I just went clipless....scary stuff!!

Bigtallfatbloke

The post arrived today full of new toys..!!

Got me some walkable road shoes with cleats and some shimano M something dual sided pedals.

http://activesportskit.co.uk/product_in ... cts_id=950

http://activesportskit.co.uk/product_in ... cts_id=305

I have just spent a couple of hours fitting things and messing aroung on them. I was relieved the shoes fitted, i have size 13 (49)and these fit perfectly and I can even fit in my usual insoles (I have flat feet and have corrective insoles in all my shoes)...so my first online shoe purchase went well.

Getting used to being tied to the bike is pretty scary :roll: ....but I'm getting there. Unclipping wasn't to bad, as long as I remember to move the shoe across and outwards. But clipping in was an issue. It seemed like a very small 'target' to aim for with a size 13 shoe

I am currently messing around with the settings. I have the cleat on the loosest setting for fear of not being able to unclip at th elights outside a skool at 3.30pm

I set the cleat about halfway down on the shoe sole as having them closer to the front of the shoe was a problem.

I have also got some multi release cleats, but so far these regular cleats are ok, infact better because I can continue with the up pedalling without to much worry the cleat will come out.

This is th efirst time in my life I have had a proper pair if cycle road shoes & they make a huge difference. I am throwing away my old torn Nikes forthwith

whyamihere

Clipping in and unclipping get easier with experience, until you don't even think about it at all. Just keep practising, and make sure you tell us when you have your first clipless fall (everyone has at least one).

Bigtallfatbloke

..I'm heading out to Brentwood now...I won't let you down

GT-Dave

Yep, keep plugging away, I was suprised how quickly your mindset adjusts to them.

Where you heading, Thorndon?

S_J_P

Just remember when you stop, don't unclip your left foot, then lean to the right - it results in a comedy moment

After getting used to clippies, I feel really insecure now if I ever ride unclipped.

Bigtallfatbloke

well I usually come up from the dunton road through herongate into Brentwood...but thornden country park is where we walk the mut so i could head up there i guess.

snakehips

I have scabs on both knees.

I will say no more on the subject

Snake

But I should point out that the events which caused the scabs did not take place while riding an MTB. I seem to have wandered in to the wrong part of the forum through some sort of disorentation.

Bigtallfatbloke

..well I survived my first clipless ride without any falls. 35km and I only lost the cleat once when I couldnt clip in quickly enough on a main road....but no big deal .

The difference these shoes make to my ride is amazing....ususally on this loop i would stop 3 or 4 times just for a few seconds each time to take on water and rest the legs at the tops of hills. This trip I only stopped once. I feel much more stable and can feel the pedals working more efficiantly. Up until today i was wearing a very worn out pair of old nike trainers with a hole in the sole on the left foot!

No way back for me now...I'm hooked...erm...I mean clipped....no wait...I mean not clipped....whatever, I'm a happier bunny today.

MattBlackBigBoysBMX

I went a whole week when I first got my Onza spuds (remember them?) without once falling off. I thought I'd well and truely cracked it. 8)

WRONG!!! :oops:

Fell into a gorse bush outside my front door, fell into a vice at school (or rather in school ), and fell over on a playing field in front of a pair of very nice young ladies.
D'oh!

Steve Austin

its when you go back to flat pedals and lift your feet on the upstroke you know you got it

whyamihere

I do that with flats, kind of. With Incas and grippy shoes, if I angle my foot correctly I can put power through about 270 degrees of the stroke.

Bigtallfatbloke

..so far so good, but I will heed your words. Soon comes the real test, riding with cleats and a loaded tour bike....now that will look bad if I fall off.

Anonymous

Clipless is cool. Even kids can do it.

Bigtallfatbloke

yes but I'm not a kid so I have an excuse

10/2

tried mine for the first time yesterday. after practising with them riding around the track, i felt confident that i could tackle the lights on the way home...lol. at the first set which were red i slowed down, giving myself plenty of time to unclip the left which was working out best, but alas to no avail, the right wouldnt budge either.......came to a stop and toppled to the pavement, probaby to the amusement of the queing cars behind! whilst sat on my arse i had to manouver the bike onto the path and unclip said left foot there :oops: i darent look up so sat there looking at said pedal in disgust making out it must have been a mechanical error! :P that said i dusted off and made it through the next 3 sets of light, all said with a high heart rate! practise makes perfect

thefathippy

It's important to time spud stacks so you have the largest possible audience. :oops:

Of course, the audience's role is to laugh - and remind you about doing it.

Tony F

StefanH

I've only had 2 clipless moments since fitting them. One was in the back garden during my first practise and the other put me off the bike for a week with a bruised rib (I impaled myself on the handlebar as I went down).

That *really* gave me an incentive to concentrate more :oops:

I've now done about 60 commutes and any number of recreational rides for a total somewhere around 750 miles without repeating that particular error 8) Although I have come close on 2 or 3 occasions, mostly due to exhaustion.

