big john

It wasn't supposed to prove anything and I'm certainly not advocating kickstands. It was just an amusing anecdote that I thought of while reading your post.

It was so windy he had to ride diagonally across the road then let the wind force him back to the other side and repeat the process. The front wheel was lifting off the ground during these efforts. Finally, he was blown off the road and tried to sleep in his chase van until the wind slowed a bit.

Frankfast

Recently had a car come from behind, took a right hand turn cutting me off. I hit him full speed(17mph). No time for brakes. The impact unclipped me and I landed on the trunk of his car. Luckily I did more damage to his car than the accident did to me. It seems that if you are on a light setting you don't have to worry about unclipping. Hell of way to find that out.

FrenchFit 

If you ride different bikes, some clipless / some not, the failure to unclip problem doesn't go away. Your unconscious memory shifts backs after riding MTBs, vintage, commuters... . I suppose it was one of the reasons I gave up on clipless after a season, but the list of reasons was pretty long..fear of falling wasn't near the top of the list.

billydonn

+1. The kickstand is a menace to society. With all the thousands upon thousands of doofuses and near doofuses using clipless and not getting killed, how hard can it be?

stapfam

Clipless pedals do tie you into the bike but is that a bad thing? I was initially offroad and a few technical sections and the bike gets moved around a bit. It is only when you try a difficult bit of track without being tied in that you find out how much you use the pedals to control the bike. Clips and straps may work the same way but I never did get on with those having trouble in getting the feet loose from the pedal. Clipless and it is very easy to disengage but not easy to accidentally do it.

I know it may seem strange and may worry a newcomer till they become accustomed to being part of the bike but clipless pedals do everything that everyone says they do. Problem is getting over that initial stage of fear.



And incidentally- Club Tombay and clipless are a requirement. How can you join the club unless you are properly equipped?

JanMM

After almost 20 years of toe clips, switched to Power Grips for a year or two and then on to toe clips since the mid-90's.
Don't remember any falls related to toe clips/Power Grips/clipless pedals.

Disclaimer: I'm working with a middle-aged man's memory here, folks.

fietsbob

well I did the toe clip and strap thing, then the clipless option was added,
on the sport bike, now I've gone back to my regular shoes, platform pedal,
as Im mostly cycling for transportation, and walking/standing all day in the same Shoes.

gcottay

I didn't fall for many months and thousands of miles but first managed the trick on the side of a river bike path featuring a speed slope covered with rip-rap.

You are just an advanced student.

Dudelsack 

I went clipless for no better reason than I thought it was cool. My son and I were into MTB at the time. We would endlessly amuse ourselves with horizontal trackstands, preferably performed on steep inclines in front of hot babes. How I escaped without rotator cuff surgery is a miracle.

I've yet to Captain Crash (you know, go down with the ship) on my bent: another miracle I suppose. However, I switched to M324s (clips on one side, flats on the other) and if I head up an incline I suspect I'll stall out on, I'll be on the flats. Saved my hide once or twice, I reckon.

Greyride

I am new to Forum.. (first post)
My wife was riding next to me and I commented on that she should eat something. She immediately reached in her mouth and tossed a piece of gum onto the side of the road. I was in between her and the sandy edge.. She swerved to the right I dodged going into the sandy edge... I got my right foot out but my left stayed clipped.
Result: face plant left side. My wife has no clue how I ended in the sand.

RedC

First year I went clipless I fell 4 times. The most memorable was on my new road bike right in front of the garage door. The neighbors came running over thinking I'd had a heart attack. When they found out I was actually tying my feet to the pedals they couldn't believe I was that stupid. I keep my pedals in the loosest setting and I haven't had any trouble clipping out even in emergency situations. I had more trouble clipping in than out. I wouldn't think of going back to riding regular pedals If for no other reason than I like knowing my foot is not going to slip off the pedals when I stand up. It's been a couple of years since I even had a close call with falling because I didn't clip out

Frankfast

I'm having more trouble getting into my clipless pedals than getting out. I have a set of Shimano platform one side clipless the other. I clip in the right foot, take off but can't seem to find the correct side of the left pedal without looking down. Sometime my left foot will slip off and that's scary. It's a problem taking off on a hill and I don't like to take my eyes off the road. Been looking to upgrade to Look Keo Max. Any body have experience with these? Any other suggestions for a decent pair of easy in easy out clipless?

Stealthammer

I went to clipless back when LOOK first hit the market and they were really your only clipless choice (this was several years before Shimano SPDs were released), and they were a godsend to me. Prior to that I used Quill-style track pedals with overlapping dual toeclips and dual toestraps, and slotted cleats on the bottoms of my shoes. Once you were strapped in and cinched down the two toestraps, your feet simply could not be released from the pedals without manually loosening the toestraps again. You were essentially strapped in as securely as you would be on a track bike. I rode both on-road and off-road this way for several years and periodic "crashes" due to an inability to take your feet off the pedals was just part of riding.

Once LOOK released their first clipless pedals I was ecstatic to be able to unclip and put my foot down without reaching for the toestraps. After that, I really didn't care if I occassionally "flopped over" because I didn't unclip, because at least I wasn't "locked in" and dragging the bike with me if I went tumbling down a hill. During one mis-adventure I actually stayed clipped in as I was propelled through the air over the hood of a car and into the adjacent traffic lanes at about 30mph, and then had to ask for help reaching for the toestraps to get released.

I must admit that I just smile when I hear people complain about trouble unclipping today.....

