Any tips before 1st try of Clipless pedal?

Cycling is Forever

hello peeps,

just bought the following for my 1st proper road bike [boardman team carbon]

Pedal = Look KEO Classic
Shoes = Shimano R076

Before I go out is there anything I should do or check anything particular?
Is part of the learning, I will end up on my arse? :oops:

I want to make sure I can get out of the pedals very easy , I've got a + - signs on the pedal which way should I adjust?

Allay my fears, is this clipless really easy once you master it?
If I fail I could always fit some stabilizers

rokkala

Never adjusted the pedals on my Look sprints but i'd imagine its + and - for tension. So more + should make slightly harder to clip out. I'd just leave them as be to start with and see how you go.

It is easy once you've been out a few times and becomes second nature, and its much much better than toeclips or whatever. Just be careful first few rides out, take it nice and easy coming up to junctions and lights so you give yourself time to concentrate on twisting one of your shoes(twist the toe towards the bike, heel away from it, and out it pops) to clip out of the pedal.

Last thing you want to do first time out is come to a junction too fast or have a car pull out infront of you when you don't expect it and have to stop, panic, forget your foot is clipped in and fall over

Second time i went out i fell over about 3 yards from my driveway cos a car was going past and i forgot i was clipped in, very slow motion fall to the ground

pneumatic

I was told that I would fall off three times.

Pah! I said.

I fell off three times:

once at a roundabout, when a car appeared at the last minute and was clearly not going to stop; once at a junction when I had just sped down a hill and was away with the bees; once when I braked suddenly to avoid an obstacle.

On none of these occasions was I physically hurt, but I had to swallow a lot of pride as on two of them, it was in full public view.

So, I say to you: You will fall off three times.

and then you'll get the hang of it.

skyd0g

The + - signs are to adjust the ease/difficuly of the release from the pedal. Start by turning the adjuster towards the minus sign to reduce the spring tension.

First practice clipping-in and releasing your shoes while stationary, propped-up against a wall or similar. Once you've got the technique sussed, then try going around a quiet area (empty car-park) where you can practice while stopping & starting.

Now, here's the really important part. On your initial moving practices, take a friend with you and make sure they have a camera. You are ideally looking to capture that moment when you unclip the wrong foot & hit the deck, while maintaining a position reminiscent of a sundial with the other leg. Extra points if the sun is in the same shot.

stevenmh

First time, I rode in circles somewhere safe and just kept practising. In, out etc. Do it in enough and you very quickly get the hang of it. At the beginning loosen the tension. No need to mix with traffic until you are comfortable.

Stellite

Hi

Only other point would be to make sure that the cleats are set up correctly so you dont get sore knees

richardspooner

Don't rush and don't try really early on to zip out into traffic unclipped from a stand still thinking you'll clip in and quickly sprint up to speed. You'll miss the clip in put your foot down on the pedal to maintain motion forgetting you (probably) have the hard bottom of the shoe against the hard surface of the pedal, your foot slip off in the down stroke and get a nasty cut.

Two years on I still have a deep, half inch scar on the inside of my ankle where the corner of the pedal scooped a lump of flesh out.

If you haven't figured it out already, use the bike on the brakes as a bit of a zimmer frame and put your weight on it when at a standstill, letting you either stay clipped in on one side ready to push off, or steady yourself as you completely unclip. It didn't register with me that I was, in effect, standing on plastic stilts which have little grip on the road surface and did a 'Bambi' a couple of times!

Which may just have been my own clumsiness as a cyclist more than anything!

CHRISNOIR

pneumatic wrote:

I was told that I would fall off three times.

Pah! I said.

I fell off three times:

This. Reconcile yourself to the fact that you will fall off. Especially when you think you've completely got the hang of it. After twelve months of clipless easiness I fell off last month.

Oh aye, and don't let it put you off. Of all the upgrades I've made to my bike going clipless has been the most beneficial.

bobtbuilder

Until you are more confident with them, unclip one foot as you approach a busy juction or roundabout. Don't wait until the last minute to unclip, as that will be the time when you won't be able to, and then you will fall off.

Similarly, it it easier to unclip as the bike rolls along gently. Don't wait until you are almost stopped as you will get the wobbles - big time.

I only fell off twice

Whatever you do - son't give up on them. Like ChrisNoir said, they are hugely beneficial.

Firecrakka

Find a park with a path surrounded by grass.
Practice clipping in and out.
If you do fall, you'll at least have a lil' padding for your fall.
Like Stevenmh said, no need to mix it up in traffic till you're comfortable.

