road1bike

Picked up my road bike today, and on the 5 mile ride home I fell at the two busiest intersections around!

dr_lha

First time on clipless?

lopek77

Keep going bud. I don't know anyone who has never fallen.

bassjones

Been there; done that.

1nterceptor

It happens, more details?

RomansFiveEight

I fell the second day on my bike. Misjudged my ability to make a U-turn. Realized too late, didn't unclip in time, fell in someones front yard. Oh well. Nice soft landing on the grass. Wore the mud-stains and leaves stuck to my jersey like a badge of honor the rest of the ride.

ray.garza

No worries. Everyone falls from young to the old. Do what I do, fall on someone to cushion the impact

road1bike

So I Leave the bike shop and ride the back alley and clip and unclip a few times. I am at a mall. I leave the mall and there is a lot of traffic. as I approach the intersection, a lady is about to make a right turn in an suv, she iis not even looking my way. She makes aright, and I make a business decision to stop the bike, I forgot I was clipped in, (first time on clips). I fall, People are pulling up to me asking"Sir are you alright?"

Second fall busiest intersection in town. I am on an incline, and when I push off I miss the pedal. Since I'm on an incline, i am not going fast enough, I fall again!!!!Right wrist sore, left knee bleeding.

I get to the bike path, and the ride home was smooth and easy.

I will go out tomorrow and just practice clipping in and out.

zandoval 

Falls... Sometimes it's just your turn...

TrojanHorse

Just make a point of unclipping one foot (the same foot every time) well before any projected stopping point or intersection and you'll have no further difficulties. Anytime you're slowing and < 5 mph is probably a good time to unclip. It'll become habit and you'll have no more stories.

It's not just clipless pedals either - I did it with toe clips once in the middle of a HUGE intersection in the left turn lane. I was laughing so hard I had trouble standing back up.

PhotoJoe 

Just make sure you also always lean toward the foo that is unclipped when you stop. Nothing worse than unclipping the left and falling to the right.

gjhsu

I did pretty much exactly this at a hike and bike trail here in town, right in front of the little gazebo where people gather to chat, refuel, etc. It's the slow-motion fall of shame

Unfortunately, I fell to the right, and bent up the rear derailleur hanger, so had to fix that when I got home with a wrench.

Top tip: As soon as I got home, I backed out the adjustment nut to the loosest, then went in 4 clicks. It's still well below the halfway mark, but I figure in an emergency, I'd rather be able to unclip with as little effort as needed, while not letting my foot unclip unintentionally.

Silvercivic27

Another tip: if you have to choose which foot to unclip with, choose the left foot. That way, you don't fall into the traffic lane, you fall in the shoulder. Opposite if you live somewhere that people drive on the left side of the road.

dagray

Oh I have fallen a few times on my road bike and my mountain bike.... the mountain bike being the funniest as I had unclipped my right foot, and then looked over my left shoulder to see where my son was (he was behind me a ways), and well I fell over on my left side.

My son had to help me get the bike off me so I could stand up. This was on a nice smooth repaved farm road with no traffic.

road1bike

So I went out and practiced this morning on a bike path with no cars. Every other stroke I unclipped. The right side I kept banging my knee into the frame. The left side I could not unclip! 5 miles total

I came home and started looking for directions on how to adjust the pedal. The bike shop left no instructions and no tool. I looked on the pedal and saw the directions. Loosened the clips 1 click. Went back out and realized I could click out in either direction. Much better. Another 5 miles

LGHT

Like the others said it happens to all of us my few falls were almost the same situation.

arex

I won't do clipless for this very reason. I know how to get out of toeclips really quick, I don't even have to think about it.

RomansFiveEight

I've only been doing clipless for a week and a half and I already get in and out without thinking. It's very easy. But you can get flustered/disoriented. There's no reason, even at a dead stop while falling, that you can't unclip. Except that we tend to instinctively want to slide out feet outward instead of twist them when panicked. Which wouldn't be any different with toeclips. You'd still have to take an unusual motion to free yourself; whether you learn that motion with toeclips or clipless.

dr_lha

Because learning a new skill is impossible?

JReade

I've fallen more in 2014 than I did in the 10 years prior. What changed? I started riding the local mtb trails. So many tumbles and crashes.

arex

No, because I'm acutely aware of how hard 320 pounds hits the ground.

Mark Stone

I've tumbled many times, but strangely never because of clips/straps or spds. When I first got my clips/straps (early 1980s) the bike shop guy told me to practice in my back yard in the grass, because "You will fall over once or twice til you get used to them". Then in 1990(?) or so I went to SPDs and a different bike shop guy told me the exact same thing. Now, decades later, I've never fallen because I was unable to unstrap or unclip. I've fallen for several other reasons but not that one.

And I never will, either. Why? I use platforms now and luv it.

Kaminokaze

Sometimes if you cant get your feet under you it happens.

dr_lha

I've experienced 290lbs hitting the ground. Once. Everyone falls once on clipless!

vesteroid

never actually fallen, but pulled into the driveway once after a very hard training session and unclipped one foot, but forgot to lean the correct way. I started hopping twords the grass still clipped in with one foot. I shook the bike so hard my other foot came out just before I fell.


In the melee I jabbed the big ring into my other leg several times and was bleeding like a stuck greasy pig.

All good stuff.