Did you fall off the first time you tried clipless pedals?

I've never fallen over because of riding clipless. Going to start riding clipless again soon once someone from work sends me his old pedals, really looking forward to being clipless again. Riding with straps at the moment and keep failing to get one foot in riding off from lights, clipless is so much more elegant!

There's nothing shameful about falling off using clips - sometimes you just do.

Once in the centre of Pau whilst touring - touring with clip pedals adds an extra dimension of potential disaster - and i went down, fully laden with all the gear. The lace of one shoe had become tangled in the SPD and, I was standing over the bike looking in the window of fcking *Benetton *when the bike overbalanced, the moment it started to go i knew it was going to be nasty. There was that magic moment when i just had to accept it was going to happen - the microsecond of struggle had shown me that. Town centre being very busy and i got quite a lot of sympathy, until they found out i was English.

Yes. SPD-SL as first pedal choice not recommended, especially with really shiny new shoes... trying to clip in and missing and sliding is no fun at traffic lights. the piece of cake and first fallover event: Uphill junction, adverse camber, car causes a 'hmmm need to stop' moment. Foot not out in time, topple tastic to much hilarity from the crowd at the nearby cafe and my riding partner at the time. 'just like watching a cartoon' I changed to double sided speedplays.

Only once, practicing track standing in my car park after riding home from the pub after about two months of riding clipless with no trouble. Top tip to people new to them - while you still ride without clips (cliplessless?) think which foot you're going to put down when you stop and stick to it. It's so easy to put both feet down when you come to a stop and not realise it. Also, push the bars away slightly on the side that you put your foot down on as you come to a standstill, it tips the bike's balance in your favour.

My, that was a serious post... More advice: Just HTFU.

Yep , fell off in the first week of riding clipless. Embarrassingly slow fall at traffic lights, couldn't unclip from my eggbeaters no matter how much i twisted my foot out. Took my shoe off (still attached to pedal), realised the bolts had become loose, and cleats were spinning around. Upgraded to 'premium' cleats right away, and no problems of that kind. Come out a few times skidding, like many.

Good thing about the eggbeater cleats are the two release angles, so as and when you get more confident, you can swap the cleats over which increases the angle at which your foot releases.

Agree with Sparrow on sticking to which foot you put down....always.

atac cleats have 2 angles too. 'Perfect' and 'ShitShitShitShitAagh'.

:-)

So, I was working at a bike shop in Seattle, and I had just gotten paid. As you know, if you work in a bike shop you are required to spend half your pay check on things in the shop that you will probably only use once but can't seem to live without. This time it was my first pair of spds and front panniers.

Seattle is hilly and wet, especially the first morning I put my two new purchases together. I roll up to some light at the bottom of the hill a bit too fast, panic about getting my foot out, swerve towards the curve and loose my balance as I've packed about two tonnes of uselessness in my front panniers and proceed to hydroplane through the intersection.

true story.

Seattle is hilly and wet, especially the first morning I put my two new purchases together. I roll up to some light at the bottom of the hill a bit too fast, panic about getting my foot out, swerve towards the curve and lose my balance as I've packed about two tonnes of uselessness in my front panniers and proceed to hydroplane through the intersection.

Very well written.

yup, definitely, easy to forget that you're clipped in at first when you get to traffic lights, did a particularly nice fall in covent garden and was laughed at by backpack wearing french schoolchildren!

I grew up with toe straps so ridding with clips was a piece of piss. I do remember someone forgetting that he was riding a fixed wheel and stopped pedalling, can't remember how many teeth he lost and how much skin was on the tarmac.

I have fallen off while clipped in, but never because, once i hit the curb at the wrong angle, and fractured my elbow, and once I caught the end of my shorts on my drops , but i would have come off like that aswell...

ah well =)

Technically I have never actually fallen off.... there have been a few VERY close calls though where I have felt myself falling before I remembered to unclip my foot, always managed it in time though.

P.S. I think road bikes look wrong without SPD-SL/Look pedals. :P

how about with crank bros quattro pedals?

how about with crank bros quattro pedals?

