cycling crashes and staying clipped in ?

something i`ve been thinking about lately - but have no idea is as follows :

if your clipped into your spd's or other system. and you either crash into something or the bike slides from under you. I`m guessing you have very little chance of unclipping in time, which means you stay attached to the bike and will probably incurr more injuries.

however having read LA's 2 books - he documents several high speed accidents, in which he flies over the handle bars - how is this so ? do the pro's use a different system or are they clipped in very loosely ?

cheers

dave

 

You are only clipped in as much as the springs in the pedal allow. If you crash, chances are that the forces involved are enough to make the release mechanism in the pedal unclip you, even upwards. Pros have their pedal springs very tight - but then their crashes are pretty hard too.

 

I was just recently hit by an automobile, and one of my feet stayed clipped in.. the other didn't. I have no idea why one and not the other, but it seems that the foot next to the road is the one that came out.. perhaps the impact against the road?

 

Recently hit a rut on a downhill, off-road track and went over the handle-bars (landed on a my shoulder, broken collar bone). Bike landed three yards away from me and, I'm glad to say, my feet didn't follow. No idea how the bike detatched itself, but it did.

PS - one thnig that didn't detach itself (thank God) was my helmet. It split all the way down the side. That would've been my head if I hadn't been wearing it. Don't let anybody tell you that they don't do any good - wear one!

 

2 major crashes, with one over the bars.Unclipped both times.Don't ask me how.

 

Grew up riding trials - took a LOT of spills. Since you don't tend to fall perfectly in a straight direction, there are forces that tend to unclip you. But if you hit a parked car or a car jutting out and go over the hood - chances aren't too bad that the bike comes with you.

 

Once when the bike slid out from under me while cornering I not only stayed clipped in, but also retained my grip on the handlebar through the worst of the spill. Net result that time was that the pedal and handlebar took the worst of both slide and impact, leaving me with only a very minor abrasion on the hip. Pedal and handle bar were quite mangled, but better them than me.

 

I crashed into a car at 18 mph and unclipped. I guess I tried to unclip my spd's at the moment of impact. This also happened when I crashed into a corner at a criterium. In both crashes I flipped over the handlebars.

I didn't unclip when someone opened their SUV door on me. I laid on the ground after the crash with a misaligned handlebar and STI lever. From now on I bike with a Hex wrench set in case that happens again.

I also ran ito a person today who ran into my bike path. I stayed clipped and swiped her by the side.

In 1 year of biking I have had 5 crashes. My worst fear is running into a door at high speed, hence I either take the whole car lane or I don't bike fast in the city.

 

ive had my fair share of spills, and i have come unclipped each time, and interestingly enough each crash was on a different pedal system. it just happens, every crash that ive seen has left the rider clipped out.

 

I have had a couple of spills, - one seroius(damn bus!) one not so serious. When i was hit by the bus, i ended up on the side of the road well and truly unclipped. i think it was just because of the impact. The second occasion i couldn't get my feet out of the pedals in time.......

 

In an ideal situation you can use your bars/bike as somewhat as a shield, as one of the posters mentioned. Beyond that, a crash happens in fractions of a second -- too fast for the mind to be proactive. One or two bounches, and guaranteed your feet, legs, arms, body, etc. are going to be headed in pretty stange directions...pedals will have unclipped. That's how it happens. Not fun, but great for telling stories after the fact.

 

All four times that I've decked out my road bike, I've somehow unclipped without any anke damage. It's probably that same learned reflex that allows me to unclip without thinking about it when I stop.

 

Why don't you just go and crash and see if you clip out.

 

2 months ago a person ran out in front of me on my bike commute home and we collided (I was going about 18mph). I didn't have a scratch on me, except that my left foot stayed clipped in (Speedplay frog pedals) and my foot literally twised about 90 degrees, popping out, causing massive fractures, ruptured tendons, etc. I had 3 hours of surgery and I'll be on crutches for another 2 months.

I think this was probably a freak accident because you don't hear about this type of injury with clipless pedals often, but I won't be using clipless pedals again for a while. I figure since I don't "race" who cares if my pedaling is a less efficient without a clipless system. I'll just be happy to be biking again at all!

 

Holy cow, that's awful. Sorry to say, I'm in the same club as everyone else; I've always either 1) come unclipped while going down, or 2) went down gently and stayed clipped. Most of the time, the ski-binding effect seems to take over -- if it needs to happen, your foot will pop out long before your bones do.

 

I have really crap spd pedals...always coming out when I need them to hold strong...but with 2 major crashes i've been clipped in both times. One time a car hit me from the side while i was at full speed (20+)...not horrible broke 2 fingers...bent the bars. The other crash was downhill spinning out a 48/16 (~40) hit something and went over the bars landing on my back. In both cases staying clipped in basically threw more momentum into the slide which cause some major road rash. Road away both times though so...maybe staying in the pedals is good.

fix

 

A lot of times when we crash in races, it all happens way too fast to even attempt to get out of them. Two weeks ago I went down REAL hard and my left foot stayed clipped in a fraction of a second too long and really jacked my knee up good. My springs are tightened to the max, but most of the time I blow out without even thinking about it in a wreck.

Fixed- check your spring tension on those SPD's. If that seems fine, replacement cleats are cheap.