Worst places you have done a Del Boy on your bike ?

diy

Riding MTB at the top of the southdowns way we were in group of about 8, coming up to cross the road at the top of the beacon and my mate riding in front of me stopped suddenly as a car rounded the bend. unbeknown to me one of my screws had come out of my SPD cleats, so no amount of twisting was going to free my foot. I tumbled down about 8 feet of steep chalky/flinty bank and landed in a pile at the bank of the road. As someone who gets vasovagal syncope (fainting at the sight of blood), I then had to lay down for moment to avoid passing out - to the tune of MTFU from the rest of the group.

My mate had it worse, 1st time in SPDs he forgot to uncleat and toppled over in the middle of the road and had to be helped up by a bunch of girls on their Duke of Edinburgh awards hike. I distinctly remember him laying on his back like a beatle trying to get his bike off his feet and stand up.

keef66

I posted on here that I'd never had a clipless fall. The very next day I spotted an opportunity for a pee in a field gateway, pulled in and unclipped my left foot. Unfortunately the ground was more uneven than I'd expected and the bike went over to the right. Luckily it was quite dry, so I wasn't plastered in mud, and the secluded nature of the spot meant that nobody saw it happen.

Simmo72

1989, my first outing on clipless (look) pedals. it was a cold February winters days, we were going up a single lane track and a car came the other way. I stopped moving forward, but cursed gravity took over and I fell head first into into an ice cold water logged ditch still attached to my bike. I nearly drowned as I could release my feet and my friend was to busy pissing himself laughing to offer any help. I am still reminded this day but I have never had another clipless incident since.

On a side note, on sunday I was in the car and saw a chap on a top end colnago try to do a trackstand in traffic. He went straight over like a sack of spuds, clearly it hurt but he was up on his bike in miliseconds, no doubt the humiliation hid the pain.......yes I know its cruel but I sniggered.

Road Red

First weekend ride on my new bike a few years ago and I am approaching a steepish hill. Just before the hill there is a turning to the left from which a line of of horses and riders are about to emerge. I put on a bit of a sprint to get to the hill before they do. I ever so slightly cut off the leading lady who gives me a bit of a glare.

I panic a bit as I hit the hill and try some fast gear changing. Chain locks up and I tip gently into the hedge. Not sure how quickly, or slowly, I could disengage from my bike and the hedge (and not wanting to upset the stern lady again) I decided to stay put till they passed.

Stern lady passed first and asked 'Are you alright in there?' 'Yes, thank you.' I replied.
I sat there while her 4 or 5 young girl students all passed and we politely said Good Morning to each other! :oops:

Didn't learn too much either, I fell off again a week later!

ricky1980

done it a couple of times
first time was the very first ride on my clipless, almost got to work, the last set of lights i forgot i had clipless and didn't click out...then fell way-ward right in front of a stream of pedestrians...me red faced needless to say

second time i fell as i was coming down a hill again a set of lights...stopped too quickly and got out of balance and wiggled like a worm trying to get my weight shifted to the opposite side and fell anyway...laughing van drivers went pass moments later

johnny25

Was practicing in the kitchen between the cooker and the fridge freeze, using the cooker rail to balance. Managed to get both cleats in, then lost my balance and fell towards to fridge freezer. My left shoulder took the brunt of the collapse as it came into contact with the fridge freezer. I was wedge at a 40 degree or so angle for about 10 seconds until I managed to release my left foot.

After that I have managed not to fall over again in the kitchen.

oldwelshman

johnny25 wrote:

Was practicing in the kitchen between the cooker and the fridge freeze, using the cooker rail to balance. Managed to get both cleats in, then lost my balance and fell towards to fridge freezer. My left shoulder took the brunt of the collapse as it came into contact with the fridge freezer. I was wedge at a 40 degree or so angle for about 10 seconds until I managed to release my left foot.

After that I have managed not to fall over again in the kitchen.

Practice in a kitchen? lol.
I dont know why people try to practice when stationary you neve clip in or out when stationary and it feels different anyway lol.
Its much easier to practice when moving, also I am always surprised how late people unclip and sure this is reason many people fall off.
It should be instinctive to turn foot when you see hazards ahead, no need to wait until late. Last year I hit long patch of ice and unclipped both feet fast and managed to stay up.

jasonbrim

My dad's story is probably much better than mine, but you can decide for yourself.

Dad's: His first time using clipless pedals about 25-30 years ago. He was cycling through Winchester and slowly pulled up to a set of red lights. Not remembering he had clipless, and also being the first time he had used them, he casually stopped and instantly fell over! He said that he didn't have time to remember to either try to pull his feet off the pedals or twist to unclip, he just fell over in confusion of what to do. This gave me great confidence when he bought me my first set of clipless shoes :-O

Mine: We were cycling in Cornwall during a cycling/surfing holiday, and had cycled the Camel Estuary to Padstow for lunch in the harbour. I had unclipped my shoes, as there were a lot of people but we were still able to move slowly on the bikes. Suddenly a small child ran infront of me and my shoe clipped back in as I was trying to pull it off the pedal to put my foot down. I managed to get my foot out, but that caused me to fall over onto the chain side, also coming out of that pedal and sliding about 30 cm from the edge of the path to where the water is. Close to falling in!

I have also had a few "near misses" or "half Del Boys", where I'm doing a track stand at some lights, or rolling slowly, and then suddenly having to stop or losing balance and unclipping just before the bike falls over, resulting in a scratched crank arm or pedal, and often a nice chain indent in the other leg.

dynamicbrick

Not done it on a bicycle yet, but my motorbike based display of epic halfwittery might amuse you lot...