Esteban58

Boy does this take me way back... In my former riding incarnation (early 20's), I had toe clips and slotted cleats - I don't recall falling in them (possible advanced age self-image memory adjustment), but I do remember destroying the toe clips pulling my feet out for a panic stop - I suppose that was better than crashing.
Right now, my right foot comes out of the pedal quite easily, and the left is a battle - probably need to adjust that but it hasn't caused any problems yet.

PRus

Much prefer being clipped in versus slipping of a pedal.
Some comedic relief by leaning the wrong way and falling over still in the parking lot in front of you buddies comes with the territory.
Even on a mountain bike i prefer being clipped in. I believe it keeps me holding on to the handlebar if a wheel slips in a turn. This way i roll over as a unit instead of hurting my outstretched wrist trying to keep upright.
While skiing in the past my worst crashes where usually if the bindings opened from a hard hit going down moguls.

asmac

If you have spd pedals you may want to spend another $20 for multi release cleats. They come off in many directions and are safer in traffic. You are much more likely to get unclipped quickly when you need to.

WC89

I went clipless in 1988. Never had a fall due to failing to unclip. May be b/c I went from toe clips/straps to clipless as a racer, so I was used to having to consciously do some action to release from the pedal. 2 yrs ago, I had a near fall, that actually injured the sole of my foot and gave me a sore knee: I was on my MTB on an MUP when I slowed to talk to someone stoppped on edge of trail. Off the edge of the trail was a loose, mushy stone section that I got caught in trying to turn the bike around. The wheels just sank mid turn as I started to fall. I tried to disengage in a panic and just wrenched the foot out before falling over beyond the point of no return. Sole of foot still a little sore sometimes from that. Knee soreness only lasted a wk or 2.

big chainring 

I ride rat trap pedals, no clips, no straps with MTB shoes. Works for me. I may go the Clipless route now that I recently acquired a racing bike. I have experimented with clipless without any falls. They are certainly easier to get out of than what I used years ago.

Cinelli block cleats and Binda Extra straps. Still no better combination if you really want to be one with the pedals.

Frankfast

I for one can't offer the OP a good experience because I'm still falling on my clipless - twice yasterday because my shoe was loose and once today when I got a flat. I've been falling a lot to the point where I may give them up. I switched from a pair of Shimanos, platform one side clipless the other to a pair of Look Classics but it didn't help. I have trouble getting in and out and I've been trying for months now. I can only conclude that not everyones experience is a good one. But I'll keep trying.

DnvrFox

Curious, as I have never had a problem - your technique? Do you unclip long in advance of stopping or any other need to unclip? I don't wait as long as I used to, but I am a real defensive unclipper. I would think the one-sided would be more difficult, although I have never tried them. I use Shimano mtn bike clips on my road bike - same ones for 14 years now.

Also, I only clip in one foot until I have a couple of revolutions of my pedal.

lhbernhardt

Back in the late 70's, I remember Adidas came out with a clipless pedal system where you attached your feet to the special pedal with special cleats, and then you had to slide a tab into the pedal to lock it. Now the only way to get out was to pull that tab back out. A real suicide pedal, almost as good as Aussie sprinter John Nicholson's practice of bolting his shoes to the pedals, and then having to tie his laces every time he got on the bike.

One thing I noticed, anecdotally, after most guys started racing on clipless pedals back in the 80's, was that in a crash, the bikes of those with clipless pedals were thrown higher in the air after the pedals disengaged. The bikes of those on toe clips didn't seem to get thrown as high. I thought it was interesting.

My first clipless pedals were the white Looks back in 1986. It didn't take long to get used to unclipping after 14 years of racing on toe clips. Nowadays, when I'm riding the track, I use the old Dura Ace SPD road pedals, the original ones. I have them set REALLY tight, so that in order to unclip, I have to whack the back of my foot with my hand so that the shoe unclips inward. The old Dura Ace SPD Road pedals were better for the track because the little plastic pickup tab would break off, so they were useless for the road. The Ultegras were much better fir the road, and that's what I now use during the summer on my road fixie. But on the track, where getting into the pedals quickly is not a concern at all, the Dura Ace SPD's were a much lighter pedal. They were supplanted by the SPD-R, which a lot of trackies modified to take a toe strap, and then the current SPD-SL.

Luis

nkfrench 

Ask her to be a good citizen and not litter with her chewing gum.

I've ridden or walked over discarded gum on streets or sidewalks and spent a lot of time cleaning that **** off my recessed SPD cleats, cassette, chain, derailleur, chainring, frame. NOT appreciated.

Frankfast

Most of the problems I have are in traffic when I have to unlip quickly. Cars are constantly pulling through intersections without seeing me. It's epidemic. Lately, it's gotten so bad I ride without clipping my left foot until I hit the open road. Today I lost tire pressure while on a slight incline and couldn't clip out fast enough. If I have time, I can unclip but if it has to be done quickly, I can't. It also has been frustrating for me to always clip in on the first try. Sometime I get it and other times I have to make multiple attempts. To me, someone should be able to make a pedal that will guide your shoe into the proper position to clip in for bozos like me. How hard can that be?

Rootman

Yes, I started the same practice of only clipping in my right foot until I reach a section without intersections, drives or crossings. I too have issues getting clipped in, it seems to either go in on the first try or I am fooling with it for like 30 seconds trying to get it in.

Frankfast

I just wanted you to know that you're not the only one having trouble. It's a learned skill that may take more time for some of us. Right now I have zero confidence in my ability to unclip in an emergency situation but I'm not ready to give up yet because I believe that it is the only way to efficiently ride a road bike.