yummy_rice

Pole cats? I haven't heard that one in a long time, from the country are we?

No_Minkah

And try to alternate the side you fall on, so as to avoid any serious damage to one particular arm/hand combo. I was in a sling for a week.

yummy_rice

I probably fall enough that inadvertantly the left and right sides of my body both share the abuse. So no worries there.

JohnSFO

as you get used to clipless you WILL fall.

eventually you'll get the hang of it and stop falling. in the meantime try & anticipate stops and unclip early, have a set foot that you unclip and lean on at stops, spray a little bit of wd40 (or something similar) onto pedal and cleat.

sashae

I have a harder time riding with clips and straps and strapping in too hard prior to a stop Tipped over once a few months back and felt more idiotic than I usually do...

chimblysweep

i've been riding clipless for years, and i still unclip early, always on the left. left foot always goes down. (It's funny, you can see the wear difference on my cleats.)

it helps to practice in a trainer- most LBSs are willing to loan you one. that way you don't fall down.

also, make sure you're wearing compatible shoes. the Quattros are kind of fussy with the cleat/shoe combination- that may be making things more difficult for ya.

mattface 

I'm sure plenty of people have learned to ride clipless without falling.

yummy_rice

The complexities of clipless pedals thickens, how am I supposed to know if my shoes are incompatible?

chimblysweep

there was an insert in the pedal box that had a list of compatable and incompatable shoes. correct me if i'm wrong here guys- it's been a while- but i think quattros are technically their road pedal system, so they're supposed to be ridden on road shoes. info here: https://crankbrothers.com/tech_quattro.php

basically, if you're hitting shoe-tread when you try to clip in or out, you're not compatable.

endform

Pick a side to step down on and stick with it. I always take my right foot out, cause I'm more coordinated with that leg and can get it in the pedal faster when I get going again.

rodny71

I don't remember falling when i first started using clipless.

yummy_rice

These are my road shoes, hard as hell to walk in but I don't think the little tread in the front gets in my way.

tozovr

Welcome to New England LOL....Pole Cat, Woood Putty...skunk...

JohnSFO

Lots of useful information here:

https://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/pedalfaq.htm

Good luck

humancongereel

yeah, that's what i did. that, and practice unclipping both at lights. alternate feet to pull out while moving and pedal with just one foot. stop more than you need to, just to practice. kind of like with trackstands. basically, unclip more than you need to. eventually, you won't even really have to think about it.

invicta

just practice clipping in and out a bunch... to add to the plethora of tipping over stories it happened to me once after I had just won a road race. I crossed the line and the people at the line wanted second place and I to ride across the line again for a photo so i went to turn around, barely moving at all, got stuck in the sandy shoulder and tipped over... it was a good laugh.

No_Minkah

Crank Bros' cleats work with SPD-compatible shoes. If your shoes have two holes for the cleats to screw into (or 2 sets of 2 holes each) you're golden as far as that goes. Honestly you would have known when you were screwing the cleats onto your shoes- 2 screws for 2 holes, versus the alternative, 2 holes screwed crooked into 3 holes.

You have road shoes, so you don't have to worry about the tread of the shoe preventing you from clipping in. That's only a problem with mountain bike shoes with treads you can walk on. Also functional in an urban setting.

LóFarkas

I have, but then I came over from clips and straps. Had 2 falls and lots of close calls with toe clips, and only a few close calls with clipless.

Psimet2001 

+1 the clips and straps. That's where I started before switching in '89. I didn't fall over in clipless until I had many years of practice. That's what makes it funny.

WhiskeyTango

My first fall in clipless pedals happened as I waited for three of the finest examples of the female form to cross in front of me, my face presumably stricken with a rictus of panic as I slowly tipped ever-faster toward the pavement. It was like there was a model convention in town, and I fell to the ground at their feet. One of em said, "Hmm, how did that happen?"

Yeah, I'm pretty smooth.

queerpunk

sure, but plenty people have fallen a lot, so it averages out.

Matthew A Brown

This may have already been posted, but:

Unless/until you are good at trackstanding, get a habit down of how you dismount. I'm right footed, so it usually goes like this.

1) Unclip right foot couple seconds before stopping (no need to do it earlier).
2) Shift weight to your right. *This is the important part.* It has to be right then. It's a little thing, but the instant your center of mass goes over a clipped pedal, you are chewing gravel.
3) Right foot on ground, bottom of left leg on top tube. If you have a front brake, use it to push the handlebars forward and the rear wheel off the ground. Bring your left foot to just forward of vertical.
4) When you're ready, push forward with left foot, clip back in the right when you're comfortable.


Have fun!

tlupfer

instead of tipping over start pedaling again. if you're at a stop turn right. try stopping and unclipping again. repeat.

roadfix

Unclipping early on a fixed gear is sooo.. not right.

No_Minkah

I must be slow, because this doesn't make sense to me. Bottom of left leg on top tube while left foot still clipped in, then lift the rear wheel for some reason and THEN unclip left foot? Sounds cockamimi (sp?).

Personally, unclipping is part of a single motion for putting my foot down. If I'm going to put my right foot down, I just ride the pedal stroke from 12 to 6, unclipping somewhere around 3 o' clock. At 6 o clock put your foot on the pavement. Unclip left foot at a liesurely pace.