It took me 3 weeks and 300 miles to have my first (and only) clipless induced fall.

I never found clipless pedals daunting. I've been riding them since they first appeared 20 years ago. Can't ever recall falling over in them. Maybe because I come from a skiing background and I'm used to release bindings. Or maybe it's just because I can walk and chew gum at the same time.

After a long (for me) 2 hour ride, Got back to the car, and just forgot everything in the world..... Fell over beside the car. When I hit the ground, both feet came unclipped.

A little late.

You have faulty beliefs.

So 57 people so far are lying?

I know I'm not lying...

so that makes you incorrect.

If you're calling me a liar, you're hurting my feelings, and I'm reporting you to the Mods.

I have fallen 4 times spread over 20 years. Each time I was rolling up to a red light stop and for some reason I space out and completely forget to clipout. By the time I realized the need to clip out I was falling over and it was too late to recover. I think the same thing happened to me once with clips and straps.

But how do we know you're not lying? :innocent:

First time I fell... oh that was quite a moment... it was a week or so after I got them, and I was coming to the traffic light. I had unclipped my right foot but was still clipped into my left. I was reaching out for the crosswalk signal button on the traffic light post... on my left. Was reaching, reaching.... and then I felt myself moving faster, and in the downward direction. And then I was on the ground. The buckle on my shoe was a little busted in that I could still tighten my strap, but to get it *really* tight like I could on my right shoe, it couldn't hold it tight enough. Got it replaced for $10. Left brifter bent inwards, but got it pushed back out. Couple scratches on the bike, but hey, it happens.

For some reason I want to say that I fell a second time, but from my bike log it appears that I haven't. :)

EDIT: Oh now I remember. Prior to the aforementioned fall, I did, in fact, fall, on my >>hybrid<< Specialized Sirrus with the original toe straps. They were doing construction on the road such that there was a 2 inch height gap between the tarmac and the sidewalk.... and I thought that I had come to a point where they were even... but they weren't. I wasn't turning at an angle hard enough to get onto the sidewalk, so it was about 2 seconds of *hears tire rubbing on the higher sidewalk* // *thinking "ah crap..." * // fell on my right side HARD with my right knee poking out trying to get my right foot out as well as my right hand to stop the fall. Road rash all over my right lower leg and bits of gravel shoved into my hand. This was at 8AM on a Saturday, and most of my friends were asleep. With my hand and leg bleeding, I said f it and just biked back home (it was like, 5 miles)...

And THAT, kids, is why you don't ride on roads under construction. I think?

I fell twice with toe clips and straps. That's all it took to learn the lesson with those.
When I converted to speedplays, I had a couple of close calls right at first. I went a couple of months, and now I've fallen 2 1/2 times with the speedplays. The 1/2 was pretty funny. I was stopped at a red light, and I leaned over to look at my rear wheel. I lost my balance towards the right, which was still clipped in. I hopped the left foot over until I finally caught myself, and I was feeling very proud of myself. Then I realized that my bike was at an angle where I couldn't get it upright again, and I couldn't unclip. I had to intentionally fall over and unclip on the ground. And a guy from work was right behind me and was laughing his ass off.

I've yet to fall because of pedals. My first set were eggbeaters and I set them fairly loose to begin with, had a few close calls, but no falls because of the pedals (I've had plenty of falls for other reasons though). Haven't had any on my road bike with Shimano pedals yet either.

They've always seemed easier to get out of than clips and straps as well.

All of the above. That is how I learned. Now I can't ride without clipless pedals. The benefits far outweigh any cons of going clipless.

The poll question is "Have you fallen because of clipless pedals?".

Too ambiguous for me -- I abstain.

Or you could read the full post...

"There seems to be an idea that "everybody" falls when they start using clipless pedals because they either forget to unclip, unclipped the wrong foot, or couldn't get their foot out in time"

If you fall with clipless pedals, then the terrorists win.

Oh, so you're saying that you have fallen w/ clipless pedals, just not for any of the 3 reasons above -- I understand now. :innocent:

The question leads to too many hypotheticals -- I still abstain. So there. :D

I fell at a stoplight when I was already completely stopped. Tried maneuvering away from the front car to get a split second extra to clip in for when the light turned green. Flailed around on the asphalt until some dude got out of his car to help me unclip.

Then, at the very next stoplight, in front of I'm sure most of the same cars, I did the same exact thing.

Bet ya can't top that for embarrassing.

Fair enough

No I can't. I learn from my mistakes.

They must've thought you always stopped that way.

Once... second time I tried clippless. SPD.

I have only fell the very first time I switched to clipless. I was biking down my driveway to a stop and I forgot I was clipped in. I fell over and had to replace the bar tape.

Used to ride MTB's and falling is a Natural occurence on these things- but since going road- the only fall I have had was due to not being clipped in. I unclipped for a stop and then didn't have to. Put pressure on the pedals and one foot slipped off. Luckily landed on Grass.

Many years ago and on a Big ride. 33,000 entrants. Coming into Brighton and about 15 roadies pulled up at the lights in single file and pulled up to the white line one by one. All uncliiped left with the riders lineing up on the left of the first rider and put the left foot down. Looked very professional. Last one pulled up- unclipped left and fell right. It was like a stack of dominoes.

No Falls yet, been using spd's for nearly a year.

Pretty much sums it up for me. Slow speed, rolling to a stop to talk to someone, fell right beside them. Quite funny really, me laying there on my side talking to someone who was now towering over me.

Thrice in 15 years all with PD-M540 Shimano knock-offs (Coda) on the road bike...leaned the wrong way.
Several times on the MTB with Time ATAC due to technical trail factors.

Nope, you're right. I certainly can't top that.

+1

I ride Speedplay LA pedals, which I find very easy to get in and out of. But I went down a few times when I first got them. Wasn't an issue of the effort needed to clip out, I just needed to get used to the fact that my feet were clipped in.

Clipped in at an intersection and 2 riders zig-zagged in front of me and down I went. Handle bar tore the sheath on my quad. 10 years ago.
Climbing a steep hill on the mtb I stalled out and rolled backward into a bush where a sharp branch gouged my back near the kidney area. Ouch.
I used to use Time pedals and had them snap off twice during sprints and crashed. Had a third one break and didn't crash.
Switched to Looks and had one unscrew on a climb, (the body unscrewed from the spindle), I didn't fall, but I almost kicked myself in the face.
Yeah, I fell over with clips and straps back then, too.