So I just got my first set of clipless pedals today and I decided to take everyone's advice about trying it out before taking the bike on the trail. Many people have said that I need to practice on a trainer. I don't have a trainer and what other's have said as advice is that I should try only clipping in one pedal. Clip in and out until I get used to doing it. Well, my first 2 tries of clipping in led to 2 times of falling down on my side :mad2: . The bike is a bit scratched now (I guess that's expected for my first road bike and my first experience with clipless). I'm glad I got "low cost" bike as my first bike, but here's a small piece of advice for you other beginners who want to try clipless. Turn the tension on the springs all the way down. It makes it much easier to clip in and out. After falling down 2 times and realizing that it was near impossible to get out of the pedal I realized that if I turned down the tension it was much easier to get out. This is going to take a lot of practice, but it's a good start. You can increase the tension when you get better at it. No one gave me this advice, but it does make the first time experience much easier.

I think if it were my first time to try something new like clipless pedals...common sense should tell me to give them a try or 2 before actually taking off on the bike..just to make sure that I can actually get out of the pedals...just some advice for anyone else getting started.

And one more thing...clip out of the pedal before you stop the bike completely...that way you won't fall over. Now don't say nobody told you!

You don't need a trainer, although a trainer is a nice way to learn. You just need something to lean against, like a wall or a tree or a car. The last thing you want to do is clip in and start riding without discovering if you can get out.

Consider yourself initiated. Someone here wisely said "There are two types of people with clipless pedals; those that have tipped over and those that will."

My pedals are set on the weakest clip out tension and have been since day one. I have never inadvertantly pulled out.

Yeah, I hate tipping over when I'm sitting at a light. I always feel silly. It happens to the best of us. Look at the bright side, eventually you'll get so go good you won't even think about clipping out!

I went from clips and straps to crankbrothers quattro and the quattros have owned me A LOT less than the clips and straps used to. Straps = deathwish compared to clipless in my experience. And I was able to get right out on them. Very little practice was necessary at least with that design.

The only time you can fall with clipless is either when you are stopped or when you are going really really slow. All those times you should be unclipped before you stop and before you go slow. With most pedals you can unclip and still pedal a little ready to put your foot down.

i just got some clipless pedals and used them a couple weeks ago. i fell over a couple times. I got to a flat spot and practiced getting in and out. Still not too good at it, but i havent fallen since! I guess the pressure will be on at the next four way stop

it is such a helpless feeling when you can feel urself tipping over yet your foot just does not want to twist and catch yourself. timber!!

I was terrified the first time I went clipless, but after going around the block once, it felt totally natural! I have only used SPD's; maybe it takes longer to get used to other systems. Tipping over at a light is possibly the most embarrassing thing in the world, but it happens to everyone!

I went from clips and straps to crankbrothers quattro and the quattros have owned me A LOT less than the clips and straps used to. Straps = deathwish compared to clipless in my experience. And I was able to get right out on them. Very little practice was necessary at least with that design.

I also started with clips and straps, and I read all the horror stories relayed here about how much I was going to fall when I switched, but I found it a lot easier to get out. I've fallen rolling up the lip of my driveway before because I couldn't pull my foot out of a clip and strap, however with clipless petals I've never had a problem. As someone else in the thread echoed, I started with some cheap shimano petals and shoes, so maybe they're just easier to get started with.

i just started riding clipless last fall when I got my first road bike and i haven't fallen yet (although I've taken a long winter cycling hiatus because of lousy weather). but i'm waiting for the day when it'll happen.

i went with the speedplays cause the guys at the shop swore by them. i think it might help that I went with the speedplay x5 which has an earlier release angle.

i find that i often have problems getting my second foot clipped in, which can be awkward at 4-way stops with inpatient motorists waiting for me to ride through pedaling furiously with one leg.

anyway, its all worth it considering how nice it feels to ride clipped in with stiff shoes.

I think if it were my first time to try something new like clipless pedals...common sense should tell me to give them a try or 2 before actually taking off on the bike..just to make sure that I can actually get out of the pedals...just some advice for anyone else getting started.


