeered" after reading some of the falling over stories on here. So what's the best way to practice clipping/unclipping before I hit the road?? Would riding in them on the trainer be a big help? Riding around a big parking lot or something?? Whatta ya think? I'm too damn old to be falling over. I might not be able to get back up. :D :eek:

Don't listen to people who say that you WILL eventually fall.

I'd say an empty parking lot. That should do it. Maby first few attempts on the trainer. But the parking lot will be closer to the 'real world'.

i'd say don't worry about it too much. i rode my first pair of clipless 3 days ago. after reading these forums, i was convinced i was going to fall a few times, but i found the unclipping motion quite natural (maybe because i play soccer and have flexible ankles?). if you're really worried, why not try it where you have some grass to fall onto?

Sure, ride in the trainer if you have one. Or, pull up next to a wall and put your arm out.

Like everyone else is saying, don't worry too much about it. Worrying will make it worse.

You can also go to a grassy area (where the grass is kind of firm) to make any falls feel better. Remember it will all be mental. You won't fall. Just keep saying that. You won't fall.


The one thing to practice is clipping out. You never fall getting in (I have dinged my shins with Looks when clipping in, but I didn't fall). People do fall when they come to a stop and forget to clip out.

On a lawn, practice clicking in, falling, & clicking out. Your fall at an intersection will be less traumatic.

LOL...I prefer to ad-lib my falls, so I think I'll skip practicing that part. :D :p


Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!! :eek:

Between the doors at home, just hold onto steady yourself for the first time to exercise the clips.

That's how I started out - on a Lawn and it really helped me, because I DID fall a few times.

Start off on the flat or slightly downhill and don't worry about the second foot right away. Get going first and the second foot will almost take care of itself.

I learned about a week ago. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. If it seems hard at first you can adjust the tenison to make it easier to clip in and out to learn. But definately you will have a lot more fun when you ride.

I converted last November and it was a painless exercise. The tricks I was given are:

- Set the clip tension as low as possible. You don't need anything higher, except for stunts in mountain biking.

- Practice clipping and unclipping while standing near a post, a fence, etc. Practice both feet, and plenty of time.

- Ride.

- When you are about to reach an intersection, think about unclipping _early_, almost at the same time you downshift.

I never fell (so far), though I had a few close calls. All of these were on ice, when I had a sudden urge about unclipping right now and was ready to pull out from toe clips instead of twist out of SPD pedals. But one "problem" was that I converted to SPDs only 2 weeks before the first snow storm.

Regards,

The only time I ever fell while learning was when I had 3 people watching me saying "don't fall" .... it's so much easier than people make it out to be.

I'm just learning too. I was taught many of the things listed earlier. I've got one more suggestion to add. When taking the first outdoor ride, wear one clipless shoe and one regular shoe. Then swap shoes. This allows you to just think of one foot at a time. It saved me from falling over when I didn't unclip my right foot fast enough and the bike started to lean to the left. I had my left foot out in time to catch myself. I don't think I would have had the coordination to unclip my left foot in time to stop my fall.

-Shimpie

I think most people are making way too big a deal about these things. You don't need to practice. You don't need to ride in backyards, hallways or parking lots. Just start riding, get a nice pace going and clip out a few times to get the hang of it. The most important thing, especially the first few times out, is to give yourself enough time when coming to a stop.

A few other tips:

1) look ahead and anticipate the need to stop and unclip
2) if you're right-handed, when rolling to a stop, unclip your left foot and use it to support you when you stop
3) don't try to unclip both feet at the same time
4) unclip with a firm, swift motion, rather than trying to gradually force your foot out

Great tips. Though I'd add that you never need to unclip both feet. And as you mentioned, to avoid greese on the inside of your leg, you should always unclip and put your left foot down.

I think doing the clipless thing will seem to be fairly easy to you in the beginning. You will concentrate on being clipped in and be very aware of it. That means you will make sure to clip out early enough when it comes to stopping since you are scared of falling.

It gets a little more 'dangerous' after a couple of rides, maybe after a week or two, because then you think you mastered the whole thing. Even though you haven't. And then you might fall.

