Another first clipless fall

MrKawamura

Got off train, sat down to put shoes on, sorted out bag. Got on bike, clipped in on one side, decided to turn around and check nothing left behind whle clipping in other side. Started to turn, lost momentum, panicked, ate tarmac. Man in suit walking through carpark offered bemused glance then slicked back combover with hand. Dusted self off, cycled to work.

jonesy124

you may have looked like a bit of a fool, but if the only person who saw you had a combover - you shouldnt feel embarrassed.

stage_fright

I once performed this trick in a car park in the New Forest while trying to show my daughter what NOT to do when stopping and unclipping...

It was the classic unclipping the right foot just as the bike leans to the left.

wastelander

Have had lots of SPD falls on my MTB but I remember a letter in Moutain Bike rider from a guy who had just started to use SPDs, pulled a whellie in the car park and went straight over, landing on his back with the bike still attached to his feet and his mates wetting themselves laughing

hammerite

Stage Fright wrote:

I once performed this trick in a car park in the New Forest while trying to show my daughter what NOT to do when stopping and unclipping...

It was the classic unclipping the right foot just as the bike leans to the left.

I nearly did that this morning, but into some on coming traffic whilst getting up to a busy junction!

Luckily I managed to free my foot at the last second, but it panicked me a bit!!

domtyler

I thought my 'clipless moment' days were well behind me until a couple of months ago when I went through my garden gate on my fixie and attempted to do trackstand and shut the gate behind me in one smooth motion exuding skill from every pore 8) . Unfortunately the pedals were not quite in the right position, I lost balance and ended up on my back in the bush with the bike over my head. The guy who walked by gave me rather a strange look as I attempted to remove my feet from the pedals but couldn't get the right angle. Five minutes later I got though the front door looking like I had, well, been dragged though a hedge backwards! :oops: :oops:
________
HOT BOX VAPE

DarkStarr

The other day on my commute home, I cycled past a line of standing traffic at some lights. When I got to the front I had one of those special moments were I forgot I was clipped in :shock: The guy in the astra just stared at me as I fell onto then slid off his bonnet into a heap on the floor. Luckly for me he waited untill I got up before setting off.

Getting back on I was greeted by about 10 cars beeping and giving me a clap.

MrKawamura

Looks like this is happening all over the country, though I've never seen anybody else do it. It could be extremely funny to see. If you were not a cyclist who didn't know about clipless pedals and saw somebody just fall over for no apparent reason, scramble to their feet and get back on the bike, you might be forgiven for offering a strange look.

Got my ride home from work in a few minutes, so will be extra carefull.

ricadus

Falling over after forgetting you are clipped in (or braking to a halt before trying to unclip) is a rite of passage all cyclists have to go through.

ricadus

jonesy124 wrote:

you may have looked like a bit of a fool, but if the only person who saw you had a combover - you shouldnt feel embarrassed.

Or inferior.

graham56

Been there, and have the scars to prove it, just a phase we all go through forgetting you`re clipped in. :oops:

ca999

My first and only accident with spd pedals took place on a canal towpath. As I went to overtake a pedestrian I slowed right down just as a dog walker approached from the other direction. I decided to stop to allow both to pass but as I slowed I panicked as I failed to unclip from the pedal. At this point I started to fall towards the canal just as the Black Labrador belonging to dog walker tried to get past. As I fell the dog took drastic avoiding action and jumped in to the canal much to the amusement of all concerned.

Felix-da-house-mouse

how much of a tit must we all look? it happened to me at traffic lights and i scratched my 2wk old cannondale Liquigas bike on the the front forks, i still get regular counselling for it

Rich Hcp

There is also the "Follow on moment"

Get back on as though nothing has happened

Go somewhere quiet.

Scream! look at gobbets of blood on leg

Check bike, usually new, for scratches.

Weep gently

redddraggon

Well I just had my first clipless fall this morning on the way to work. Come to a junction, no cars about, unclip my right foot, fall to the left.

I get up, thankfully no one saw it. But I've knackered my left elbow and hand and scratched my left knee, suprisingly little blood. Chain came off, took a gouge out of the saddle and the grip tape - thankfully this bike was my cheap halfords road bike bought for just this sort of rough and tumble.

....it still hurts..........

Elskippy

This whole thread has made me



And cheered me right up!

davidmckin

I fell off my MTB, at lights, right in front of a queue of traffic I'd just filtered to the front of.
Just kind of lost balance while trying to straighten up.
Clipless pedals? Well I suppose BMX platforms don't have any clips on them.... :oops:

towpath hacker

ca999 wrote:

My first and only accident with spd pedals took place on a canal towpath. As I went to overtake a pedestrian I slowed right down just as a dog walker approached from the other direction. I decided to stop to allow both to pass but as I slowed I panicked as I failed to unclip from the pedal. At this point I started to fall towards the canal just as the Black Labrador belonging to dog walker tried to get past. As I fell the dog took drastic avoiding action and jumped in to the canal much to the amusement of all concerned.

