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
Had to Happen....
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Postby Mulger bill » Tue May 01, 2007 11:36 pm
Welcome to the club David You're not the first
Mine happened at the rail station, afternoon peak
Mine happened at the rail station, afternoon peak
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Re: Had to Happen....
Postby AUbicycles » Thu May 03, 2007 5:32 am
rdp_au wrote: .... 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...
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Postby rider06 » Thu May 03, 2007 11:07 am
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
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Postby tuco » Thu May 03, 2007 11:10 am
And most important of all, the traffic is on the right.rider06 wrote: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
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Postby Halfanewb » Thu May 03, 2007 11:27 am
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!
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!
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Postby heavymetal » Thu May 03, 2007 10:33 pm
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.
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