Tescos, Saturday morning, 1994 - I'm on a TZR250 Reverse Cylinder. For those not in the know, Yamaha had the inspired decision to put the carbs at the front of the engine, and the exhausts at the back so they had a straight run out under the seat unit. No idea why all parallel twins don't/didn't do this. Anyhow, one consequence of this is the thing was highly strung even by the standards day and very peaky - usable power was 8500rpm to 9250rpm. This is important information given what happened next.

Pottering into Tescos it is very busy, and I'm looking for a space to put this thing in. Literally mooching at 2mph. Somewhere along the line my brain decides to disregard the 'balance the bike' process as unimportant. Consequently I just fall over... in front of what seemed to be about 6,000 people. All of them providing rousing cheer for my efforts.

Flustered, I haul the bike upright and ride off in shame... fail to check the damage. If I had, I'd have noted the gear lever is bent under the footrest hanger and can now only change up. I get out onto the bypass and shortshift up through the box into 5th, still blissfully unaware that I'm now consigned to 5th or 6th gear only.

Into the town centre, and onto the high street. Slowing to a pelican crossing I suddenly discover I'm stuck in fifth gear on a bike with no real power or torque until the upper reaches of the rev range. To make matters worse, the high street is up hill for about 1/4 mile, with another three pelican crossings... all of them against me.

Somehow managed to make the first getaway with a bit of furious footwork and a lot of clutch slip. Second set the dry clutch is squealing like a pig in a cement mixer - they're not designed for this sort of abuse. The sound of tortured clutch plates and highly strung two stroke twin is making all the Saturday morning shoppers stop and look.

Third and final set... almost clear... clutch is slipping like a swine and making the most tremendous racket. I swing my left leg over the back of bike to start running/pushing it; not a difficult move, not really any worse than doing it on a push bike. The dry clutch reaches deep into its mental and physical reserves and resolves to bite 100%... at the precise second I swing my leg over the seat unit.

The engine not having the torque to deal with this sudden engagement of power just stops. The rear wheel locks. Forward momentum comes to a complete halt... except, that is, for the half dismounted power ranger, who carries on moving for a few foot.

Another rousing cheer from watching crowd as I fall inelegantly off the bike again, and like a real pro I refuse to let go of the bars (I can save it! I can save it!) thus bringing the thing over on top of me, where it proceeded to focus all its weight into the fuel tank area, which neatly connected with my plums.

djm501

That sounds a bit like an incident with me on my bike when I was a kid at University. Back then I didn't do biking properly. I rode around at night like a ninja, rode on pavements - all the bad stuff. I had a second hand Peugeot 'racer' - all I knew at the time about bikes was that there were racers, non racers, the newly fledged 'mountain bike' and the old BMXs, choppers and stuff in the days of yore.
So I didn't really do anything about maintaining it and it had brakes that basically didn't work. To slow the bike down at all I had to ram on the front brake as hard as I could and then maybe dig my heels into the floor.

One day I met one of my housemates at the student union and he said he'd meet me at home to go out for the night or something but I didn't have my bike with me to get home soon - we lived about 3 miles away so he offered to lend me his. Great :-) So I got on his bike and started to head down the hill of the Students union. Soon needing to brake I immediately went into the now routine method of ramming on my front brake as hard as possible and then...

...only this wasn't my bike...

...it had *good* brakes.

It stopped rather abruptly, I did not and went soaring elegantly over the handlebars and crashing into the ground headfirst like a sack of spuds. Much to the amusement of the many many witnesses.
My reaction was just like Del-boy. Shrug the shoulders, pull an 'I'm cool' routine and then hare off as quick as possible.

I got new brake blocks for my bike very soon afterwards.

dyson1590

4th ride out with my shiny new bike and clipless pedals and no problems until my Dad stopped suddenly in front of me and I just couldn't unclip! Decked it straight onto cobbles outside a cafe with a large seating area and a lot of people watching. Then we came out of the cafe and I completely over thought getting back on and did it again...just to the other side!

It appears saying s**t repeatedly is my panic vocabulary.

jonomc4

done it a few times

1) cycling along lens fell out of my sunglasses - I was a tad taken by surprise and braked quickly to get lens from road before it got car'd - stopped but forgot all about clips - fell to the curb like a redwood

2) in very busy traffic second day on clipless - about to overtake bus but then saw roundabout just ahead and decided it was better to remain behind bus - forgot clips - fell in middle of road to the amusment of cars behind - I gave them a bow.

3) Cycling past London Bridge tain/tube station - literally thousand of people - policeman walked in front of me - slammed brakes on forgot clips - major embaresment!

4) Comming out of underground car park - you go up a steep slope and then wait for the doorman to open electric gates - doorman must be sleeping - I stop - I wobble - I fall. Really pissed off with doorman but I couldnt complain as they have CCTV there and he may have sent it to YBF if I annoyed him so I just went back - locked bike - up some stairs and politley suggested it might be nice if he opened the gate for me - all the time wantimng to cut his throat!

ShutUpLegs

Brilliant

teisetrotter

Just did it on my club run. We are all pausing to get back together and I ride across to the other side of the T junction. I stop unclip one foot and try to show off by turning the bike 90 degrees by lifting the back wheel off the ground with my clipped in foot and keeping the front break on.

However you still need to not take your own leg out ..... which I did and landed in a heap, bike in the air, looking like a little show off prick ....... well looking like someone failing to be a little show of prick.

fast as fupp

sorry-but what on earth's a 'del-boy'? :?:

tetley10

fast as fupp wrote:

sorry-but what on earth's a 'del-boy'? :?:

I think there is a link at the beginning of the thread. However, if you've got two minutes time going spare I'd suggest getting on YouTube and searching Del Boy falls through bar. Well worth it.