Had to Happen....

[rdp_au]

I upgraded to clipless pedals and shoes in March, after many years of riding with toeclips. After my first tentative forays, it seemed quite easy and I've been getting complacent, just slipping out one foot from the pedal while rolling to a stop, leaving the other foot still clipped in.

Well last weekend, I got my comeuppance! Pulled into a service station forecourt next to the coffee shop, unclipped left pedal, rolled to a stop

.... and slowly fell over to the right.....

Couldn't the right foot out in time, and clattered ungraciously to the concrete. The garage attendant, bless his soul, came out to ask if I was OK. The bike and I were fine, apart from my pride being in need of some repair.......

Cheers,

David

[DrEvil123]

You have to hate that feeling of falling and not being able to do anything about it!

I have come close to it on my bike but haven't managed to complete the transaction yet

[Mulger bill]

Welcome to the club David You're not the first

Mine happened at the rail station, afternoon peak

[AUbicycles]

.... and slowly fell over to the right.....

Slowly.... I can see it happening because I have experienced this as well. The time it actually takes to fall is an eternity.. there are so many thing you can do while falling:

- Twist... twist ... violently twist
- Maybe I forgot, am I mean to drop the heal while twisting
- Shake the whole damn leg, this has got to unclip
- Think about an old MacGyver... if only I had my trusty pocket knife and a bit of chewing gum i would be out of here in a Jiffy
- look around helplessly for something to grab on and break the fall
- look around to see who can see you do such a silly thing

And for a last laugh, after you have fallen over with your bike on top of you, you still can't get your foot out...

[rider06]

Trap for young players: never fall to the right. Not only do you suffer the ignominy of looking like a complete dick lying on the tarmac with a bike on top of you, you also run the risk of damaging your derailleur or hanger. Damaged pride = $0.00 Replacement Dura Ace/Ultegra/etc derailleur $LOTS. Golden rule: always fall to the left

[tuco]

Trap for young players: never fall to the right. Not only do you suffer the ignominy of looking like a complete dick lying on the tarmac with a bike on top of you, you also run the risk of damaging your derailleur or hanger. Damaged pride = $0.00 Replacement Dura Ace/Ultegra/etc derailleur $LOTS. Golden rule: always fall to the left

And most important of all, the traffic is on the right.

[Halfanewb]

I did something very similar when i first started riding the roadie. I was just getting confident with unclipping when stopping ,pedal at its lowest point foot out of the clip coast to a stop and put foot down on the gutter, well this one day i got a bit close to the gutter and turned the wheel away - big mistake! i could feel myself start falling and typical the left foot was at its highest point , i had no chance, so at the last second i stuck the knee out to take the fall and got a nice wound slightly larger than a 50c coin which took a month to heal.

The worst thing was it was right in front of my place and one of the neighbors across the road bust a gut laughing when he saw it happen - i laugh at myself now but at the time it was really embarrassing

After that i found i could adjust the tension on the pedals and now i always have the wheel slightly pointed to the unclipped foot!

[heavymetal]

I use multi release cleats and have the tension backed right off. I can release from any angle except the exact angle that I use for pedalling. So if I stop and forget to unclip, I can get my feet down in time.

[MichaelB]

I haven't done it yet, but came close once. That was enough to remind me to take care !!

Brother in law did it though. Came to a stop at home after a big ride and forgot that he had clipless pedals. Down like a sack of spuds !!!

[daacha]

I find it funny that when you feel yourself falling you can't get that foot unclipped but as soon as you hit the ground it pops right out.