The Chainlink

Clipless Pedal Fails

Hey Everyone,

 

To make some humor on Monday morning (and to recover my bruised ego) lets see if anyone has some clipless fail stories they would like to share. 

 

I bought my first pair this weekend and practiced plenty in the store to the point where I had no problem clipping in and out .  Once I got on the road, my prep did pay off, as I had no issues unclipping at lights without falling over. 

 

Until I got to Fullerton and Racine. 

 

As the light turned green and I was getting ready to proceed, I pushed off the ground with my unclipped left foot with a little too much force to the right.  In a somewhat slow motion topple I flopped over.  Didn't help that it was a crowded intersection with plenty of pedestrians, cars around me, and a whole group of people getting ready to get on the bus right behind me. 

 

Luckily no injuries except for a few scrapes for me and a mark on my handlebar tape (which im sure is normally the case), however the embarrassment was more than enough to ensure I dont make that mistake again, and I haven't.  At least the people around me were familiar with clipless pedals and didn't think it was my first time riding a bike and that I had no balance whatsoever. 

 

Anyone else with some stories?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve Cohen on August 9, 2013 at 1:16pm

Maybe I missed it, but has anyone complained about the OTHER problem with clipless?  Failing to clip in and having the pedal then whip around and bang your ankle.  Ouch!  Now that I am used to it I instinctively push my foot out if I fail to clip in, just to avoid this and then try again.  It does slow me down.  This is one arena where the MTB (Shimano SPD) clipless pedal is preferable, you can clip in on either side.

Permalink Reply by Frankie on August 9, 2013 at 1:37pm

Been there as well when it bangs on your ankle.  There are pros and cons either way right?

Permalink Reply by S on August 9, 2013 at 3:48pm

I've never had that issue.  I pretty much always have one foot clipped in when I start so if I miss the clip-in with my other foot, I can use the clipped in foot to move the crank appropriately.  I guess this is something that's fixed gear specific.


Steve Cohen said:

Maybe I missed it, but has anyone complained about the OTHER problem with clipless?  Failing to clip in and having the pedal then whip around and bang your ankle.  Ouch!  Now that I am used to it I instinctively push my foot out if I fail to clip in, just to avoid this and then try again.  It does slow me down.  This is one arena where the MTB (Shimano SPD) clipless pedal is preferable, you can clip in on either side.

Permalink Reply by physis 8.2 on August 9, 2013 at 3:59pm

Tried Power Grips first before going to clipless spd-sl and while I really liked the functionality - the mounting mechanism and the cheapness of all the parts of it (it's very easy to strip the screw holding the straps) and after just a few short weeks I binned them for the clipless (after spending hours re-engineering the daft things to hold the strap tight and removing stripped/stuck screws).  Also they ended up wearing down whatever shoes (leather) I wore pretty fast.

If you do consider the power grips, definitely skip the model that does not have any holes in it.  The "larger" model with the holes has a different attachement mechanism than the other.  Also consider the quality of your platform pedals before you attach, if the platform is flimsy the power grips aren't going to work very well.

I did not notice a huge adjustment to clipping in and out with clipless beyond the normal weird period (riding fixed) of starting and stopping (fixed only, freewheel's no issue).

Oh!  But I have fallen on my rear several times trying to learn to trackstand while clipless!

Gene Tenner said:

Power Grips ... all the power-transfer advantages of clipless without the getting-out-of problems, and you can wear whatever shoes you want.

Permalink Reply by Steve Cohen on August 9, 2013 at 4:11pm

Well, that's what I do too.  You always leave one foot clipped in, so if you miss the clip the other one does the work, and as long as you remember to move the foot that missed out of the way, you're fine.  But for newbies ... a small but painful learning curve.  I'm not against clipless at all.

S said:

I've never had that issue.  I pretty much always have one foot clipped in when I start so if I miss the clip-in with my other foot, I can use the clipped in foot to move the crank appropriately.  I guess this is something that's fixed gear specific.


Steve Cohen said:

Maybe I missed it, but has anyone complained about the OTHER problem with clipless?  Failing to clip in and having the pedal then whip around and bang your ankle.  Ouch!  Now that I am used to it I instinctively push my foot out if I fail to clip in, just to avoid this and then try again.  It does slow me down.  This is one arena where the MTB (Shimano SPD) clipless pedal is preferable, you can clip in on either side.

Permalink Reply by Thomas M. Anger (Mike) on August 11, 2013 at 6:52pm

Now and again it just happens.  I have been riding clipless for two months.  Sometimes you just fall over. As an aside, this winter I discovered that falling on ice is less painful than pavement, you just slide.  Keep pedaling, and everyone be careful on the Lakeshore path...that's where I ride.

Mike Anger

Permalink Reply by Kevin K on August 11, 2013 at 8:00pm

A rider contacts a bike at three points: feet/pedals, butt/saddle, and hands/handelbars.

It's obviously extremely dangerous and unbelievably inefficient to ride without your feet physically locked onto the pedals, with a clipless system.  But what about the other contact points?  

What we really need now are clipless-shorts and clipless-gloves.  That way your ass will be locked onto the saddle, and your hands will be locked onto the handlebars.

Then commuting on a bike will finally be safe & efficient.

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