I also switched earlier this summer, and cannot imagine riding a bike without them!

You don't have to be clipped-in to pedal; pull up with the secured cleat, push down on the un-cleated side using the instep of your foot.

Yeah, I wish I'd thought of that in that panicky second or two just as I was going over
Seriously, though, I did try to push down on the unsecured side; the problem is that the sole of the shoe, as well as the pedal, are slippery and the shoe slipped off the pedal.
All set now, one skinned knee and trashed mirror later. I've got it down, .... for now.

21 days.... That is what it took. Last night I took a spill right in front of my garage after a ride. I was so confident in clipping in and out that I thought I didn't need to clip out until the very last second and I couldn't and went into panic mode. I caught myself with my left arm on the ground and still managed to scrape my knee. It was at night so I wonder if any of my neighbors got to see that.

Just a flesh wound though, right? How's the bike? I fell once with my 105's, and can remember being horrified at the thought of a scratched, or worse yet cracked, brifter. Luckily, i managed to hold onto the bars and keep the bike, left brifter and all, off of the ground. My left pedal is no longer perfect, though..

By the way, nice bike. I swiped the last '09 F75 from my LBS down here in Lincoln (I see you reside in Omaha), about a month ago. Good thing, too, the 2010 F75 is pretty bland looking.

Anyhow, congrats on the rite of passage.

Do any of you guys clip both sides out? I realize it's a pain in the butt at stoplights and such, but my worry with clipless is getting into an emergency situation in heavy traffic - you actually avoid a crash, but under the stress maybe clip out of one side, are leaning to the other and fall over into traffic.

Also at a local ride this week, I saw lots of riders clipped in both sides at a standstill but had the bike balanced and didn't need to put their feet down. I need to learn how to do that

I recently converted too, using LOOK pedals. First fall was in front of my house since the road is on a bit of an incline and I couldn't push down on the pedal and pull up fast enough to get enough momentum. Slow yelling fall to the left side, lol. I made sure my body took the brunt of it to not scratch the bike.

Second time was at a light. I thought I had it timed right then the left hand turn signal goes on and I can't go through!! Luckily my buddy was in front of me so I sorta fell on him with my right hand. Had he not been there I would've fallen flat on one of my sides, that would've been fricking embarrassing.

I don't know if it's been said yet since I don't have the energy to read the entire thread, but you should really think about unclipping your RIGHT side...that way if you do screw up coming to a stop and have your weight on the clipped side and fall (I've done it twice...both times i fell onto grass luckily), your drivetrain won't have the potential to be damaged

31 days in and still I haven't even come close to falling! I'm still perplexed by the whole concept of not unclipping before you come to a stop. Plan ahead people!

This luckily happened on my Jamis with PD-540's. My left pedal is scraped up pretty badly, but that's ok.

Thanks. You also made a nice choice. The F75 is the best bike in the $1500 and under category IMO. I will be racing it in the Platte River Triathlon this weekend.

I would have posted the exact same words a week ago. Be sure to post on here when you fall.

Haha! Will do, but don't hold your breath.

Where's the Part 2? I didn't spot it in their list of videos..

Quite an interesting take on the Look and SPD-SL pedal types.

i'm sorry but i couldn't find part 2 either, but i thought part 1 was relevant to the discussion

The problem's not about not planning ahead. It's when you unclip your right foot, and start leaning left, at which time you instinctively panic and try to put your left foot quickly down, thereby causing you to lean at a high rate of speed right into the pavement.

...and it will happen sooner or later.

Happened to me today. Unclipped my left foot and just as I was coming to a stop I noticed some glass chips. Did a little instinctive maneuver to avoid the glass and promptly tipped over to the right.

No harm to the bike or me, but it certainly was embarrassing.

Newbie here, just started biking - mostly with the kids on bike paths, but now a few road rides by myself too. Decided I needed to stop trying to climb hills with regular sneakers , but still wanted the flexibility of platform pedals for when I'm with the kids. The Shimano PD-M324 was perfect for my purpose!

Went for a short ride on the bike path and a little road to get used to them the first night, and almost tipped over within 20 minutes (the classic unclip the left side and bike starts leaning over right!). I've got the tension set real low/loose so it's easy to clip in/out as I figure things out. Felt great though, and really helped in learning how to get off the saddle for climbs.

Yesterday morning was my first "real" ride with them - had a nice ~14 loop planned, which is the most I've ridden in the short time I've been at it. About 12 miles in, I'm still feeling great and didn't want to head back so I ended up riding a total of 25 miles - I'm sure a large reason for my being able to double my distance is the efficiency of clipless pedals. Love 'em!

Welcome to the club! It's been so long since my last fall I can't remember. Knock on wood of course.