rms13

I've been using them for 3 weeks and I had my third fall today. Do I suck or am I doing well?

thecyclingadmin

I didn't start commuting until after I had been on a bike for yearsand already upgraded to cat 4 and was into it quite a bit, I also lived in Houston at the time which is terribly unfriendly for bike commuting. Now that I'm in Austin I started commuting and it's fun as hell.

So luckily for me, never

Mumonkan

my only 0 mph crash with clipless was when i was horsing around on a gravel fire road and decided to turn around at the end of a trail before it turned into sand
the gravel was rather large and loose and since im on a fixed gear i went right over

J.C. Koto

Never fallen with clipless pedals proper, but I have fallen with clips-n-straps, at a very busy stop sign no less. Once. I've had a few panic moments where I forgot to release my foot while approaching a stop and almost fell, but was able to get my foot out and down in the nick of time.

OP, are you forgetting to unclip until the last moment, or missing the clip when clipping in, or what is happening to make you fall?

caloso

Never. If you have ever used old school clips and straps, you know what a PITA those were. You had to reach down, loosen the strap by hand, and wriggle your foot out. Took some planning as you came to an intersection.

Clipless is just kicking out your heel a little.

rms13

One time I was at a stop and expecting the car in front to go but they hesitated for a long time and I never unclipped and fell. Zero speed , my fault 100%. The other two were because I had to stop quickly to avoid a collision and in my panic I didn't get out fast enough.

treadtread

Never fallen - not yet anyway

no1mad 

Never... but I've never used them. I did fall at an intersection once while using my platform pedals- my shoe lace on the right side came loose and got wrapped around the crank arm

megalowmatt

Once months after I started using them. I was at a stop resting with one foot on a rock when the front wheel began to swing around. My other foot was still clipped in and I went down. It was all in slow motion and no injuries.

tjspiel

I've done it a couple times in the last 4 years. I'm not convinced it won't happen again.

tergal

twice !!

1st) taking off at a set of lights, i misjudged how fast the car in front of me would pick up speed. I clipped in started to pedal then notice he had barely started to move... in my haste to stop i forgot to unclip. 100% my fault and i spent a good 5 mins sitting on the side of the road laughing at myself and how i would have looked

2nd) was on a mup riding along and around a blind corner a lady on a bike was on the wrong side of the path . We both stopped in time i just forgot to unclip and fell on my side. strike two for brain to leg communications !

1nterceptor

Fell once when I started using clips and straps a long time ago.
Haven't fallen down yet on SPD's in over 5/6 years of commuting.
My last set of M540's wore out, someone gave me Look pedals so
I switched to that for about 3 months now. Harder to "click in"
than SPD's, but still haven't fallen though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFyXxrqWbPA

jdfriesen

I just started riding (after 10+ years off bikes entirely) early this month. I started with SPD-SL pedals, and to date, no falls, or anything close to it. Possibly helped by the fact that I was very conscious of it at the beginning, but I've find clipping out quickly very easy so far. Saying that, now I'll probably fall over tomorrow!

CandSAdventures

This question made me laugh! When I first got them, I practiced and practiced so I could say I was the one who never fell. A little time went by, felt cocky about it, tried to panic stop and turn around on a skinny MUP owned by a skunk and ended up falling. No big deal...pretty funny then and still is...I think the skunk laughed. The other time was at the Hotter N Hell last year. Not during the ride of course but before it. We pulled up the wonder blue plush restrooms and I unclipped my left shoe intending to lean that way but was too close to my brother, lost my balance and ended up falling to my right. Only about 200 people in the parking lot saw me. It is almost as funny as the skunk. It still makes me laugh and my brother still tells the story every chance he gets.

JohnDFW

Twice @ 0mph, lol. Having the retention screw at the loosest setting has saved me embarrassment a few times in panic stops.

Mr. Hairy Legs

Just once on a rec ride, never during a commute.

agent pombero

I dunno. I've fallen about 5 times, only one of those being during a commute. All were 0mph fall overs.

JanMM

If you think that you are doomed to falling over, you are at higher risk for falling over: Self-fulfilling prophecy.

I have never fallen over related to toe clips, PowerGrips or clipless pedals. Not that I can remember, anyway.

caloso

Wait. I take it back. I have fallen in a CX race when I couldn't disengage. I had my right foot out and was coasting up to a barrier. Couldn't get my left out and ran right into it. Lame.

(but never commuting)

DX-MAN

2x -- one on a buddy ride, when HE fell over on ME, and I had no chance; the other at an intersection, the pedal just wouldn't release -- until i was about six inches off the ground.... Both of those were with SPD's.

Since I got my ATACs, no issues; six years so far....

rms13

I guess I feel better about myself now. Actually though I don't care about embarrassment as long as I don't get hurt. I'm using egg beaters and I have them set on "easy mode" at 15 degrees to disengage instead of 20 degrees. My falls can all be chalked up to brain farts to some extent

Sixty Fiver

Never... not while commuting or road riding.

Crashing on the mountain bike usually involved other things and not my pedals.

CB HI

I had zero. Maybe I was just use to ski bindings.

bragi

I never fell when I used clipless pedals. However, I never felt very comfortable with them, either, so I switched to platform pedals with studs. My commute is about the same as before, only I'm wearing comfortable, practical walking shoes, and I'm not having to think about what to do with my feet at intersections.

jolly_ross

A good trick is to unclip just one foot where it is possible that you might have to stop - clicking back in if it turns out that you don't have to stop after all. As you know engaging the second pedal is easy when the first one is already clicked in.

I am continually unclipping-reclipping my left foot in traffic, the only cost is that the left cleat wears slightly quicker than the right, not so much that it bothers me though.

In answer to your first question I fell off on my first ride on cleats - 0 mph - beside a bus. Plenty of amused onlookers.