Clipless

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flag Svard75
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 9:24 Quote
Just bought clipless pedals and shoes. First time. Anyone have any good tips to minimize falling?

S
flag pbuser102331
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 9:39 Quote
Svard75 wrote:
Just bought clipless pedals and shoes. First time. Anyone have any good tips to minimize falling?

S

Find a wall prop yourself against it and practise twisting to the side,biggest bugbear is remembering to twist your foot to the side but after a while you will get it.
flag STnightrider
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 9:52 Quote
start doing cross country rides first before you try downhill or anything of that speed. Or ride around the street first and set up obstacles. Then come to a complete stop and try to balance and try to unclip before falling over.
flag oldnick
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 10:14 Quote
The crucial thing is NOT to lift your foot as you twist, that just makes the pedal grip your cleats all the harder.

Practice twisting out as you push down, develop the muscle memory and before you know it it will be second nature Smile
flag z-man
O+ FL
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 10:38 Quote
lol, my first week with clipless was a very funny one... i took down a few liftys at whistler and made an ass out of myself at the end of trails a few times.
It's just a motion you have to tech your reflex's. i can clip out just as fast as i can take my foot off the pedal.
flag raganwald
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 11:01 Quote
Svard75 wrote:
Just bought clipless pedals and shoes. First time. Anyone have any good tips to minimize falling?

S

What kind of pedals? What kind of shoes?

Some pedals hane a large platform with the cleat in the centre, some are very minimalist, just a cleat on an axle. For example, my Cyclocross bike has Eggbeaters, which are just an axle, while my AM bike has Mallets, which are a platform pedal with a cleat in the middle.

If you have something more like a platform with a cleat in the middle, you have the option of taking your foot out of the cleat and riding with your shoe on the platform. This woks best if your shoe is flat and has some grippy rubber on the bottom. You might do this if you're approaching a tricky stunt or perhaps a big, off-camber DH turn where you want the option of outriggering your foot.

You just unclip heading into the tricky bit, ride through it, then clip back in. Of course you still need to know how to unclip in a general emergency, but if your shoes and pedals are amenable to riding unclipped from time to time, this is a nice option.
flag Dlongb13
O+
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 11:53 Quote
If they are shimano SPD's you can adjust how tough/easy they are to get in and out of. So for starting off you can make it nice an easy but build up to it being tighter. And X2 on the Mallets. I made the switch from Shimano SPD's to Mallets and its a night a day difference of awesomeness.

The hardest time to get out is when you are moving slow and just need to get a foot down for balance so practice that. When you are moving quick or falling at high speeds you will be unclipped before you know it.
flag whistlerite
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 13:58 Quote
Svard75 wrote:
Just bought clipless pedals and shoes. First time. Anyone have any good tips to minimize falling?

S
Make them loose to start off with then as you get more comfortable with them tighten them.
flag Svard75
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 15:15 Quote
They're the Shimano XT's. I set the tension to minimal. Feels real good on XC trails. At one point I got off the bike but for some reason my balance shiften towards the side where the pedal wasn't unclipped. A little un-nerving but regained my balance. It'll definitely be an interesting endevour on Friday. Going to kelso! I think I'll bring my platforms just in case. The interesting thing about these pedals is my foot can actually rotate about 20 degrees either way before it unclips. Pretty cool for twisties. I think the unclipping part will be less challenging than the reclipping, especially if it's going uphill.

LOVE the fact that I can bunny hop the entire bike now Big Grin

Thanks guys.
S
flag ezekiel
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 15:24 Quote
To teach myself to properly disengage the pedals, I developed the routine of leading with my ankle/heel to step off the pedal. I don't start to move the ball of my foot until I hear my pedal pop.

Really though it is just something that you have to ride and teach your brain but once its in there its like riding a bike. I've gone years without riding clipless pedals then when I went back to them I had absolutely no troubles.
flag raganwald
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 19:10 Quote
Svard75 wrote:
LOVE the fact that I can bunny hop the entire bike now Big Grin

I wonder how he does it?

Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://urban.bike198.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/danny-macaskill-trials-mtb.jpg
flag mr-mtb12
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 20:03 Quote
Its pretty much practice and remembering to twist your feet (ankle first), Although falling over can be a good thing (sometimes). The first time i rode clip less i fell and it kinda teaches you what not to do. i haven't fallen over since
flag whistlerite
Posted: Aug 16, 2010 at 20:13 Quote
raganwald wrote:
Svard75 wrote:
LOVE the fact that I can bunny hop the entire bike now Big Grin

I wonder how he does it?

Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://urban.bike198.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/danny-macaskill-trials-mtb.jpg
Danny Macaskill is awesome!!!!!
flag Mtn-Bik3r
Posted: Aug 17, 2010 at 0:44 Quote
Svard75 wrote:
LOVE the fact that I can bunny hop the entire bike now Big Grin

NOOO!!! Oh God no. Listen to me man, you NEED to go back to flats to learn proper bunnyhop technique! If you have to rely on the clipless pedals to get your back wheel off the ground you will develope the worst jumping form ever. Its a cheap, lazy, gay way to bunnyhop that will ingrain horrible habits into your muscle memory and screw you when you want to learn to hit larger jumps and drops. It makes you a worse bike handler.

I too was amazed with my sudden talent for hopping about when I first made the switch to clips, but I later went back to flats for a couple reasons, one of those being that I wanted to learn a "real" bunnyhop.

I occasionally use my clips on extended rides because of the boost to pedaling efficiency, connected feel, and stick in fast rock gardens. But because I've gotten so used to jumping on flats, I really fly on the clips.

Invest the time to learn on the flats, it will make you a better rider in the long run.
flag Svard75
Posted: Aug 17, 2010 at 3:17 Quote
Mtn-Bik3r wrote:
Svard75 wrote:
LOVE the fact that I can bunny hop the entire bike now Big Grin

NOOO!!! Oh God no. Listen to me man, you NEED to go back to flats to learn proper bunnyhop technique! If you have to rely on the clipless pedals to get your back wheel off the ground you will develope the worst jumping form ever. Its a cheap, lazy, gay way to bunnyhop that will ingrain horrible habits into your muscle memory and screw you when you want to learn to hit larger jumps and drops. It makes you a worse bike handler.

I too was amazed with my sudden talent for hopping about when I first made the switch to clips, but I later went back to flats for a couple reasons, one of those being that I wanted to learn a "real" bunnyhop.

I occasionally use my clips on extended rides because of the boost to pedaling efficiency, connected feel, and stick in fast rock gardens. But because I've gotten so used to jumping on flats, I really fly on the clips.

Invest the time to learn on the flats, it will make you a better rider in the long run.




K Teach me obi wan!
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