Originally Posted by
Maelochs
Clipless? Yeah, everyone has a different learning curve. My big problem is I want to stay clipped in and save it, and by the time my balance is that precarious, just the momentum of unclipping can almost knock me over. it's been a while since i felll .... but again, no fall is without risk. I am a large load and even falling just a few feet that is a lot of force, often hitting on a small area (like the point of a hip---ouch.)
Also ... I have fallen using rat-traps .... in front of a cop once. My shoe hung up and down i went ... int he middle of traffic but thankfully stopped at a traffic light.
Yep, about like I said. My biggest problem with the clipless was climbing on my driveway. Rear wheel spins.. and I keep going... and it spins again... and again... then I'm going over. So deciding when I can power through it vs stopping and walking.
I do think there is a minor difference between toeclips (without cleats) and clipless. The toeclips one can generally extract one's feet by just pushing down, heel first.
With the clipless, it is a slight upward twist.
Thus, I think toe clips may be slightly faster to get one's foot on the ground. And that fraction of a second may well be important.
Originally Posted by
Steve B.
Typical advice is to back the release spring tension all the way out, then ride around on the grass for an hour, clipping in and out till you get the hang of it.
I went from toe clips to clipless. I love the extra holding strength of the clipless, as well as holding the feet flat without pressure points on the soles.
However, I so hate pull-outs, so I quickly ramped up the tension to near the max.
I went straight onto the road after a few seconds practicing propped up next to something... Holding onto the blazer?
The LBS also offered to allow one to practice on their rollers, but I chose not to go with that route.