Using clipless pedals for the first time

[vickster]

If you positioned your foot correctly on a flat pedal, you would have no more difficulty riding 100 miles on flats as you would with clipless. Clipless is not going to magically make any foot injury/problem go away. if you can't ride flats properly and be comfortable, clipless is going to be equally uncomfortable, if not more so because you will not be able to get any relief by shifting your feet around on the pedals.

Ummm where do you place your foot on the pedal 'correctly'...and consider doing that if you can't bend your knee beyond 100 degrees.
I don't need to shift my feet around on the pedals. I never mentioned a foot injury
When did you last ride 100 miles?

 

[Sharky]

with toe cages than clipless, and reckon there's probably very little difference in performance between the two.

One of the differences is if you want them to be a firm connection for pulling up when hill climbing or sprinting, you get that straight away with clip less. But with clips, you have to bend down to tighten the straps and if too tight, stops blood circulation and you can get pins and needles in the feet. So with clips you have to keep tightening then loosening them during the ride and try that on a fixed.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I've never understood the mentality of using clipless. My old Raleigh tourer has one-sided pedals that were designed to be used with toeclips, which I removed immediately I got the bike. The pedals always come to rest upside down because of where the weight is in them, and it annoys the hell out of me just having to flick the things the right way up with my toes every time I put a foot down then go to start off again. The only reason I put up with them even minus the actual toeclips is they are original to the bike and still in good sound condition. If I ever bought a bike that had clipless pedals fitted they would be going straight in the bin before my first ride.
There seems to be some school of thought that you have to use clipless in order to be a "proper cyclist", and that riders who insist on using flats are merely "blokes who ride bikes". Much the same mentality also seems to apply with regard to riding in cycling-specific kit rather than casual clothing.

OK then, it is not for you.

There is no conspiracy or a school of thought by clipped riders to consider themselves proper cyclists.
Get off your high horse. And don't forget to unclip before swinging that leg over.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Spend half an hour or so riding slowly on grass (Could be difficult given the recent soggy weather) repeatedly clipping in and out. Challenge yourself how late you can leave it - only grass to fall onto. That's how I started with them. I've never had a "clipless moment"

Amusingly, autocorrect is insisting on clueless for clipless.

 

[Gunk]

I’ve used SPD pedals for years on my road bike, I’m not into the full Lycra look and I’m not a club cyclist, but I do find clipless pedals make a big difference on longer rides. You get used to them pretty quickly and it soon becomes second nature to release a foot when you’re coming to a stop. So do persevere with them, definitely worth it.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Learn how to fall off gracefully.

 

[Racing roadkill]

https://biketestreviews.com/correct-pedal-stroke-the-efficient-biomechanics-of-pedaling/
Here’s a nice piece about why you ( pretty much ) need bindings of some description to be able to pedal at maximum efficiency. Max efficiency isn’t a concern for everyone, but why would you want to waste energy needlessly?
To paraphrase. You need to reduce the time taken between the bottom dead centre, and top dead centre of the rotation, and that’s best achieved if your foot is bound to the pedal, because you can accelerate the foot ( pull up and round / through ) far more easily if it’s bound to the pedal. Here’s another good article.
http://www.ilovebicycling.com/training-perfect-pedaling-technique/

 

[DCLane]

Edited for you:

Learn how to fall off stylishly.

 

[Milkfloat]

It is not obligatory to fall off in a 'clipless moment'. There are many of us who have never done it*
*Yet.

 

[DCBassman]

It is not obligatory to fall off in a 'clipless moment'. There are many of us who have never done it*
*Yet.

Then surely it's a near-miss? I've always understood that the 'clipless moment' was the full production, hitting the ground still proudly attached! Anything less...

 

[Sharky]

Another reason why clipless systems are better than clips:
In the days before clipless, most cycling shoes had leather soles. The pedals used were "platform" type, which were basically smooth, without any grip, but had a ridge, in which the cleats or shoe plates would sit in. When tightened properly, you could not get your feet out.

To fix the shoe plates onto the leather soles, required a last and knocking in nails to fix them and there was no mistake for getting it wrong. No "float" with those cleats. To get the correct alignment, I used to ride a few miles in the shoes, before attaching the plates, to get an impression on the sole of the shoe. But even then once nailed on, you realised you'd got it slightly wrong and had to remove them and re nail them on.

In spite of all that if you look closely at my avatar pic, you will see that I am riding with toe straps and clips, but that morning, I had forgotten my cycling shoes and was riding with ordinary shoes! However, I did my 2nd fastest ever 25 that morning, so all theory is out of the window!

 

[Milkfloat]

Then surely it's a near-miss? I've always understood that the 'clipless moment' was the full production, hitting the ground still proudly attached! Anything less...

I have fallen off for many reason, including comical ones such as going through a ford and getting a blow out, inattention causing me to ride off the road and multiple falls on ice, but I am yet to provide motorists with the mirth of seeing a lycra loony topple over at a set of traffic lights with their feet glued to pedals.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I have fallen off for many reason, including comical ones such as going through a ford and getting a blow out, inattention causing me to ride off the road and multiple falls on ice, but I am yet to provide motorists with the mirth of seeing a lycra loony topple over at a set of traffic lights with their feet glued to pedals.

You simply have not lived.

When it eventually does happen to you, remember it is customary to take a bow at the people in the cars behind you.

I don't encourage an encore though, no matter how much they applaud.

 

[DCBassman]

I have fallen off for many reason, including comical ones such as going through a ford and getting a blow out, inattention causing me to ride off the road and multiple falls on ice, but I am yet to provide motorists with the mirth of seeing a lycra loony topple over at a set of traffic lights with their feet glued to pedals.

Then I declare you officially free of 'clipless moments'.

 

[raleighnut]

I have fallen off for many reason, including comical ones such as going through a ford and getting a blow out, inattention causing me to ride off the road and multiple falls on ice, but I am yet to provide motorists with the mirth of seeing a lycra loony topple over at a set of traffic lights with their feet glued to pedals.

Have I mentioned I live across the road from a pub.