I was trying them! I was at home in my garage leaning on a wall when I fell both times. It's hard to keep balance on a stationary bike especially if the tension on the release is set at something you are not used to. After lowering the tension I realized how much easier it was and didn't fall my other practices. Now it's all about practicing on the trails and roads...scary thought.

So I just got my first set of clipless pedals today and I decided to take everyone's advice about trying it out before taking the bike on the trail. Many people have said that I need to practice on a trainer. I don't have a trainer and what other's have said as advice is that I should try only clipping in one pedal. Clip in and out until I get used to doing it. Well, my first 2 tries of clipping in led to 2 times of falling down on my side :mad2: . The bike is a bit scratched now (I guess that's expected for my first road bike and my first experience with clipless). I'm glad I got "low cost" bike as my first bike, but here's a small piece of advice for you other beginners who want to try clipless. Turn the tension on the springs all the way down. It makes it much easier to clip in and out. After falling down 2 times and realizing that it was near impossible to get out of the pedal I realized that if I turned down the tension it was much easier to get out. This is going to take a lot of practice, but it's a good start. You can increase the tension when you get better at it. No one gave me this advice, but it does make the first time experience much easier.

Welcome to the club.

Everyone falls over eventually.

I've been riding clipless for what, 15 years- still managed to fall over into a snow bank last spring.

CB Quattros are the best for beginners, very easy to get into and the most important thing is very easy to get out of.

I agree with BenchPress265, CB Candy or Quattros are the easiest to get out of and easy to get into also. They're double sided. And can be used by beginners or advanced riders, not only for beginners. I used them on my First Century last year. And the only pedals you can use for both road and mountain bike shoes.

O.P.-I think you hit it right on the head: turn the tension down at first, then turn it up as you get more comfortable with using the clipless pedals. When I first went clipless, the guy at the shop that sold me the pedals was kind enough to tell me about this up front-so I didn't have to learn the hard way. He also said I'd fall over eventually, as everyone does. Three years later I still haven't fallen once. And.....just stating this should be enough to make me fall over on my very next ride!

After 20 min in my apartment parking lot I hit the trail on my mountain bike. I didn't have that much of an issue at all. I just make sure to clip out when ever I hit a patch that I knew I might slow down enough to put a foot down. I HAVE ate it a lot on the trails and been entangled in my bike due to being clipped in. There is no way around it, you gonna fall! At least there are not any large rocks to fall on in the streets. Well unless you take it into someone's yard or off the highway.

The advice from our LBS was to get in a doorway and hold yourself up with both arms while practicing clipping and unclipping. That helped our confidence a ton on the road.

My wife tipped once in the doorway when her hand slipped off the door frame - she was embarassed, but I was the only one who saw her. I brought her helmet to her and told her to wear it until she was finished practicing.

I tipped once on the road and slid into a bar ditch. Two cars were passing by and witnessed it. As far as embarassment, the only thing I can compare it to is giving a performance or presentation to a ton of people with your fly open. :blush2:

I hate this issue. Because I spend too much time at MTBR.

There is no reason you should fall with clipless pedals. Practice inside before hitting the road and planning ahead before stopping will avoid horizontal trackstands.

I have fallen twice on my roadie, once because a rock got caught in the cleat and I changed my mind to stop late and the second time was when I beat the guys I was riding with up a hill so rather than waiting I tried to go up a steep, slick, dirt walking path.

The rock was bad luck the second was me being stupid. Neither of which somebody who is just learning will have trouble with.

Because of the mountain biking I do I can unclip both feet and jump off the pedals whilst coming to a stop. Neat party trick.

So I just got my first set of clipless pedals today and I decided to take everyone's advice about trying it out before taking the bike on the trail. Many people have said that I need to practice on a trainer. I don't have a trainer and what other's have said as advice is that I should try only clipping in one pedal. Clip in and out until I get used to doing it. Well, my first 2 tries of clipping in led to 2 times of falling down on my side :mad2: . The bike is a bit scratched now (I guess that's expected for my first road bike and my first experience with clipless). I'm glad I got "low cost" bike as my first bike, but here's a small piece of advice for you other beginners who want to try clipless. Turn the tension on the springs all the way down. It makes it much easier to clip in and out. After falling down 2 times and realizing that it was near impossible to get out of the pedal I realized that if I turned down the tension it was much easier to get out. This is going to take a lot of practice, but it's a good start. You can increase the tension when you get better at it. No one gave me this advice, but it does make the first time experience much easier.

