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Does clipping in and out become second nature??

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  • January 29, 2015 at 1:56 pm #23129
    charlie29

    I’ve only been on one ride since changing to clipless pedals, but on that the clipping in and out only worked when I had time to prepare. :S For the clipping in, more often than not, I couldn’t get the cleats in unless I looked down and whilst I was fine clipping out when I could plan ahead, it was different when I had to do it quickly. I panicked a few times and fell over once. I’ve heard that it’s normal at the start, does it eventually become second nature? :/

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  • January 31, 2015 at 4:37 am #829653
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    Colin Peyresourde

    The main thing is that you
    The main thing is that you have to keep thinking about your ride. If you are scrubbing off speed? Unclip. Coming to a junction? Unclip. Getting in traffic? Unclip. See your life flash before your eyes as a pedestrian makes a suicide bid? Unclip. It makes cycling a bit more of a mental alertness test, but you do then start to do it as second nature.

    I should add that what I mean inclipping, you are just twisting the foot to disengage the mechanism, if you don’t need to stop and the road is open again you just press down and off you go. You’ll normally have stopped pedalling because you know you’re going to slow, so when you come to push off you’ll reengage immediately if you don’t need to put the foot down.

    Finding the right point in shoe to engage can be problematic at times, even when you are familiar with the shoe and cleat system. But the more you do it the easier it becomes. A bit like learning the keys on a keyboard….I hope that you can touch type, but the point is you just get a feel for it and eventually you can get to a place where you don’t even need to look, though it is usually worth doing so on road SPDs.

    January 30, 2015 at 10:18 pm #829651
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    rnick

    Last time for me… Col de
    Last time for me… Col de Buttertubs, at the top, on a busy day early in July… there was a bit of an audience. The guy unloading ad hordings for Carrefour walked across the road with a 12ft hoarding just as I reached the top. I crossed the finish line, but sideways as I fell, with the landing cushioned by my son. We could only laugh. Not really the pedals fault, so persevere and unclip early.

    January 30, 2015 at 10:07 pm #829649
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    PhilRuss

    Get onto some grass (no, not
    Get onto some grass (no, not that…) like on the common/in a park, and do 100 clip-ins & clipouts before risking it at traffic lights.
    P.R.

    January 30, 2015 at 9:44 pm #829647
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    dotdash

    I was doing well then one of
    I was doing well then one of my bolts came out of the cleats and I couldn’t unclip my foot so went over.

    I now carry a few extra bolts and check the cleats before each ride.

    January 30, 2015 at 9:43 pm #829645
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    Steveal

    Don’t give up. I spent an age
    Don’t give up. I spent an age at the side of the house using the wheelie bin as a prop just clipping in and out again and again. Then the first few rides were on quiet roads avoiding lights practicing as I went. Unfortunately the inevitable happened one Sunday… I was passed by a local club who looked like pros compared to me. They stopped at a junction to wait for their back marker… I caught them up… And over I went. B-)

    January 30, 2015 at 9:38 pm #829643
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    MatthewH

    Remember my first fall, in
    Remember my first fall, in front of a (full) bus that was letting me out of a side road – luckily away from it…

    Bloody elbow due to that panicked and cumbersome fall, but the ego was worst off; has become second nature to half clip out my left foot when approaching lights now, and as someone said above, it feels REALLY weird riding without.

    January 30, 2015 at 9:19 pm #829641
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    jacknorell

    Everyone falls off… I
    Everyone falls off… I learned MTBing, and it’s always in a slow tricky corner, and usually land on a sharp rock.

    Note that switching shoes over will often change the position just enough to get tricky clipping in… and my Northwave’s have a different sole too which just slips right off!

    January 30, 2015 at 8:37 pm #829639
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    Alan Tullett

    It’s a good idea to loosen
    It’s a good idea to loosen the spring on the pedal at first so you can unclip even when stationary then you can tighten it a bit more later.

    January 30, 2015 at 5:30 pm #829637
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    barbarus

    Are you a driver? Remember
    Are you a driver? Remember when you used to put your foot on the clutch ages before stopping in case you stalled? Its like that – it becomes automatic. Don’t worry if you have to keep one foot in one foot out for some periods. If it builds confidence keep doing it. I often keep one foot free in traffic when things are very stop start.
    And as others have mentioned, at least you come unclipped when you fall, as I did on Saturday when my wheels went out from under me on ice up a steep Devon lane, water bottle in hand!

    January 30, 2015 at 3:38 pm #829635
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    charlie29

    I can’t believe it – I am
    I can’t believe it – I am supposed to go out with my cycling group tomorrow and I’ve been a bit apprehensive because of the clipping in/out issue. (|: So I just went for a quick ride and made a real mess of it – half the time I was too nervous of clipping in (in case I can’t get my foot out 8| ), so ended up chickening out and with one of my feet sort of only resting on the pedal. Grrrrr 🙁

    January 30, 2015 at 3:25 pm #829633
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    keef66

    They say pride comes before a
    They say pride comes before a fall. Couple of years ago I was on an online forum telling the world that I’d been using SPDs for nearly 10 years without ever falling off. That very weekend I coasted into a field gateway for a pee, and caught out by the uneven ground I unclipped left and fell right. Biggest fear was that I’d damaged my new softshell jacket; fortunately not. Then again a few months later I clipped in on the drive, and just as I was about to join the road I heard a vehicle approaching fast from my left. I dithered and all went tits up. Both feet clipped in, sideways onto the pavement. That one did hurt. Again the bike went expensive side down. Bloody knuckles, chunk out of saddle, large hole in knee. Having determined that I hadn’t been spotted by my wife I quickly hopped back on the bike and scooted down the hill. Only later in the ride did I discover that I’d bent the mech hanger and I couldn’t use the 3 biggest sprockets without the mech going into the wheel :”(

    January 30, 2015 at 2:51 pm #829631
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    Stumps

    Only come off once, unclipped
    Only come off once, unclipped my right pedal and fell left – i must have looked a right numpty to all the drivers at the lights #o

    I like the idea earlier though about practising on a turbo trainer.

    January 30, 2015 at 2:46 pm #829629
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    Leodis

    I had a clipless moment after
    I had a clipless moment after a quick stop at a roundabout, I broke my humerus, shattered my shoulder ball and ripped the muscles off my shoulder and ended up with 4 hour surgery adding some titanium. First ride out after 3 months I tried flats, it felt more dangerous with them than SPD’s so went back to SPD and made sure I unclipped one foot at any junction and run the tension on slack on the foot I put down.

    I’ve seen loads of experienced cyclists struggle to get the cleat into the pedal when setting off, if you need to look don’t worry or panic just take your time. Its when you get complacent problems happen and if you do fall, don’t stick your arm out.

    January 30, 2015 at 2:14 pm #829627
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    le Bidon

    I didn’t fall over when
    I didn’t fall over when getting used to mine, but it was a bit tricky at times. Now I don’t even think about it.

    January 30, 2015 at 11:38 am #829625
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    antigee

    if you have or can borrow a
    if you have or can borrow a turbo trainer then you can practice in safety

    think it was 2nd time out with spds and chain broke whilst standing up going up hill and yes the thought of hitting the cross bar with my favorite appendages flashed thru my brain but no I unclipped in time – doesn’t take long

    still sometimes do the dumb “what did you say?” sideways when setting off and have clipped in and forgotten

    great movie quotes: “I love the sound of cleats in the morning” …..maybe not

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