Another go at clipless pedals

[Joseph]

Hello All
It is 5 years since I first had a go at clipless pedals. On that occasion I
couldn't get used to getting out before stopping so consequently I took them
off within 2 days.
Now is the time to have another go. I have had them on for 2 days and so far
no problems. My technique is as follows:
My left foot is my preferred foot to put down so when I want to stop I make
sure my left foot is at 6 o'clock and then twist outward and I am out. I use
the brakes at the same time. Everything has run smoothly and I have down 30
odd practice stops so far.
Any comments?
Joseph

 

[asterope]

Hello All
It is 5 years since I first had a go at clipless pedals. On that occasion I
couldn't get used to getting out before stopping so consequently I took them
off within 2 days.
Now is the time to have another go. I have had them on for 2 days and so far
no problems. My technique is as follows:
My left foot is my preferred foot to put down so when I want to stop I make
sure my left foot is at 6 o'clock and then twist outward and I am out. I use
the brakes at the same time. Everything has run smoothly and I have down 30
odd practice stops so far.
Any comments?
Joseph

thats pretty much what i do too, but after a while you will get used to clicking out in a very short space of time (like if you need to emergency brake) its all about practice isnt it

im still trying to get used to my new pedals (look keo sprints) and moreso walking around with duckfeet, something i have not had to deal with using spd's and mtb shoes... ive slipped and fallen twice!

 

[Patrick Keogh]

Joseph wrote:
> Hello All
> It is 5 years since I first had a go at clipless pedals. On that occasion I
> couldn't get used to getting out before stopping so consequently I took them
> off within 2 days.
> Now is the time to have another go. I have had them on for 2 days and so far
> no problems. My technique is as follows:
> My left foot is my preferred foot to put down so when I want to stop I make
> sure my left foot is at 6 o'clock and then twist outward and I am out. I use
> the brakes at the same time. Everything has run smoothly and I have down 30
> odd practice stops so far.
> Any comments?
> Joseph
>
>
Joseph,

I have been riding clipless for a long while (at least 15 years), and
I'd never go back. However you should still expect to sometimes make
mistakes. Your first two day effort was clearly not long enough for your
reactions to become automatic, and I doubt that you are there yet. So
one day soon, especially when you are tired you'll forget again, and
down you'll go. I see people give up, where the reality is that if you
persist it gets easier and easier and easier.

Stick at it.

 

[Vincent Patrick]

Patrick Keogh wrote:

> Joseph wrote:
>> Hello All
>> It is 5 years since I first had a go at clipless pedals. On that occasion
>> I couldn't get used to getting out before stopping so consequently I took
>> them off within 2 days.
>> Now is the time to have another go. I have had them on for 2 days and so
>> far no problems. My technique is as follows:
>> My left foot is my preferred foot to put down so when I want to stop I
>> make sure my left foot is at 6 o'clock and then twist outward and I am
>> out. I use the brakes at the same time. Everything has run smoothly and I
>> have down 30 odd practice stops so far.
>> Any comments?
>> Joseph
>>
>>
> Joseph,
>
> I have been riding clipless for a long while (at least 15 years), and
> I'd never go back. However you should still expect to sometimes make
> mistakes. Your first two day effort was clearly not long enough for your
> reactions to become automatic, and I doubt that you are there yet. So
> one day soon, especially when you are tired you'll forget again, and
> down you'll go. I see people give up, where the reality is that if you
> persist it gets easier and easier and easier.
>
> Stick at it.

An added suggestion is to keep the adjustment looser than normal at first,
so it is easy to clip out, and to keep the pedals lubricated with a few
drops of oil. That saved me a couple of times when I left things too late,
since it allowed a successful panic exit.

Cheers,

Vince

'Bowing low to the small god of cleats'

 

[Bleve]

Patrick Keogh wrote:

> Joseph wrote:
> > Hello All
> > It is 5 years since I first had a go at clipless pedals. On that occasion I
> > couldn't get used to getting out before stopping so consequently I took them
> > off within 2 days.
> > Now is the time to have another go. I have had them on for 2 days and so far
> > no problems. My technique is as follows:
> > My left foot is my preferred foot to put down so when I want to stop I make
> > sure my left foot is at 6 o'clock and then twist outward and I am out. I use
> > the brakes at the same time. Everything has run smoothly and I have down 30
> > odd practice stops so far.
> > Any comments?
> > Joseph
> >
> >
> Joseph,
>
> I have been riding clipless for a long while (at least 15 years), and
> I'd never go back. However you should still expect to sometimes make
> mistakes. Your first two day effort was clearly not long enough for your
> reactions to become automatic, and I doubt that you are there yet. So
> one day soon, especially when you are tired you'll forget again, and
> down you'll go. I see people give up, where the reality is that if you
> persist it gets easier and easier and easier.

It's a common myth that everyone has a cleat incident. It is not
compulsory to get stuck, cleat incidents are not inevitable.