My first modern road bike was an eBay bargain alu Flanders - full Campag and pretty swish looking, but wearing the most humungous downhill platforms, as the guy I brought it from was an MTBer built like a Victorian wardrobe who'd failed to get used to road bikes and hardly used it. It looked fucking risible until I put Look A5.1s on it.

Yes, I fell off the first time...

...I'd just taken delivery of a Rockhopper Pro, and I was cycling the whole of the SouthDownsWay in a day.

So I leave at 6am... and 100 yards later, realise that I need to check the map.

I slowed down, and forgot that I was clipped in. I fell over onto a kerb, which hit my hip. My right leg was stung all-over by nettles.

Needless to day, it never happened again!!!

PS My hip hasn't quite been the same since.

Is it wrong to exhume an old threat like this? Anyway, just got some clipless SPDs today and was fine on the first ride but then was trying to get to the cycle box and was in an awkward position with my leg and just couldn't twist my foot enough to unclip and slowly, very slowly descended to the ground. I don't think anyone noticed though but I don't think I never unclipped so fast while lying on the ground, standing up and riding away as today. Skills! Can't believe I didn't go clip less before, it's just amazing!

Hasn't happened so far, but I was close when a bus pulled in front of me. I managed to hold onto the railings after hoping with the whole bike. Well embarrassing, as it was a busy crossing at London bridge.

I had no problems the first time with clipless. Clips and straps got me though, force of habit, twisting my foot at traffic lights. I hit a car as I came down... the driver gets out and considerately asks if I'm retarded.
Thanks Mr. helpful driver, I feel much better now.

"I am actually."

Then wobble away scratching each panel on their car and knocking off one of their mirrors.

Oh actually, i forgot to tighten my cleats once... that was great fun.

Traffic lights again, 20 shameful seconds in the road under my bike figuring out what the fcuk just happened and struggling to unstrap my shoe and get my foot out.
I wouldn't have blamed a driver if they called my retarded that time :(
Oh well, lesson learnt.

Tighten your cleats, kids!

Shit, I think I just stripped the thread of one whole on the insert of the shoe! Bought the shoes yesterday, brand new and re-adjustet the cleat position and tried to tighten again. Didn't use much force and only a tiny allen key so don't think I've overtightened them. Are those insert replaceable? It's a Specialized shoe.

yup. clipped in for the first time, and had a very 'Timmmmmmberrrrr!' moment! Couldn't unclip as i also practically snapped my ankle in half trying to get out of the pedals mid-fall, so was lying on the ground hugging my bike, trying to holler loud enough to get my housemate and a potential new housemate to come and rescue me.

haven't used spd's again because my ankle now still hurts when trying to twist out so not only did I make a complete fool of myself but I managed to ruin my left ankle in the process. woo. :P

I've just started riding clipless, and I was fine the first time, but I went out this morning and...ugh. I was pulling up to pop in to a shop and I just didn't do the motion in time: the mesmerically slow submission to gravity inevitably followed. It was absolutely pathetic - I was on the floor, still clipped in, while loads of kindly passers by asked me if I was ok. 'I'm fine! Fine!' I kept saying, with what I hope what an adequately suppressed note of hysteria, but I couldn't move as I couldn't unclip with the bike on top of me. They must have thought I was mental.

I don't think it's anything to do with co-ordination, btw, though of course I would say that now. It's just misremembering for that one split second, until it becomes (I assume) unconscious habit. I'm used to stopping then dismounting my feet, so to speak, so it's just harder to remember you need to unclip before you come to a complete stop.

Unclipping with a bike on top of you is really hard! Haha

It definitely does become second nature after a while though, don't let it put you off.

dont have any real difficulties with it. theres always the odd time when youre tired and somehow brain and feet dont engage together.
remember one time not dis-engaging properly at lights end of Regent street, ending up on the deck, then the cabbie behind me getting out and looking at the front of his vehicle saying didnt damage my cab didya? and I was on the floor! twat.