Good luck mate.

fungus_the_muffin_man

Oh and don't do what I've done a few times lately. Unclip on my left ( which I always do) then allow your body weight to take you to the right. Followed by a lot of quick scrambling to get your right foot out. I've been clipped in for ages now but I still have the odd brain fart clipless moment.[/u]

richardspooner

Yep I second that Fungus. I did it the other day. I just looked at my feet accusingly!

markos1963

I would recommend wearing an ordinary shoe on the left and leaving a flat pedal on that side and your new one on the other. Ride around a quiet place clipping and unclipping until you build up confidense, if you cock up then having the other side as normal will help aviod falls. Then when used to that side swap over the set up and practise the other, when fully confident you can then put both clippless on and go out. One thing I have done to develop confidense with my pedals is to learn to trackstand. This means I know I can stop my bike feet up and still give myself enough time to unclip if i need to.

Stewie Griffin

Practise getting both feet in and out while leaning on a wall, in a doorway is good. I have also found that having the foot I want to unclip at 6 o clock on the pedal stroke makes things easier.

WHEN you have your first moment, it will feel like time has slowed down. You will have time to look over your shoulder to make sure you arent going to get run over, you will use every expletive you know and will have enough time to invent some new ones. You will have enough time to recite the Lords Prayer and to promise God that you will never ask him for another favour ever again.

But, you wont have enough time to unclip

alex16zx

+1

It's only happened to me once, I was spinning to the top of a steep hill and had come almost to a standstill, and then next thing I knew I was at a standstill! Felt like I was floating on air for what seemed like an age but still had no time to unclip, had to presence of mind (/luck) to fall into the grass verge/hedge and avoid any pain. Noone around so avoided embarrassment too

mattbass789

First time i fell off there were 5kids down my steet between 5-10years old all jumping off the path onto the road on their bmx's. My dad was there too, i got 3 yards from the end of my drive and bailed. Alll my friends laughed when they heard about it, but they all use regular clips and normal shoes, but they dont laugh so much when i whip their arses up hills and can power out of corners unlike them.

fungus_the_muffin_man

richardspooner wrote:

Yep I second that Fungus. I did it the other day. I just looked at my feet accusingly!

Yeah me to I even kicked my right pedal as I clipped back in to punish it

I've not fallen off the road bike ( touch wood) but i have on numerous occasions when I've been out on the MTB, going uphill then hitting a rock or something making me lose momentum then next minute...... TIMBERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NWLondoner

I had my first clipless moment last night.

Came up to stop line on T Junction waiting to turn left and forgot to un-clip my right foot. Bike falls left and i try to reach for lamp post. Was never going to reach it as it was 2 feet away but thankfully just before i reached the point of no return i managed to get my left foot out just in time. Still felt like a prize prat and didn't help that my chain came off in all the confusion.


Now who says you can't release speedplay zero cleats by pulling upwards.

jos2thehua

It's pretty simple to get use to and you'll soon learn that it's a drastic improvement from toe-clips. If your having getting in and out I recommend going to a parking lot or deserted neighbor hood to practice.

sherer

I would try and work out what feels more comfortable too, I am right footed so I find it easier to take that foot out each time I come to a junction. It seems everyone else does it with the left foot.

When I take the foot out I do it at 12 o clock too seems to make it easier.

Just relax and don't worry, go down a quiet route and make sure you practice stationary before you go out

PXR5

100% agree, just accept you will fall off several times in the first few days, almost certainly at less than walking pace so hopefully nothing will get hurt but your pride.

First time i fitted Shimano mixed pedals on my mountain bike i was in such a rush to get out for a ride with friends and family that i just left them set up out of the box, ignoring advice to initially unscrew them to their easiest setting.

We cycled from one house to the next picking up various friends and kids, and i fell off just about at every stop, much to the kids amusement.

Several months on i'm more or less happy, but only now just beginning to tighten them up, and still occasionally you get the odd dodgy monment of panic !

myoplexman

Adjust your pedal so you can get the cleat out fairly easily before setting out, you can always adjust it up later or when you get more confident. I tend to keep my right foot in all the time and only undo my left foot but each to their own. The secret is to plan ahead and disengage your foot on aproach to junctions or stops. You can keep your foot on the pedal and reengage it if you don't have to come to a complete stop. Good luck

Cycling is Forever

I'm not saying I wussed out, but it has been raining heavily today.
So best not to make it any harder

All these stories of falling down are less than encouraging. :shock:
I will hopefully test my skill or luck sometime this weekend