Wow - this exact same thing happened to me today. i've been riding with spd pedals for ages with no probs - then today cruising steadily along the canal on a day off from work, man on bike with dog approaches from the opposite direction. I slow down and stop making sure to avoid the dog - hmm forget about the pedals and fall left towards the canal. Fortunately I wasn't right on the edge - only my left arm went in.

The dog didn't go in too though. The owner of the dog seemed a bit bemused by my gymnastics.

Lagavulin

Had my first fall with clipless on Sunday enroute to the Sunderland Airshow - albeit on my new hardtail.

Some drunken t!t with a pushchair was wandering all over the footpath and cyclepath.
If it had just been me I'd of taken to the road but I was charged with "waking up" pedestrians to the train of bikes behind.

Not exactly graceful and now my right leg almost mirrors my left in terms of scars.
More importantly, but for a touch up of black paint on the brake levers and the lock-out lever coming flying off, my bike was unharmed.

wai

Yup - I had a clipless fall approaching a barrier on a canal path and unclipped left, but bike leaned right.

Just as the scars had started to heal up on my right leg too :oops:

HP40

My first clipless moment happened in dining room while trying them out.

Second, on single track road, no one about.

Third, sigh, and last (hopefully) was on a crisp February Sunday morning. At a set of temporary traffic lights, loads of cars waiting, and lots of pavement people on the way to church, or wherever people go on a Sunday. As I fell I just knew everyone had turned to look at me. Picking myself up, there was no escape because of the roadworks.

In agony, and trying to hide it, I got up said "No thanks" to the offers of assistance from the pavement people. I couldn't see any drivers because they'd all slid of their seats laughing. I called out to all the spectators, trying to be jokey about my nightmare, "Och, I've done this loads of times." An old lady, called back from the pavement. "You do it rather well..."

sigh...

Scriker2

so close last night to my first fall. just finished a timed 10 mile run on busy A road (nice and smooth tarmac, lovely!) and was shattered. (headwind and uphill on the return leg) remembered to unclip,stopped to have a drink, recovered for a few minutes. then was about to set off, clipped in right side, pushed off and just keeled over to the right!. not sure how I did it but just managed to twist out my right foot in time. just at that moment big lorry went past! could have been messy. Lucky the cleats aren't too tight on my pedals!

got the adrenaline going though.

stage_fright

Och, I've done this loads of times." An old lady, called back from the pavement. "You do it rather well..."

So what it the etiquette here after a slow motion fall?

Do you:

take the humourous approach and bow etc 'oh...it was nothing, you should see my triple toe loop'

just ignore everyone, re-mount and pedal off at the top speed you can still manage? (have to admit - my preferred option...)

milk it for all the sympathy you can get? 'well, that has never happened before...'

any other tactics for recovering lost levels of cool?
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Scriker2

just had a thought. Is it worth practicising slow motion falls? :?: pick a nice grassy area and fall of both sides until you perfect the perfect techinique. might be a way to avoid a) damage to bike, b) damage to palms, knees, etc. when it happens for real

What is the best way to fall!

MrKawamura

I fell directly onto my upper arm/shoulder with my elbow tucked in to my side. No pointy bony bits up there and slightly protected by jersey. It didn't hurt and I suffered no cuts or bruises. It helped that I was on smooth tarmac and there were no cars nearby.

Different situations probably call for different techniques. Say you were off-road and there was a sticky-out root where your arm was going to land, or you were about to land on a curb - using my technique could hurt a lot.

You would need to practice your falls in a lot of different situations. Once you have completed your study, Scriker2, please let us know the results.

Lbaguley

I would equally not recommend this technique - a particularly rough landing with elbow tucked into side such as that caused me a cracked rib a few years ago during a 'gentle' game of frisbee. :oops:

About to go clipless myself and was wondering which side is best to unclip when pulling up to lights/junctions etc. My usual procedure on flats is to put my left foot down and leave right foot on pedal - my concern with that is if I overbalance on the clipped-in (right) side I'm in the middle of the road. What do other people do??

Cheers L

redddraggon

Lbaguley wrote:

What do other people do??

Well I can't really get my left foot unclipped easily, so I always unclip my right foot.

thebikeliker

I've done it twice. Both times when I was fairly new to clipless. Just came to a stop and fell over as if in slow motion.

I use the Shimano pedals with one side clipped and the other not. If I am coming to a junction I just take one foot out of the clip and carry on pedalling until I need to stop. Always use the right foot. Don't know why but at least it means I don't unclip one foot then try to put the other down!

Why do I have this feeling that now I've brought it to mind I will fall over tomorrow?