Yeah, there's a learning curve, and it's one of the laws of the universe that your chances of having a stupid looking low speed 'timber' type fall increase exponentially in the presence of pretty girls and hardcore roadies.

One bit of advice- practice your clip out- practice, practice, practice. At first, whenever you stop pedaling clip out. Then, whenever anything even slightly unusual happens- any surprise- clip out. If you can ride with a partner have him yell, "Now!" once in a while to see how fast you can get out of the pedals. If not, clip out every time you see a VW, or a car without a license plate, or a brown dog- just so your body gets used to doing it in a hurry and automatically.

And when you start up, no *****footing. If you have to make a low speed start don't clip in with both feet- and also practice putting the unclipped foot down- which means leaning that way in no uncertain terms to stop. (When I was learning I'd seen this piece of advice, had one foot out, and leaned the wrong way- flail arms and timber).

When you get good- when slowing, unclip every time you hit walking speed. You don't have to be the cool guy who stays clipped in and tries to do a track stand at the light, or grabs the light standard and holds on. I tried to do that when learning clipless- worked great about ten times- but the eleventh- ouch! And the carload of pretty girls next to me.

Sorry your bike got scratched, but it shows you ride it.

One bit of advice- practice your clip out- practice, practice, practice. If not, clip out every time you see a VW, or a car without a license plate, or a brown dog- just so your body gets used to doing it in a hurry and automatically.

Good advice except the dog part. When ever you see a dog you should not clip out but should pedal really really fast to get away. :)

Yeah, there's a learning curve, and it's one of the laws of the universe that your chances of having a stupid looking low speed 'timber' type fall increase exponentially in the presence of pretty girls and hardcore roadies.

And in my case, the police.

I've fallen all the way over once. That was when I rode my bike home from the shop (only about 2 miles). Managed to unclip through one huge intersection and not fall over in front of dozens of cars.

When I got home, however, everyone was waiting for me so we could go out to dinner. Of course they are saying, "Josh should be getting back soon." "oh, there he is."

I knew I was going to fall over as I slowed down, even though I had clipped and unclipped dozens of times in the parking lot of the store. Was rather comical because I stopped, balanced for a second, then fell over. Into grass :D

I've been riding clipless since last summer, after riding with clipless in spin class, so that was good practice. My dad was not so lucky and ended up completely tipping over last July, tearing his rotator cuff. My only bad spill was right in the driveway (we have a long one) and, as seems to be the custom, there just happened to be a neighborhood cyclist riding past, along with two cars.

My first spill when learning the clipless pedals was when I was on a mountain bike. I rode up to a couple of my buddies and started to tell them something. I wasn't paying attention to how slow I was going or the patch of soft sand that did me in. CRASH! Over I went right in front of them. I looked up and they were trying not to crack up but I told them to go ahead and laugh, like good friends they obliged.

Been riding clipless now for so long it is hard to remember... more than 10 years. The other day i was on my MTB hit a big rock stopped and leaned into against a tree on the uphill side thinking i could push off the tree and make it over the rock. I pushed off the tree and tipped over on the left side, down the hill... when i came to rest i was still clipped into my bike having done nearly a full roll
needless to day my buddies were quite amused.

I have been on the other side too, bike on the rack on top of the car, commuter pulling up on the cross street and fighting madly to get unclipped as he tipped over. It is a lot like watching a train wreck, and there is nothing you can say that is going to make him feel any better.

luckily both of my falls with clipless have been rather slow. but as i was going down a hill today i was thinking... if i were to fall going 20mph+ would i rather just flip over the handle bars or be connected... scary thought.

but I went riding with my friends and my buddy Colin loosened my right pedal and not the left... I wish this post was up 2 weeks ago when i got my bike and started riding.

thanks =]

if i were to fall going 20mph+ would i rather just flip over the handle bars or be connected... scary thought.