Thanks for all the advice

cyclingmev

Practice LOTS in a very private place with a guarantee that there's no chance of anyone (particularly someone with a camera!) seeing you going ar*e over t*t as you forget or can't unclip...set the tension really low so it's easy to get yer feet out...remember to unclip the right foot when you're on a hill (i ended up tumbling over when i unclipped the uphill foot and leant over on my downhill foot!)..make sure your clips and pedals are free of stones / small animals before using them..enjoy it, cos they make bikeling sooooooooooooo much easier!!!!

spencer_uk

have to admit - I just bought a set with my new bike and am dreading the first ride. It will be through the City of London - choc-a-bloc with traffic. I think I will need to go down a backstreet and practice for quite a bit. Or pack some food, a hot flask and wait until 2am once everyone has gone home

Flasheart

I love my Look Keo pedals ...except when I come to traffic lights or junctions where I have to unclip. I hate the couple of seconds that it takes to spin the pedal over and clip in.There never seems to be a handy post to lean on at these places and I wouldn't want anyone leaning on my car so I'm sure as hell not going to do it to anyone else.
My cycling buddy Pete sometimes take risky chances with the traffic at junctions rather than unclip, we laugh about it at the time but ....
Oh yeah finally had an "off" with them. Really windy day and I do mean windy (I live on the coast), pushing off from a stop and was going a bit too slow and a gust of wind litterally blew me over. What made it worse was that there were at least a dozen people in the car park. I laid there on the ground bike in the air (so as not to let it get scratched) laughing as it was no big deal. :oops:

JRDM

I have only started road cycling in the last year after a couple of years off the bike due to injury.

I decided to get some clip-less pedals and shoes and I have been trying to convince myself they are for the best. The trouble is I have been finding it very difficult to unclip at junctions, and have therefore limited where I am riding to very quiet roads.

I finally admitted to myself that I have no confidence wearing them and I have just put some flat pedals temporarily on my bike. I am now cycling to places I wouldn't of gone to before as I am not terrified I am going to get run over as I have a low speed fall at a roundabout! This is increasing my enjoyment of cycling and I am now cycling more as a result.

I will try some Time Atac MTB pedals when I have a little more cash as I am informed these are much easier to clip out from.

sherer

JRDM wrote:

I have only started road cycling in the last year after a couple of years off the bike due to injury.

I decided to get some clip-less pedals and shoes and I have been trying to convince myself they are for the best. The trouble is I have been finding it very difficult to unclip at junctions, and have therefore limited where I am riding to very quiet roads.

I finally admitted to myself that I have no confidence wearing them and I have just put some flat pedals temporarily on my bike. I am now cycling to places I wouldn't of gone to before as I am not terrified I am going to get run over as I have a low speed fall at a roundabout! This is increasing my enjoyment of cycling and I am now cycling more as a result.

I will try some Time Atac MTB pedals when I have a little more cash as I am informed these are much easier to clip out from.

good post and the main thing is to make sure you enjoy your cycling. if you can't get the hang of the pedals but some standard ones on and have some fun.

I always unclip really early to avoid these issues but sometimes you just never know what is coming

mask of sanity

Just got back from my first clipless ride and I have to say I found the clipping out pretty easy, it was the clipping in that was the hard part. Found it pretty hard to find the position of the cleats relative to the pedal! So I'd try and cycle unclipped until I got some speed up but that just means the foot that wasn't clipped in would slip all over the place! I guess just takes some getting used to!

nitesight

The first time my feet slipped off normal pedals in the rain I figured clipless was the way to go. Been three months now and have had a fe close ooooeer moments but no off yet. I do use MTB pedals and shoes which helps as there is no flip over when you set off - they're always there and ready to go. I've left the tension wound down and to be honest see no need to change it.

I have had a few last minute snatches where you perform a ballet toe flick at the last second but it's all part of the fun.

Tips:

1) Practice first.
2)Be conscious as you come to a stop and junctions and say to yourself "don't forget you're clipped in you fool, that blonde is really hot and you'll look..etc.
3) Bear in mind as you've gone for roadie shoes you have NO grip when you do put your foot down so be cautious in the wet.
4) If you wear an ipod (I used to) leave it at home for a bit, it is REALLY helpful to hear that clunk click as well as feel it before you power off. Even Lance slipped off his clips in this years Tour.

If you don't get on with them don't give up, clipless is a revelation, perhaps consider the MTB option like i have, similar benefits but fewer drawbacks.

Plus, in MTB shoes you don't walk like a duck that's sh@t itself!

sicknote

I have got back to cycling after some time off and followed the advice on hear to go clipless and for me I have not looked back.

I have not had an off but have been close a few times but lucky to have quick hands and something to grab near at the time, plus it has pushed me to get better at track standing, which I have got much better at so a lot of the time I dont need to put a foot down.

I can clip out quickly if I need to now that I have got use to them.