Who said clipless pedals aren't dangerous?

NIGEL_ASH

Was minding my own business riding along some wet double track this morning, not particularly fast at around 15mph when I took my eye off the track and hit the edge of a rut. The bike started to go over to the left, my balance was gone and I was going over. Left foot didn't unclip in time and my last thought just before I slammed into the pebble laid surface was... ooh, this is going to hurt.
I hit the deck, ripped the sleeve on my Altura Attack Extreme jacket which was brand new, first time out, and as I was only wearing a short sleeve base layer, I now have a very nasty graze from my elbow to my shoulder.
Got up, and felt more upset and annoyed about wrecking my new jacket, checked the bike over, that was ok, checked for broken bones, nope, so carried on and finished my ride.

Bloody annoying though, just shows what can happen if you don't concentrate just for a second when things are slippy at this time of year.

Clipless pedals, i'm not so sure :roll: :evil:

Alex

You were falling off your bike well before you failed to unclip, no point blaming your pedals.

Might be worth loosening the release tension though, might give you a bit more confidence for next time.

tri-sexual

a poor craftman blaims his tools

tptvmbircn

The first time i got cleats i totally forgot i had them... on route to a seafront ride i decided for quickness to pop through town on road, rolled up to the lights and smack hit the floor and a few people laughing haha

gotta love cleats! still have them now however would'nt change back as will not feel right at all...

scale20

Dont let it put you off clipless. Keep at it.

You could have been riding clipless for 20 years but they still catch you out at times like that.

KulaBen

I'm feeling your pain! First time I went out with my new SPDs along a canal path a dog ran out and I nearly ended up in the drink. Worth persevering though; I run mine pretty loose still so I can get my feet out. I ended up getting some of the shimano caged pedals, which are supposed to be for downhill but are brilliant for everything.
Shame about the jacket!

_Ferret_

Sadly that's the price you pay for having a better pedal system

But don't let it put you off, it will come naturally eventually...

m_cozzy

I've seen a lot of friends crash on numerous occasions due to these pedals. Never seen one fall off due to using flats though..

bigmart

m_cozzy wrote:

I've seen a lot of friends crash on numerous occasions due to these pedals. Never seen one fall off due to using flats though..

Try landing shin first on a V8, much rather fall off at a standstill

bomberesque

don't blame the pedals.

richg1979

yep they are very dangerous in the winter, ive hung mine up until the summer.

never fell off with clipless, they just make winter riding hard work. ok if your just a xc nut or trail center nut but anything a bit scetchy and there a real hinderance.

you cant drift or slide your bike at high speed without getting your foot down in the winter too many diffrent slippery serfaces.

fast twisty downhill sections where it may require a foot down is bad with clipless as you need to get your foot back in before you get to the bottom of the decent, very dodgy fumbling about with a clipless pedal while traveling 25mph down hill over wet roots and rocks.

if your ones of these who say " you should never need to unclipp" well your just not trying hard enough.

and a poor craftman does blame his tools but having the right tool for the job is a diffrent story.

dont get me wrong i like the connected feeling and the extra power from clipless and have never not been able to unclip, i just think there better suited to dryer climates.

ravey1981

All this stuff about not being able to unclip is non-sense. I have used them for years and bar for a month or so at the beginning to learn how to use them I've never had a problem. Even in winter.. I find that I can clip in and out at will

ravey1981

All this stuff about not being able to unclip is non-sense. I have used them for years and bar for a month or so at the beginning to learn how to use them I've never had a problem. Even in winter.. I find that I can clip in and out at will

NIGEL_ASH

bomberesque wrote:

don't blame the pedals.

I didn't, I blamed myself for not concentrating on where I was riding as stated in my opening post.
Being right handed, i'm more used to clipping out with my right foot when I come to a stop, more than unclipping out of the left. When trying to unclip the left foot in a split second emergency, it just didn't happen and I went down.
I'm not giving up on clipless, i've been using them a year now and have had a couple of stationary comedy falls when I first went over to them, but this was the first 'off' whilst on the move.
I do think clipless pedals make you a better rider with regard to balance and control over technical ground, as you learn to ride without dabbing, though not necessarily a faster rider as I can see the ability to dab at speed will give more confidence.

Alex

richg1979 wrote:

yep they are very dangerous in the winter, ive hung mine up until the summer.

never fell off with clipless, they just make winter riding hard work. ok if your just a xc nut or trail center nut but anything a bit scetchy and there a real hinderance.

you cant drift or slide your bike at high speed without getting your foot down in the winter too many diffrent slippery serfaces.

fast twisty downhill sections where it may require a foot down is bad with clipless as you need to get your foot back in before you get to the bottom of the decent, very dodgy fumbling about with a clipless pedal while traveling 25mph down hill over wet roots and rocks.

if your ones of these who say " you should never need to unclipp" well your just not trying hard enough.

and a poor craftman does blame his tools but having the right tool for the job is a diffrent story.

dont get me wrong i like the connected feeling and the extra power from clipless and have never not been able to unclip, i just think there better suited to dryer climates.

The current world champion, 3 time world cup champion, 8 times british champion, 2 time european champion, undisputed king of street racing and all round unbelievably fast guy, Steve Peat is a dedicated clipless pedal rider. Rain or shine, mud or dust, roots or rocks.

It's not about the pedals, it's the rider and what you're comfortable on. Clipless pedals don't stop you riding tech, you stop you riding tech.

I'm comfortable drifting both bikes and my feet come out of my pedals as quickly on clips as on my flats. I've ridden mile long rock gardens and 20 minute epicly steep rooty alipine descents in mud, in clips. The only single thing that I won't do in clips is skinny northshore, for obvious reasons.

