After yet another unceremoniously fall of my bike in the town centre due to not being able to remember how to bail out of clipless pedals I was wondering what the New York or London couriers where? I know I can go so much quicker with them on but I just cannot seem to remember that I am clipped on.

what is so special about what couriers use in london and NY?
a lot of them use time atacs same as commuters, xc’ers, towpath’ers and other cyclists who want a decent clipless pedal/shoe combo they can walk around in.

or use shimano with the multi-release cleats

They wear the same type of shoes/pedals as everyone else. The key difference between them (and indeed the vast majority of cyclists) and you is that they are not stupid enough to forget how to unclip.

thanks

After a few more spd incidents, you will never forget again.

Just spoke to a road rider here and he says that sometimes the movement is not natural or instinctive and he’s unable to bail out on the top of hills, dogs running across his path etc
Must be another stupid person I met this afternoon.

just loosen the retention off a bit – I always manage to ‘save’ as is, but that should help you stop doing the ‘dead elphant’ comedy stack.

everyone still has a moment every now and then, but how you can forget is pretty odd…

mountain bike double sided pedals not singlesided road ones

You’ve had multiple incidents, surely this must be teaching you something… how hard is it to remember to unclip as you slow to a stop?

A panic situation such as a crazy dog running accross your path is understandable.

why would you want to emulate couriers? in my experience they tend to be bell ends

Caher, persevere with the clipless pedals, it is really worth it in the long run. EVERYONE has some comedy crashes to start with, simple rule of thumb seems to be 4 weeks to broadly get the hang of them, even then you will occasionally fail to unclip in emergencies for a few more weeks. After that the action will become automatic and you will never go back to clips/flats.

Go and find a patch of soft grass and practice clipping in and out until you feel comfortable.

Oh, and don’t ask roadies about clipless, I’m still stunned that lots of them still can’t get the hang of spds (saying that maybe road pedals are more difficult – I’ve never tried).

Thanks Austen good advice there. I like the effiency they bring but having always used Azonic flats the twisting motion takes a bit of getting used to – in an emergency. JUst bought some spd 56 cleats which allow multi bail out.

dunno about never going back to flats. ……………

I can see their place where you’d want the extra power (races, longer rides on untechnical terrain) but for everything else I use flats.

And if anyone tells me they can unclip faster than the speed of light, I’ll pre-empt you and say thats lies:
a) theres nearly always a 1/4 pedal stroke minimum needed to get both feet out.
b) crashes happen quickly, however fast you are at uncliping, crashes are often faster.
c) even pro DH’ers who use clips 90% of the time admit to being more confident on flat pedals when the goings tough or when they’r not raceing.
d) when was the last time a flat pedal rider winged about not being able to clip back in on a technical section?

even pro DH’ers who use clips 90% of the time admit to being more confident on flat pedals when the goings tough or when they’r not raceing.

Who GNAR GNAR…? You know he’s not for real.
I went for a ride with barel and he uses SPD for everyday’s ride. So does NV and ACS apparently…

d) when was the last time a flat pedal rider winged about not being able to clip back in on a technical section?

I’ve been giving the flats/5:10s a go & sometimes I just can’t get my foot back in the right spot. It never happen with my Z Controls & they’re on their third bike.

“d) when was the last time a flat pedal rider winged about not being able to clip back in on a technical section?”

when did you ever see a spd rider with blood dripping down his leg after slipping off the pedals for the 5th time that ride….

😛

I’m tired of clipping out by accident. Cant possibly see how anyone can not sus this out – very odd – after the first few rides it just becomes instinct to move your heel out first.

Now you reminded me of something so I’m going to start a new thread.

There’s a guy in my office, just started a commuting a year ago and fitted spd’s and he still forgets to unclip at traffic lights occasionally. But he really is an idiot.

Whenever I crash I always find myself out the clips before I hit the ground 😐

I dont see how you can “forget” – as you reach the lights you normally go to remove your feet in preparation to stop. At that point your foot sticks, click a heel out, sorted?

Evolution will tell us whether you manage this or become roadkill. Good luck.

You can’t ask a roadie for advice on clipping out. Roadies don’t get enough practise clipping in and out because they are more likely to only clip in at the start of a ride and out again at the end of it, unlike MTBers who are in and out all the time.

Try this:

Roadies don’t get enough practise clipping in and out because they are more likely to only clip in at the start of a ride and out again at the end of it

If you’re in a race then yes, but in general I do plenty clipping in/out on a road ride. I don’t just clip in as I leave the driveway then only unclip as I arrive home. People do talk shite on here sometimes.

trust JoJo she kick ass 😉

She might kick ass but she also talks shite 😉

Depends where you’re riding surely? I can ride for miles up here without coming to any traffic lights, or junction of any kind. Plus, any decent roadie trackstands rather than clips out… I also forgot to put IMHO. 😉

😀 I can do the 8 miles to work without clipping out, just by trackstanding at the 2 or 3 junctions.

But likewise I can ride the 10 miles or so of llandegla red route and only unclip to stop and gather the crowd. I dont think there’s too much in it myself 🙂

unlike MTBers who are in and out all the time.

Isn’t that because they’re middle aged IT workers on £3k bikes they only ride once a week and they’re too sh*gged at the top of each hill?

😉

not Mr GnarGnar, was actualy thinking of a Steve Pete interview when i wrote that.

IMO/E I’m as fast uphill on flats (unless its a reely steep short road hill where pulling up is an issue).

And a lot faster downhill, not just compared to myself on spd’s, but comparing myself to riders i know would normaly kick my arse in most technical situations.

commuting in town i ride with flats because its one less think to think about (and i can ride in normal shoes)

If you’re riding fixed then Time Atacs are better as you’re less likely to pop out when putting the power down or slowing down with the old legs.

When I was a courier, I used those pedals with an SPD bit on one side, and a ‘normal’ pedal platform on t’other. Worked very well.

Several guys used roadie pedals, but I’ve seen and heard of many slipping over in marbled office foyers! And some companies don’t like couriers wearing them, on their nice shiny floors.

Journey’s are usually not really long enough, for clipless pedals to give a significant advantage over flats, tbh.

Mind, you do develop demon trackstanding skills!