My point is you can change gears at a stop on the bike. And it is relevant because your explanation for why you had to do a u turn was that you were over geared to start uphill.

Rather than the hassle, and potential danger of a u turn and riding downhill, simply lift the rear wheel; gear down, then pedal up with one leg engaged, and the other on the pedal, but not engaged, get a little momentum and clip in.

Easier, safer, and more elegant.

Or get speedplays.

Looks like speedplays are in my future.

can you even track stand on a road bike going up a hill? i can understand pedaling really slow just to keep balance but won't you roll back or fall if you try to track stand? my ts skills have never been that good, can come to a complete stop for about 3 seconds before having to pedal some

agree, FAIL

there's a stop sign on one of my turns so when i turn right from the stop i immediately hit a hill, i've had to do the U on it before

track standing is easiest on a hill. because you have gravity working in your favor.

edit: easiest when facing uphill. really really tough when facing downhill.

Ease of clipping in will come with time. I use SPDs on both road and mountain and I don't even have to think about it. And yeah in the beginning you will have to use the arch of your shoe to pedal if you miss a clip in. Eventually you won't though.

if you say so, you're the one having to repeat parts of hills because you have to stop (which i still haven't quite figured out why you stopped anyway).

i don't see how speedplays or any other different pedal system will make any difference in being able to clip in on a hill. you still have to get moving and be able to hit the cleat in the correct spot. sure speedplays you have 2 sides but the downside is if you miss then you really miss at least spd-sl and looks you have a decent size platform to pedal with either your toe, heel, arch

Merlin i'll have to give that shifting method a shot. just gotta make sure i don't smack the back of my ankle with my empty pedal.. would be good for stop signs/lights you thought you could get through but then have to step down.

The OP could have did the 'Walk of Shame' up the hill.
:lol:

There's enough platform to pedal without the cleat engaged, even barefoot.:innocent:

ah well that is good. any pedal is fine without shoes or street shoes so that's not sayin much :)

A truck with a trailer was completely blocking the road. I tried to go around it off road but couldn't manage it, and had to clip out.

The primary reason I couldn't clip in and pedal is because of the need to flip the pedal over in order to clip in. It basically doubles the time it takes to clip in, and cuts the time I have to clip in in half.


You have a large platform to pedal with, if you're wearing regular shoes (or barefoot). When 90% of the bottom of your shoe is basically as slick as ice, pedaling without clipping becomes much more difficult.

The thought crossed my mind. There was no way I was going to let that happen.

Once I turned the bike around I only had to ride about 10 feet before I could get going back up the hill.

If I had be able to get the pedal in, I would not have been over-geared. I was over geared to pedal up the hill with one foot, or to do a track stand (which I've never even attemped outside of my garage anyway, and that was with platform pedals). And since I didn't actually attempt either technique (or even think to), the over-geared aspect isn't 100% relevant.

Also super hard unless you've got MTB shoes with rubber soles, IMO. There's little danger in physically turning my bike around, riding 10 feet down hill, and then doing a U-turn (after checking for cars of course). Doing a U-turn as you unclip, going uphill, would be dangerous, though, because you have less time to check for traffic as you do so.

No.

i second that, you can't pedal unless clipped in with look style pedals and road shoes, way too slick and the first time you put an ounce of pressure your foot will slide off and you'll rack yourself on the seat...i don't really care about weight so have been thinking about duct taping the slick side of my pedal or heck maybe use the snowboard approach and put a stomp pad on my shoes!

I beg to differ. Granted its hard but you can pedal short distances. In some cases its necessary to stay unclipped and pedal regardless i.e. in traffic jam situations where you want to do tight maneuvering but don't want to face plant.

edit: Thinking about this I think I meant pedaling with one foot clipped in. Prolly right you can't get very far with nothing clipped in.