At least that is what happened to me. :eek:

Good luck.

Your sentiments about not falling over were exactly mine. I was so afraid of falling and falling where it could be dangerous, at a traffic stop after reading some of the posts here; that until yesterday I hadn't tried my new clipless shoes and I purchased them over a month ago!

Yesterday I bit the bullet and clipped the right shoe unto the right pedal and rode with the othe shoe not clipped in using the flat side of the pedal. That way I could stop using my left "unclipped" foot. Tonight I started out the same, but after about 30 minutes of riding I unclipped the right pedal and used the flat side and clipped into the left pedal. I did have to practice getting the shoes to clip into the pedal and then it took me a number of tries to get the hang of unclipping, but it was easier to concentrate with only one clipped pedal at a time so I wasn't so fearful of falling down with the bike still attached to me.

Tonight I also found a quiet, flat but paved area and clipped both of the shoes into their respective pedals and practiced unclipping just the left pedal which is the side I usually stop on.

I admit I'm a real wimp. I'll be 53 years old and just purchased my first new bike after 30 years. I went through a number of those years not riding at all, but a couple of years ago took out the old Raleigh and started to ride again.

I wanted a lighter bike so I could place it easier on the bike carrier I purchased and I wanted more of a road bike so bought a SR73 Felt and have been riding it for about 5 weeks. It has flat handlebars, but I had bar ends put on it.

I wanted to be comfortable and more confident on the new bike before I tackled the shoes. Once I'm comfortable with them I'm hoping to join the local bike club and get to enjoy the many trails, etc. in the area (Twin Cities MN) without falling over still attached to the bike.

Now that's interesting...I am right handed and I always unclip my right foot and use it to support me. Do most people use the opposite foot from the dexterity hand?

I put my left foot down so I don't get grease on the inside of my right leg.

JUST DO IT! I love reading these stories. I will admit I came very close to falling ONE time the first day I tried it, but that was enough that it never happened again.

I have to say wearing MTB shoes with recessed SPDS on the pedal with a platform on one side and the SPD on the other, it was far tougher for me to get the feel of clicking in than it was to get the clicking out. I am just kicking myself for not having gone clipless sooner (which still involves SPD shoes!!).

I will also add that the day I was riding along and hit the tree that fell in front of me, my feet just released as I flipped off the bike backwards while it kept going!! <VEG> Was a little worried about being attached to a bike if I had an accident, but no longer concerned about that either!

I LOVE (kudos to those who suggested it) the idea of unclipping on the left, my Wife is getting a little weird about the grease that I inveitably miss on my post-ride showers. I should just get a tattoo and be done with her harrasment!!

Don't worry about falling when stopping, worry about falling when starting. Make sure you're in a low enough gear to get started and pedal a couple of revolutions with only the clipped in foot before you can get the other foot clipped in. The bottoms of cycling shoes tend to be slick and if you try to pedal with the non clipped in foot, it will slip off the pedal, you'll lose momentum, and fall over very slowly. Let me tell you, it's embarrassing! Sheesh, would it kill them to put a non-slip surface on the bottoms of the shoes????

IM also left handed though I clip in and out on the left side first. :D

If you're right handed and your right foot stays clipped, then your right foot (read: stronger) gets you started again.

And yeah, no grease.

Being a long time soccer (football for your ROWer's) player, this is a common misconception that if you're right handed that you are right footed and vice versa. My right leg was always stronger while playing (I haven't played competetively in about 7 years though) and I'm left handed. Now though, my left leg is the stronger of the two as it gets a daily workout shifting gears with the drag racing clutch in my daily driver. But regardless of all that, being left handed, it does feel more natural to unclip my right foot. I've only been riding clipless for about a month now and I've yet to get grease on my right leg. I've only fallen once after losing my chain while trying toshift climbing a big hill (rolled to a stop and fell over while spinning furiously).

I didn't really practice when I made the switch a couple of years ago. I just made a conscious decision to remember that I'm clipped in and to disengage early at stops. I only nearly fell once for forgetting to unclip.