Unclip early and unclip often, if you think you might have to unclip,
unclip. As part of your defensive riding strategy - ie: predicting
what's happening on the road, this is a lot easier than a lot of people
make it out to be.


>
> Stick at it.

Yes, stick at it, but do not accept that cleat incidents are
inevitable, they are not.

 

[Resound]

"Joseph" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hello All
> It is 5 years since I first had a go at clipless pedals. On that occasion
> I
> couldn't get used to getting out before stopping so consequently I took
> them
> off within 2 days.
> Now is the time to have another go. I have had them on for 2 days and so
> far
> no problems. My technique is as follows:
> My left foot is my preferred foot to put down so when I want to stop I
> make
> sure my left foot is at 6 o'clock and then twist outward and I am out. I
> use
> the brakes at the same time. Everything has run smoothly and I have down
> 30
> odd practice stops so far.
> Any comments?
> Joseph
>
>

I also put the left foot down but I generally have the right foot at 6
o'clock and thus taking any weight that's being borne by the pedals. That
way unclipping from the left pedal is easier.

 

[Duracell Bunny]

I find most of my accidents happen when clipping in, not clipping out, on the road bike - a missed push off has resulted in some painful spills when using carbon soled, shiny shoes. On the MTB I've set the release mechanism really low (I'm still a beginner) and more often than not I can now do a graceful dismount when stacking that bike.

Set up the release to be slack till you're confident, and practice lots, as others have said.

I find once clipped in the feeling of security when firmly attached to the bike is very desirable, I can put a lot more power down in any situation.

Karen

 

[Patrick Keogh]

Bleve wrote:
> Patrick Keogh wrote:
>
>> Joseph wrote:
>>> Hello All
>>> It is 5 years since I first had a go at clipless pedals. On that occasion I
>>> couldn't get used to getting out before stopping so consequently I took them
>>> off within 2 days.
>>> Now is the time to have another go. I have had them on for 2 days and so far
>>> no problems. My technique is as follows:
>>> My left foot is my preferred foot to put down so when I want to stop I make
>>> sure my left foot is at 6 o'clock and then twist outward and I am out. I use
>>> the brakes at the same time. Everything has run smoothly and I have down 30
>>> odd practice stops so far.
>>> Any comments?
>>> Joseph
>>>
>>>
>> Joseph,
>>
>> I have been riding clipless for a long while (at least 15 years), and
>> I'd never go back. However you should still expect to sometimes make
>> mistakes. Your first two day effort was clearly not long enough for your
>> reactions to become automatic, and I doubt that you are there yet. So
>> one day soon, especially when you are tired you'll forget again, and
>> down you'll go. I see people give up, where the reality is that if you
>> persist it gets easier and easier and easier.
>
> It's a common myth that everyone has a cleat incident. It is not
> compulsory to get stuck, cleat incidents are not inevitable.
>
> Unclip early and unclip often, if you think you might have to unclip,
> unclip. As part of your defensive riding strategy - ie: predicting
> what's happening on the road, this is a lot easier than a lot of people
> make it out to be.
>
>
>> Stick at it.
>
> Yes, stick at it, but do not accept that cleat incidents are
> inevitable, they are not.
>
My cleat incidents were not on the road. That is relatively straight
forward. I had a "few" on the first couple of days I had cleats but that
was MTBing in Sumatra where it was a lot of effort to just stay
upright, so "forgetting" to unclip as I rode into a black mud pool that
looked 3" deep but was actually 2' deep was the sort of incident I was
talking about.

On an MTB your advice of "Unclip early and unclip often, if you think
you might have to unclip, unclip." is not so good, you need to be
clipped in for stability, until you're past the point of no return.

 

[Rhubarb]

Keep at it, you will find that as you get used to clipless pedals that
you will not enjoy riding in the same way without them.

I find unclipping at 12 0'clock easiest as it offers me the most
leverage to twist my ankle / leg. That said as your confidence builds
and with practice you will find yourself being able to clip out in any
position with either leg.

All the best,
Rhubarb

 

[Duracell Bunny]

I find unclipping at 12 0'clock easiest as it offers me the most
leverage to twist my ankle / leg. That said as your confidence builds
and with practice you will find yourself being able to clip out in any
position with either leg.

