Worst fall out of the pedals ?

[Roadrider48]

Being clipped in does become second nature the longer you do it. I had to get used to riding my recent flat bar purchase with flats. It was a weird feeling for a couple of rides. I'm just so used to being clipped in now.
Had a couple of "clip less moments" early on; hilarious looking back. Even quite funny at the time.

 

[screenman]

I cannot remember the last time I had to think about unclipping.

 

[Tiny01]

I cannot remember the last time I had to think about unclipping.

How long have you been riding clipped in May I ask , approx how many rides until you don't even think about it , understand its different for everyone & also the location of the ride etc ....?

 

[screenman]

How long have you been riding clipped in May I ask , approx how many rides until you don't even think about it , understand its different for everyone & also the location of the ride etc ....?

Only about 25 years. I put them on the cross bike on a Saturday and raced on the Sunday. It was not something I ever thought about.

When you compare clipping with say driving a car it brings home that some people should not drive.

 

[Goofball]

Had just passed the police station and just about stopped at the roundabout at the train station.
When I wondered if it would be quicker using the small gate there than the big entrance on the roundabout.

This distracted me ( it's 5:20 am when this happened, brain not 100% yet) and I didn't think to put my food on the ground.

Next thing I know I'm falling sideways onto the footpath.
I went into a roll and was not hurt and bike was ok.

Quick look around and no one about and a hedge beside me blocked me from view by the police station.

 

[Scoop]

3rd ride into owning a road bike so clearly an expert by this point. Shot across a junction to go into a layby to admire the view. Brakes full on, went to put foot down forgetting I was clipped in. Rolled over right in front of a stream of Alton Towers traffic. Worst of it was that the car that was next to me was full of quit attractive women who were obviously laughing their heads off. Not done it since, other than uphill when my rear wheel lost all traction.

 

[RoubaixCube]

I fell only once, me and a mate were on the way to a social 'sky' ride that started from Richmond Park, went to Windsor & back. I was still fairly new to my M540 pedals and i accidently took a tumble at set of traffic lights. Smashed my knee up a bit. rear derailleur was out of line and the peice of metal which attached to it to the bike was bent so i pretty much had some mechanical issues from then on.

Managed to limp my way upto the meeting point up a bloody big hill. my friend lagged behind and took the wrong turn while I made the meeting point, spoke to the ride leader about mechanical issues & that i had a friend who was less then a minute away as he'd taken a wrong turn. She seemed more interested in cramming a ride briefing down my throat then listening to what i had to say and decided to take the group & leave without waiting for my friend. We ended up doing a few laps around Richmond Park before heading home.

That marked my first and last social sky ride as well as the first and the last fall i took with SPD pedals.

 

[slowmotion]

I bought my first road bike and SPDs about four years ago. For half an hour, I practiced clipping in and un-clipping leaning against the wall in my office. I made the three hundred yards of my first adventure down a busy road to the entrance of Battersea Park which has traffic-free tarmac round the perimeter. Pedalling along, feeling a bit over-confident, I noticed a lady who was having a mechanical on the grass verge, and drew to a halt asking if I could help.....at which point I very slowly crashed to the ground with both feet firmly attached to the pedals. Floundering on the tarmac, I simply couldn't get rid of the bike and started giggling. A group of concerned strangers rescued me and saw the humour. No harm done. It such situations, there really is no point in trying to be a hipster. Fess up to being a bit of a prat.

 

[Stevec047]

How long have you been riding clipped in May I ask , approx how many rides until you don't even think about it , understand its different for everyone & also the location of the ride etc ....?

I only put my clipless pedal on early part of this year and found it second nature after the first couple of rides. The best advice I can give is to unclip well before you need to when approaching junctions or difficult sections where you may need to come to a complete stop.

I have yet (touch wood) had any clipless moments.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I use them on the trainer in winter, and have had the same problem with cleat bolts and unclipping. Once, I had to take the whole shoe off. Check those cleat bolts, one and all.

 

[iamRayRay]

Fallen twice, once when I was practicing around the estate, looked like a lemon and splatted hard to the left. A BEAUTIFUL bruise on outside of my quad.

The second time with a friend when coasting up to zebra crossing, cleat on underside of my shoe twisted and broke off because it wasn't screwed on / torqued enough. SPLAT on floor, ego hurt more than anything.

Second time certainly avoidable, my cleats are now set fairly loose on pedals, shoes are tightened to within a micro millimetre of the thread max.

 

[RoubaixCube]

actually I lied - That wasnt the first and the last time i took a tumble. I took a tumble outside liverpool street station the day after i got the peice of aluminum replaced that sits between the frame & the rear derailleur I spoke of in my previous post.

Got on the bike pushed off but there were pedestrians all around me so i had to go REAL slow, so slow that i lost my balance and toppled over again. I couldnt unclip in time. That was honestly the last time i ever took a fall from being clipped in. Its all about seeing whats ahead and anticipating whats coming. There have been a few times where im filtering through traffic slowly and i go over a big ass pothole by accident which almost throws me off my bike. I panic'd and yanked my right foot out to get my balance back. This was with new SB-56 cleats.

Its all a learning experience anyway. earlier this week i thought id give SPD-SL cleats a go but i couldnt seem to get the cleat positioning correct to clip in and out properly so i didnt bother after messing with it for an hour

 

[mjr]

That marked my first and last social sky ride as well as the first and the last fall i took with SPD pedals.

Did the first time a letter was misdelivered mark your first and last use of the postal service, too? Ride Social is a bit of a mix, with newbie organisers as well as established groups from a wide variety of national bodies listed on there. If you find you don't get on with one organiser, just avoid that organiser - there's probably others on there that you'd find fun. I'd also have left them negative feedback on their ride's discussion tab - no point letting that be other people's first experience of group rides, else they might overreact and not go to any others.

Back to the pedals, are derailleur hangers and brake levers the bike parts most frequently-smashed in clipped-in standing-falls?

 

[Berk on a Bike]

Everyone who is new to clipless is allowed three falls

 

[Dogtrousers]

Only once. New shoes...I'd lost a cleat bolt and couldn't unclip!

Happened too me once, but I didn't fall off. I just had to spend the next 40 miles or so with my foot permanently attached to the bike. The ride ended at a station so I just pulled my foot out of the shoe and left it on the bike. I check bolts periodically now, but I always check new ones before the first few rides.