Can't stop falling when riding with clipless pedals! Need stopping tips! - Page 2

Tictactoe:

One of the things I teach my students is to practice kicking your heel out while standing up. You must first learn the motion of "swinging" your heel out while also keeping your foot flat. Try doing it now..seems easy right?

Trouble is when on your bike those childhood instincts engage and you inevitably try to lift your foot off the pedal, get stuck, panic and crash. To help you though this transition, practice "kicking" your foot out of the pedal very quickly. It takes some force to disengage from a clip and a lot of times if you don't get it on the first time, you freak out, try again, slow down then go over. One of the most important tricks to clipping out is the importance of doing it on the first time. Don't try easing it out, keep you foot flat and kick you heel out HARD. As you get used to kicking out under this force, you will become more comfortable to use less effort but with confidence you can get out in a spit second when needed. Work both feet also.

Good luck and don't get frustrated. Even we get caught in our pedals and go over at times too.

CatSpin

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Lead, follow or get out of the way.

This has been interesting reading! I just bought my bike about 2 months ago & was brave enough to go out yesterday & buy shoes & clipless pedals. I bought Specialized shoes & Look 357 pedals. I practiced yesterday by riding up my driveway & shooting out into the grass in my backyard. I can get the right shoe out of the clip (I'm right handed) quite easily, but the left is much harder for me to get out. I'm not very left side coordinated. Anyway, going to practice some more today & then head out into the road.

I fell 3 times today. I didn't get hurt but I was having a terrible time getting my left foot out of the clip. I can get out of the right side, but I want to be able to get out of the left just as easily in case that's the side on which I need to get out. Plus, on one of my falls I was out on the right side but the bike leaned left & down I went. My husband bought some Allen wrenches on the way home for lunch & loosened the left pedal as much as possible. I can get it out better now but I still dont' feel great about it. I'd like to get my training ride in today but don't feel good enough on these things yet to put myself out around cars. Is is possible to ride on these types of pedals with my tennis shoes for my training ride? I'd like to practice a few more days in the cul de sac of my street & the grass in my backyard with the clips before I head out around traffic.

OK, I've read the responses, but I think I know what you are looking for. I have been riding now for about 3 months, and this is what I have learned on my own which works best for me. I have been watching criterium racing about once a week, and specifically looking at the mechanics many of the racers use.

First stopping. This should become as slow and fluid as possible. The faster and more aggressive the stop is, the quicker you will have to disengage...not good for beginners.

Second, the finnesse... Pick your dominant side. My side is the right and I always use that side. When I'm slowing down, my right pedal is up my left pedal is down. This takes a little bit of coordination. While you are making your nice slow progressive stop, you are releasing the right foot, that right pedal stays in the up position. Bring your right foot in FRONT of the pedal and don't change positions. Lift yourself off your bike seat with your left foot and lean to the right. When that right foot comes down, PLANT IT as if it were stuck in cement, then quickly release your left foot, and almost start walking with that left foot to catch your momentum. I will hop a little on that right foot if I'm going to quickly, again that's where speed is important. The important thing to remember is to not let your legs get caught behind a pedal when stopping. Your foot is easiest beside or in front of it. I just get too tangled up, and it's a mess when it's behind a pedal. Be in front of them and away from them.

Third, your anxiety. Remind yourself that you are in control of the situation, and your bike. You will develop that sense of balance and ease with riding that you see with most experienced riders over time. Being tense will make your situation worse. I almost didn't want to go out knowing that I would be in clipless pedals, and I wanted to go back to the other method. Go someplace far away from cars and distractions. I go to a velodrome (I live five minutes from it) and just practice it. Go around once, get out of the pedals. You will lose precious fun time worrying about your pedals when really it's just something you need to get used to, and it doesn't happen overnight.

Biking is definately not anything like the childhood bike riding of the 70's. That was fun, wasn't it? What is this road racing all about? My first bike was a yellow hand me down from my older sister, and had this cool white plastic banana seat with blue and orange flowers, and of course, the bright orange flag which was about six feet tall, a must have embellishment for growing gals. My knees could have stopped me on that one I was so low to the ground, now I'm lucky my tips of my shoes touch.

Anyways, I really wanted to learn, so about three to four weeks after purchasing my bike, I was using them. I still get nervous, and I don't go around traffic very much, but I figure my comfort level is something that will come in time. Go at your own pace, you will know when you want more. I just fell over yesterday trying to fix my front brakes standing still with my left foot clipped in. Just remember to keep leaning to the unclipped side. That one guy who replied looks like John Travolta, doesn't he? ;^)

Yeah, In time you will just get a feel for the clip/cleat connection.. You will just know when you are clipped in and when you arent. You will also get better balance, so that when you cant clip out immediately, theres no panic. Just balance a bit longer and clip it out. I remember my clips froze a couple weeks after I got the bike - i could NOT clip either foot out. I had to slow down, balance, and take a foot out of a shoe so that I could get off!

You're absolutely right, I agree.

Keep your SPD's clean. Put a little dry road chain lube once a week if you ride a lot, and start with the tension screw backed out. This will make it easier to get out of, the downside is it also means you may unexpectedly unclip. Practice unclipping out of both pedals, you never know which side in an emergency you will need to unclip from. Don't worry about wrecking, I've always automatically come unclipped from my pedals when I crash at speed.

These tips work for me very well:

1. stand up early with ur one unclipped leg. This is very important because if your bike is properly fit, your feet can hardly touch the ground when your butt is on the saddle. Trying to stop when sitting on saddle is likely to fall;

2. regularly inspect/clean/lubricate your pedals and cleats;

3. practise pedaling with only one leg clipped in;

4. practise braking to almost stand still, then start pedaling and going again without unclipping your feet;

5. when landing your unclipped foot on the ground, shift your body weight to the same side;

6. turn handlebar about 10 degrees to the opposite direction of your unclipped foot when performing (5);

most of these techniques have been mentioned in this forum or some web sites

you may want to try the Speedplay Frog pedals. I haven't tried it (I'm using Speedplay X3) but I read alot of positive reviews about it on www.

Sheesh...if you think clipless pedals on a road bike is hard, try N. Clark Street in Chicago on a friday night with a track bike!

Cabbie/pedestrian/drunk Cub Fans NIGHTMARE!

lol

randy

You could learn to track stand

It would be best if people could say which pedals they have been using.
I find Look pedals are the hardest to get out of.
SDPR look similar to the Look system,
Time ATAC require a larger movement but less force. They have no tension adjstment.
SPD are variable and can be queit easy to get out of.

If you are MTB'ing you are more likely to have trouble while in the bush as you stop at logs etc without warning. Ideally you want to be able to finish a ride without unclipping.

I practice my track stands while riding around town, the traffic lights are common enough and provide lots of warning.

Brian

Hey, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who ever fell with clipless pedals!

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I've many a "foot fault" or involuntary dismount. It just takes time to get used to the system and to preempt when you will dismount.

Hope the dismounts are getting better

Brian

I have riden motor bikes for many years and the method of taking corners is, to take a left turn push the bars with your left hand, this induces the bike to lean left, do the oposite of course to turn fight. Try it out next time you ride!!

One other tip is to tilt your head to the side you want to put your foot down just prior to stopping. As everyones head is so heavy by doing this you automatically tend to fall to that side.
It works very well when motor bike riding, and that is with a much heavier machine (1150cc)

I'm not sure that this would be a good idea when cornering on a bike as they have much less mass and are easier to lean through changes in body position (like Tizers second post).

The footprint made by the tyres of push bikes and motor bikes are also different when leaning. Steering 'out' of the corner when cornering will make you fall off!