All the best,
Rhubarb

Hehe on an MTB, when you've gotta go, you unclip at ANY angle of the crank

 

[Bleve]

Patrick Keogh wrote:

> Bleve wrote:
> > Patrick Keogh wrote:
> >
> >> Joseph wrote:
> >>> Hello All
> >>> It is 5 years since I first had a go at clipless pedals. On that occasion I
> >>> couldn't get used to getting out before stopping so consequently I took them
> >>> off within 2 days.
> >>> Now is the time to have another go. I have had them on for 2 days and so far
> >>> no problems. My technique is as follows:
> >>> My left foot is my preferred foot to put down so when I want to stop I make
> >>> sure my left foot is at 6 o'clock and then twist outward and I am out. I use
> >>> the brakes at the same time. Everything has run smoothly and I have down 30
> >>> odd practice stops so far.
> >>> Any comments?
> >>> Joseph
> >>>
> >>>
> >> Joseph,
> >>
> >> I have been riding clipless for a long while (at least 15 years), and
> >> I'd never go back. However you should still expect to sometimes make
> >> mistakes. Your first two day effort was clearly not long enough for your
> >> reactions to become automatic, and I doubt that you are there yet. So
> >> one day soon, especially when you are tired you'll forget again, and
> >> down you'll go. I see people give up, where the reality is that if you
> >> persist it gets easier and easier and easier.
> >
> > It's a common myth that everyone has a cleat incident. It is not
> > compulsory to get stuck, cleat incidents are not inevitable.
> >
> > Unclip early and unclip often, if you think you might have to unclip,
> > unclip. As part of your defensive riding strategy - ie: predicting
> > what's happening on the road, this is a lot easier than a lot of people
> > make it out to be.
> >
> >
> >> Stick at it.
> >
> > Yes, stick at it, but do not accept that cleat incidents are
> > inevitable, they are not.
> >
> My cleat incidents were not on the road. That is relatively straight
> forward. I had a "few" on the first couple of days I had cleats but that
> was MTBing in Sumatra where it was a lot of effort to just stay
> upright, so "forgetting" to unclip as I rode into a black mud pool that
> looked 3" deep but was actually 2' deep was the sort of incident I was
> talking about.
>
> On an MTB your advice of "Unclip early and unclip often, if you think
> you might have to unclip, unclip." is not so good, you need to be
> clipped in for stability, until you're past the point of no return.

You can put your foot down if unclipped, and last I checked, that
wasn't a disaster

 

[Dave Hughes]

On Fri, 08 Dec 2006 23:57:23 -0800, Bleve wrote:

> You can put your foot down if unclipped, and last I checked, that
> wasn't a disaster

Offroad, with weird surfaces, it can be. It's also more likely that you'll
have the bike land on you if your foot slips off the pedal. I've had a
couple of stacks caused by a foot popping off a pedal because I didn't
want to be clipped in. Now I feel funny riding in normal shoes because I
keep flicking off the pedals trying to spin too fast (partially because
I'm normally singlespeeding in fairly stiff shoes).

--
Dave Hughes | [email protected]
There are some things so serious you have to laugh at them.
- Niels Bohr

 

[Vincent Patrick]

Duracell Bunny wrote:

>
> Rhubarb Wrote:
>>
>>
>> I find unclipping at 12 0'clock easiest as it offers me the most
>> leverage to twist my ankle / leg. That said as your confidence builds
>> and with practice you will find yourself being able to clip out in any
>> position with either leg.
>>
>> All the best,
>> RhubarbHehe on an MTB, when you've gotta go, you unclip at ANY angle of
>> the
> crank

Same when you're in a hurry to unclip a road bike. In WA, nine o'clock is
the same as ten o'clock anyway.

Cheers,

Vince

 

[TimC]

On 2006-12-09, Bleve (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> Patrick Keogh wrote:
>> On an MTB your advice of "Unclip early and unclip often, if you think
>> you might have to unclip, unclip." is not so good, you need to be
>> clipped in for stability, until you're past the point of no return.

On the road you sometimes need that stability too! One day, taking a
nice hairpin bend, and my foot slips out of the pedals. Damn, I
didn't realise you put so much lateral force on the pedals trying to
keep yourself from toppling over! Made it through the corner
unscathed... just.

> You can put your foot down if unclipped, and last I checked, that
> wasn't a disaster

You're a road cyclist Bleve. Putting your foot down in a foot of mud
can be a disaster especially if you then stop in your tracks instead
of powering through.

--
TimC
Chuck Norris stops his fixie by putting his beard on the front tire.
....and he'd kill you with his bare hands for mentioning yourself in the
same sentence. -- Donga in aus.bicycle

 

[Artoi]

In article <[email protected]>,
Patrick Keogh <[email protected]> wrote:

> I have been riding clipless for a long while (at least 15 years), and
> I'd never go back. However you should still expect to sometimes make
> mistakes. Your first two day effort was clearly not long enough for your
> reactions to become automatic, and I doubt that you are there yet. So
> one day soon, especially when you are tired you'll forget again, and
> down you'll go. I see people give up, where the reality is that if you
> persist it gets easier and easier and easier.

I agree being tired in the legs can be a risk factor. Sometimes after a
hard ride and your legs have all turned jelly, there's just no energy
left to unclip, or the usual amount exertion is just no longer enough to
unclip. I've had one fall as a result. So when you are tired, unclip
early and use extra force.
--

 

[LotteBum]

Harden up pet.