I bought crank bros. smarty pedals which don't have tension adjustment. They is what they is. Whether it made it easier or harder for me to get used to, I don't know. I still have the odd problem clipping in but usually I manage it without thinking.

in the wire

I find keeping the tension as light as possible is useful especially for all day rides where you may get tired, and for some reason only known to medical science, the first part of your brain to go is the bit that deals with pedal unclipping.

I had a couple of long day rides recently that included canal tow paths / gates etc, and I'm sure that I would have come a cropper a few times if I couldn't just pull my foot loose when I suddenly became stationary

whyamihere

I've been riding clipless for a couple of years now, can trackstand, and still nearly had a moment on Sunday by forgetting to unclip when rolling to a stop. I blame it on tiredness after 70 miles...

Big n Daft

First 'clipless' moment today....

As usual for me, it would happen to be in a place where people are numerous and unfeeling enough to p**s themselves at my misfortune.

Unclipped foot, bike went the other way...... :oops: :oops:

Cue gales of laughter....me lying like a turtle on its back.....trying to unclip my other foot from under the bike.

To make it worse.....i fell on my keys, the saddle has a hole in the side and i gained a scratched rear mech.

S**T

BnD

welsh_wonder

Had my first fall a few weeks back when i went clipless i couldnt unclip my feet quick enough after slipping on loose gravel and ended up with a large graze on my right thigh everything still intact though and since then i havnt come off touch wood.

Rob

Markmjh

I have a 3 inch scar up the back of my calf after unclipping one foot and leaning the other way :oops:
dragged my leg across the chainring and hit my head on the car next to me( i was at the lights in town!). Then had about 7/8 people trying to help me up thinking i was nearly dead or something. I even had to stop them calling for an ambulance!

spiney

Just ordered my clipless pedals so i have all this to look forward too :shock:

10/2

spiney wrote:

Just ordered my clipless pedals so i have all this to look forward too :shock:

the morale of the storys is practice makes perfect! (preferably on your own, away from prying eyes and surrounded by soft items)

Big n Daft

To be honest it does become second nature after a few weeks.

I'd suggest to start with buy a set with adjusters, you can then make them really easy to get out of until your confident doing it.

Slack it right off and it does not take much outward movement and your out!

Tighten them up once your mind adapts to doing it.

Be prepared, you will have one moment and you'll feel a dick when it happens....but hey...its all good fun and worth it when you feel the difference in pedalling power.

spiney

i think i will be practicing in the comfort of my lounge surrounded by the comfy sofa, mattress pillows and cussions if Mrs Spiney allows it!!!

Sev101

Was out on sunday last week and was merrily trundling up a hill (singletrack)all clipped in to my pedals. A friends wife was cycling along in front of me and started to get a little leg weary - at one point on the hill it flattens slightly so she decided to change gear onto the granny ring and save her poor legs - after 30 seconds it became apparent that her bike was not going to change down and then disaster the chain comes off!!! Pam stops dead in front of me I manage to hurridly unclip my right foot but the bike is starting to lean left by this point - furiously try to save bike from point of no return - no chance!!! big fall to the left and then - my left foot comes out on the way down - talk about too little too late!! still in one piece and did cause a giggle if nothing else - Note to self - ride in front of Pam next time!!!!!! Sometimes it just aint your fault but damn embarrasing all the same!!! :oops:

john74

the best one i had going downhill and the front wheel got stuck in a rut and threw me forward some how i managed to unclip both feet and jump over the handle bars landing on my feet while the bike took a massive tumble. no idea how i done it but would love to have it on video, but despite all of that i would never go back to flats.

SPD= silly plonker device.

Anonymous

I used to ride a pair of these

Which were excellent for MTBing. If you came up to something that was a bit "ooh-er", you could ride them like flats, but then to power away again, you could clip in.
They were also practically indestructible.

I never did quite understand why SPD-like pedals are called clip-"less". Surely they are clips? Strapless, yes, but clipless? never made sense.

Sev101

John that sounds insane!! would have liked to have seen that one myself - obvioulsy now that you are ok!! Why do we do this to ourselves? we must be mad!

A friend and her boyfriend came with us this week - Matt comes to the first berm gets 1/2 way round spots the gate at the bottom panicked grabbed a brake unfortunately for him the front one and BOOM stopped bike quickly followed by faceplant!

5 people behind him all managed to get round in one piece without touching him!

Welcome to the great sport Matt!

OUCH!!!

John Stevenson

yeehaamcgee wrote:

I never did quite understand why SPD-like pedals are called clip-"less". Surely they are clips? Strapless, yes, but clipless? never made sense.

Because:

a) 'Strapless' is an evening gown
2) Old-style pedals had clips (the metal or plastic bits that limited the forward movement of the foot) as well straps, and so step-in pedals are clipless - they don't have clips.
iii) There is no third reason