I am such a wuss

[London Female]

During a moment of madness I ordered some clipless pedals from my local bike shop, they are going to fit the pedals and cleats for me. They rang on Wednesday to say they were in and I made an excuse not to go to the shop.

I now have to go into town in the morning and their shop looks right onto the market square, I think I may go in wearing a full balaclava so they don't spot me . Eventually I am going to have to go in and at least pay for them...

 

[CopperCyclist]

It's like jumping into a cold pool - except you'll find the waters actually quite warm when you land

Just do it!

 

[MrJamie]

So, what time should we be arriving at the market square for the live entertainment?

I don't ride clipless, but I think there's an FAQ on here somewhere if you haven't seen it already which might give you more confidence.

 

[Steve H]

Take the car and pick the bike up. Go and find a nice quiet place for you first ride with them. First clipless rides should be a private affair

 

[Leescfc79]

It was my first clipless ride today, I had the luxury of practicing for a couple of days on the turbo but its really nothing to be worried about.

Go for it!!

 

[Boon 51]

I'm sure you will be fine with the clipless pedals... its all a bit OMG at the start.

 

[wisdom]

You will be fine,just take it easy and dont panic allow time coming up to junctions to unclip,use the same leg everytime and try to take back roads home,You can keep practicing unclipping and reclipping back as you ride along.
"keep calm and carry on"Good luck".

 

[Gary E]

Practicing clipless is a waste of time (other than to actually learn the action of clipping in and out).

When you're practicing you're thinking of nothing but the clips. Your first clipless moment is usually after you've had them for a while and forget they're there!!!

.....or was that just me?

 

[coffeejo]

For that first ride home, only clip one foot in until you're out of the busy town centre streets.

 

[London Female]

Take the car and pick the bike up. Go and find a nice quiet place for you first ride with them. First clipless rides should be a private affair

Good idea, I think schools are back tomorrow and I still have another week off so maybe the parks will be quiet. Thank you.

Jan

 

[London Female]

For that first ride home, only clip one foot in until you're out of the busy town centre streets.

I will definately give that a go. Thank you

Jan

 

[London Female]

So, what time should we be arriving at the market square for the live entertainment?

I don't ride clipless, but I think there's an FAQ on here somewhere if you haven't seen it already which might give you more confidence.

I have my disguise ready, just in case........

 

[wanda2010]

It's take a little while to adjust but you will get the hang of it. I practiced clipping in and out at home and on my first ride took it very slowly and unclipped way before reaching any lights or traffic. I did have a few clipless moments, always in slowmo AND publicly, but no injuries occurred .

If it helps, Shimano make multi-direction cleats which are easier to unclip (I've tested them ). The ref is SM-SH56. Good luck

 

[vickster]

I would say don't get too close to the car in front, they can stop much quicker than you. This happened to me while riding back from the shop clipped in on my new carbon bike, fortunately managed not to fall off. Also, have the tension as loose as possible to begin with - also my issue above, too tight for a beginner

Did you go SPD (2 bolt, recessed cleats) or SPD-SL (3 bolt, sticky out cleats)?

 

[London Female]

It's take a little while to adjust but you will get the hang of it. I practiced clipping in and out at home and on my first ride took it very slowly and unclipped way before reaching any lights or traffic. I did have a few clipless moments, always in slowmo AND publicly, but no injuries occurred .

If it helps, Shimano make multi-direction cleats which are easier to unclip (I've tested them ). The ref is SM-SH56. Good luck

I asked about the multi-direction cleats as I read about them in FAQ but the man in the shop didn't know what I was talking about. thank you for the Ref for them, I will take that with me tomorrow and ask again.

Thank you

Jan