Ride all the time in clips on my spin bike and a couple times on a quiet road so I can get used to them. I fell nice and hard yesterday because I couldnât get one foot out of the clipsđĄ, even though I anticipated it! Iâm pretty sore today! Everything hurts but I climbed on my spin bike, logged on to my Zwift and peddled away!! Whatâs the secret timing to unclipping when youâre out on the road? I donât need to be falling on my face!!! I have the clips with 2 screws. Are the 3 screw clips better?
You need to twist you ankle lateraly out in preparation of stopping. As much as it hurts, falling like this is sort of considered âright of passageâ (which I am sure you were glad to passâŚ) In short, happens to a lot of riders.
Solution? Practice on soft surfaces, riding slowâŚ
Hope you recover soon!
B.
Also, depending on the type of pedals you have, check if you can adjust the tension needed to unclip. Many pedals have this and therefore your feet are not held in place as tightly, meaning it is easier to unclip.
Itâs also all about anticipation - unclip before you come to a standstill
Yup, a right of passage when using clipless pedals. One top tip is to always unclip the same foot (drivetrain side for me) so you could potentially have this pedal tension a little easier to start with.
As you get used to them you will learn to anticipate when you need to remove a foot at junctions and it will become second nature. You could also pratice track standing (in normal trainers at first) so you donât have to unclip.
My best fail was after passing a long queue of cars at a level crossing (railway crossing) getting to the front and forgetting to unclip. I then had to stand there for a few minutes waiting for two trains to pass while those cars behind me laughed and heckled me. Ahhh, good times!
Yeah, the secret is to anticipate when youâre going to stop. And how do you remember to anticipate stopping? Fall a couple times and youâll remember! Negative reinforcement isnât the most pleasant way to learn, but itâs incredibly effective.
The episode that cemented that lesson for me was: I came to a stop at the head of a line of traffic and unclipped one foot and set it down. Allâs well, right? Nope. I shifted such that my body weight was on the opposite side of the bikeâthe side with the foot still clipped inâand made a slow, elegant, arcing fall onto the pavement!
You donât forget those lessons, and thatâs how you get used to unclipping.
Ornoth, thatâs EXACTLY what happened to me Yes, ouch was in full force when the pavement greeted me lol!!! AndâŚthe handlebars smacked my collar bone . Bruises and scrapes everywhere. But, itâs cemented in to my brain now!!!
The tension on the cleats can be adjusted to make it easier or harder to clip out, there should be a tiny hex screw near the back of the pedal
Also if even minimum tension is too stiff then Shimano makes an easy release cleat SH-56 (regular is sh-51). I doubt youâd need to order these though, usually adjustment of what you have and practice will be enough
Had a friend set up his wife on clipless and every time they stopped she fell over because he had the tension set up really tight. Fortunately it was on dirt so it was mostly emotional pain not physical harm.
Thank you!!! My mistake was that I switched my regular clip pedals with the crappy ones on the spin bike. I thought⌠Eh, itâll be ok for this short ride. NOPE lol!!! The clip pedals that came with my bike were a joke! Lesson for sure learned! I wish I fell on dirt lol!
three things i did:
- practiced clipping in and out while i was still moving. donât wait till stop time, practice before then! itâs a âheel flickâ motion.
- always use the same foot in the beginning. (my right is always first out last in)
- learned on a mountain bike first. off-road tip-over seems more forgiving. also, youâre usually not moving as fast.
It ainât no rookie mistake - I do it at least once a year, and usually itâs because I let my mind drift off instead of being in the here and now. Last year I posted a good time up a 2000ft climb, got to the SAG stop at the top, fell over like a sack of potatoes. Itâs best to unclip before taking in the sweet aroma of honey waffles.
It occasionally happens indoors too, so Iâve improvised a âcrash bagâ so I don hurt the floor.
Hope you are OK.
Using clips (cleats) is a motor skill that is very much like learning to ride a bike in the first place. The process isnât, in the beginning, natural or instinctive and has to be a deliberate controlled action. Outside the mind has a lot of other things to deal with and its really easy to get it wrong and fall over. Using clips on a stationary bike doesnât give you the practice you need as the bike canât fall over.
Falling off when learning is a âright of passageâ, it happened to me twice. If you can pick quiet roads or paths and practice unclipping early it does help and will come to you naturally and without consciously thinking about doing it very quickly. Do stick with it and best of luck.
Best thing to do is to learn how to fall over without hurting yourself!
Oh, thatâll be a while lol