HOWEVER: This business of "if your ones of these who say " you should never need to unclipp" well your just not trying hard enough."

Well, that's just a load of bull. If you're riding XC, and your feet aren't on the pedals you are not in control and you're not putting the power down. If you're riding DH and your feet aren't on the pedals, you're not really in control and you're not going to be able to put the power down as early as someone who keeps their foot in. Flats or clips.

If you're really trying, actually pushing, you'll be feet up all the way. A foot down is a costly error.

nicklouse

richg1979 wrote:

yep they are very dangerous in the winter, ive hung mine up until the summer.

.

Mmm my feet stay on better with SPDs in winter in frozen snowy Sweden than they do on Flats.

MTFU and learn how to manage your fear.

Alex

Another thing worth considering:

Cheap, short or moulded pin flats combed with non-waffle pattern skate shoes/trainers are desperately unsuited to mountainbiking. You will slip off them. You will arrive home with shins like raw hamburger. This will put you off riding. This is a bad thing.

You need to invest quite a bit in flat pedals and good quality sticky soled shoes before you get quality performance that gives a confident ride.

Cheap clips on the other hand work almost as well as well as the most expensive ones. You can't slip off a pedal and hamburger yourself if you're clipped in.

This means that when you arrive home with legs that took you up the hill faster than your flat pedal riding mates and aren't a mass of slices and bruises, you'll be wanting to go out for more.

dave_hill

ravey1981 wrote:

All this stuff about not being able to unclip is non-sense. I have used them for years and bar for a month or so at the beginning to learn how to use them I've never had a problem. Even in winter.. I find that I can clip in and out at will

Amen to that brother. It's all down to basic hand/eye/foot co-ordination.

I wonder if these people forget to dip the clutch as they bring their cars to a standstill?

Jenks66

Run my SPD's with low release preasure and after a few falls early on cant think of when I have fallen off due to not uclipping. Infact it amazes me how far into a crash I can be and still get my foot out in time to catch it.
Also worn cleats help

Surf-Matt

I was quite anti SPDs after two years of hating them (ten years ago). Finally relented and got some and have had one SPD crash - but they have got a LOT better now.

I just unclip my left foot if I think I might need to release - when it's very technical, when approaching a junction, etc - you can still pedal okay unclipped.

The overall benefit for trail grip and slight increase in efficiency is worth it.
And I was VERY anti for years!

ride_whenever

I've had some pretty bad hamburger incidents on my spds when I've managed to pull out of them...

Surf-Matt

Surf-Matt wrote:

I was quite anti SPDs after two years of hating them (ten years ago). Finally relented and got some and have had one SPD crash - but they (latest SPDs) have got a LOT better than the early Ritcheys I had.

I just unclip my left foot if I think I might need to release - when it's very technical, when approaching a junction, etc - you can still pedal okay unclipped.

The overall benefit for trail grip and slight increase in efficiency is worth it.
And I was VERY anti for years!

Alex

ride_whenever wrote:

I've had some pretty bad hamburger incidents on my spds when I've managed to pull out of them...

*winces*

It doesn't happen as often, but it doesn't half hurt when it does. Especially on shimanos where the clip's like a little jaw waiting to take a bite...

ride_whenever

Try CB mallets, they have pins and clippy bits :oops:

very very painful.

Alex

I've got the older mallets. They've got potato peelers on the outside!

richg1979

ive never had any problem unclipping and rarely have a prob getting clipped back in but its just a couple of times that my mind is on a very tech slippy fast downhill that ive been fummbling around trying to get clipped back in.

and how much of the race is steve peat actually clipped in? hes running a flat clipless shoe with a flat clipless pedal so is there a need for him to stay unclipped from time to time????.

he wouldnt need clipless and pins if he was clipped in all the time, its the best of both worlds.

Alex

He'll spend nearly the whole race clipped in unless he needs to put a foot down. The reason you use a big platform for DH is

1. It makes it easier to find and clip back in if you do unclip and

2. Landing big drops and jumps on teensie weensie pedals hurts like stink if your shoes aren't stiff enough. Big platforms don't hurt as they support your feet better.

richg1979

but its not easyer to clip in with a flat/clipless pedal. :?

and if thats the case why do they have pins?

the reason they have a big platform is so they can stay unclipped for scetchy areas without slipping off.

toasty

On the note about drifting and things, using SPDs doesn't mean you're permanantly stuck on the pedals. If you're coming up to a corner you want to get you leg out on it's just as easy unclipping and using your leg as you would normally. You get very good at clipping back in again after a bit of practice too.

I've used them for a good few years now and have a hard time going back to flats.

Surf-Matt wrote:

And I was VERY anti for years!

Hehe, you aren't kidding Those threads were epic.

richg1979

thats fair enough if you intend dabbing your foot but a lot of the time i can drift the bike without taking my feet of the pedals so would not need to unclip its just the few times you hit a wet root or some smooth pebbles/cobbles mid drift when the bikes slides out and you need to get a foot down quick.

_Ferret_

richg1979 wrote:

thats fair enough if you intend dabbing your foot but a lot of the time i can drift the bike without taking my feet of the pedals so would not need to unclip its just the few times you hit a wet root or some smooth pebbles/cobbles mid drift when the bikes slides out and you need to get a foot down quick.

with practise you can always get your foot down (well.. almost always).
I've slid out on ice before now and managed to get my foot down in time - obviously that didn't help much and I still landed on my @rse, but still...