Shouldn't be scary at all. Being clipped in won't stop you from going over the handlebars. Ask yourself two questions- What do I weigh? What does my bike weigh? If you start to go you just pull the bike along over the top behind you. The good news is unless you hit a barrier the chances of going over the bars are almost zero. The one time I was able to lift the back wheel was in a panic stop going down a _steep_ hill. All my other panic stops have just locked the wheels.

If you start to go down at speed there are a lot of things to think of- like not locking your arm and lifting your hip. (You're often on the ground before you can think of these things- going down tends to happen fast). But if you get them both done, then you can consider unclipping. I think I've ended up clipped in after falling once- low speed on a mountain bike- one pedal still clipped. The jar of the fall usually unclips you.

Yeah, there's a learning curve, and it's one of the laws of the universe that your chances of having a stupid looking low speed 'timber' type fall increase exponentially in the presence of pretty girls and hardcore roadies.

One bit of advice- practice your clip out- practice, practice, practice. At first, whenever you stop pedaling clip out. Then, whenever anything even slightly unusual happens- any surprise- clip out. If you can ride with a partner have him yell, "Now!" once in a while to see how fast you can get out of the pedals. If not, clip out every time you see a VW, or a car without a license plate, or a brown dog- just so your body gets used to doing it in a hurry and automatically.

And when you start up, no *****footing. If you have to make a low speed start don't clip in with both feet- and also practice putting the unclipped foot down- which means leaning that way in no uncertain terms to stop. (When I was learning I'd seen this piece of advice, had one foot out, and leaned the wrong way- flail arms and timber).

When you get good- when slowing, unclip every time you hit walking speed. You don't have to be the cool guy who stays clipped in and tries to do a track stand at the light, or grabs the light standard and holds on. I tried to do that when learning clipless- worked great about ten times- but the eleventh- ouch! And the carload of pretty girls next to me.

Sorry your bike got scratched, but it shows you ride it.
+1
The way I unclip for a stop now is the following:
shift to a lower gear.
slow down
unclip the landing gear (foot) on the side I'll be leaning on. usually the left side.
stay clipped in on the opposite side
stand on the clipped foot and start leaning towards the unclipped side
once I come to a complete stop, lower the landing gear (a combination of leaning and lowering myself on the clipped pedal)
if I need to unclip the other foot, then I do so

One big mistake that I did before properly clipping was to unclip both feet while slowing down. I assumed, very incorrectly, that I should be unclipped (in anticipation of not knowing which way to lean), and that if I needed stand on the pedal, I could do so. The shoes I use have slick bottoms, which nearly caused me to become a eunuch. I tried gluing rubber pads on the shoes, which worked, but I eventually learned to unclip correctly, or at least what works for me.

+1
The way I unclip for a stop now is the following:
shift to a lower gear.
slow down
unclip the landing gear (foot) on the side I'll be leaning on. usually the left side.
stay clipped in on the opposite side
stand on the clipped foot and start leaning towards the unclipped side
once I come to a complete stop, lower the landing gear (a combination of leaning and lowering myself on the clipped pedal)
if I need to unclip the other foot, then I do so

One big mistake that I did before properly clipping was to unclip both feet while slowing down. I assumed, very incorrectly, that I should be unclipped (in anticipation of not knowing which way to lean), and that if I needed stand on the pedal, I could do so. The shoes I use have slick bottoms, which nearly caused me to become a eunuch. I tried gluing rubber pads on the shoes, which worked, but I eventually learned to unclip correctly, or at least what works for me.

I used to do it your way, and more power to you if you've never had an accident doing it like that, but I fell when "something" happened. I think I hopped my landing foot, ended up off balance the other way- timber! I nearly did it again when I was stopped and turned my head towards a noise. Now, even though I've got many thousands of clipless miles, I always unclip both feet. If I need to go I reclip- just like unclipping becomes automatic, so does clipping in. Everybody misses a clip in occasionally, but I've never stalled because of it. (Yes, new shoes are slick on the bottom. You should never try to stand or accelerate hard without clipping in. After a while it's easy to rest your feet on the pedals unclipped because they naturally scuff up with wear. You can hurry it with sandpaper.)