Tonight will be my first ride out with SPD's fitted to the MTB and I have to say, I'm a bit nervous. Anyone got any funny stories, more stupider the better, to enlighten me before the ride?
Usually when I unintentionally dismount, it's because a foot has come off the pedal and I'm distracted by that. So in my head, these are going to be great.
New shimano pedals all the tension wound on out the box fell over in front of some old ladies by the flat
then into some nettles
Been riding on them for years.. been there done that with the falling in the road, almost in front of a car... so when I borrowed my mate's bike for a go, I had no thoughts that his pedals would be done up properly tight and may be hard to unclip...
So you know when you get to a boggy patch, proper boggy so it stops the bike and you have to foot down to get through it? Oh yes, and of course, that is the [i]worse[/i] bastard place to topple sideways onto your face...
Chatting to neighbours outside my house.
Went to set off, failing to notice bike was left in far too hard of a gear to get any momentum going. Obviously failed to unclip and landed on my elbow after trying and failing to grab my car to steady myself on the way down.
Hurt and bled quite badly, but nothing compared to the pain of my pride being stabbed by the proper belly laughs erupting from my neighbours. The bastards. 😆
I was about 13. Did a really amazing skid to show off to some girls*, came to a standstill, slowly toppled over into a ditch. I needed a friend to help me untangle the bike from my torso.
*a [i]really[/i], [i]really[/i] great skid.
Got a nice 4 inch scar on my calf from my first ride out last year where I panicked at a road crossing and fell off. A blunt spd can make quite a mess if pressed into skin hard enough. Still lacking a bit of confidence on steep bits which I'd do blind fold on flats.
we were in Morzine last week, one lad was a stand in for a cry off and is a total noob, went for clipless... suffice to say him in full face and body armour, on his back with his bike in the air still clipped in like an up-turned tortoise outside the Pleney lift office on the first morning was one of the highlights of the trip! even the girls behind the counter and the lift operators and every single person in the vicinity was pissing themselves laughing!
he lasted half a day.
Start with tension on the pedals set very loose, you can tighten them up later once you've got used to them.
Check the bolts holding the cleats after a ride or two. They can work loose, when that happens you twist your foot and the cleat stays in the pedal rather than turning with your shoe.
must.. resist...urge... to...advise...not...bother... Garghhhhhhh
Check the bolts holding the cleats after a ride or two. They can work loose, when that happens you twist your foot and the cleat stays in the pedal rather than turning with your shoe.
This can definitely happen. It can even happen as you try to dismount at the doorway to the gondola station at Nevis Range, when there is also an SDA race on, leaving you sprawled on the floor, unable to detach yourself from your bike, blocking the entrance with an increasing queue of serious downhillers waiting to try and get past you. Can't it Hugo 😀
I broke a rib when I first started riding with clipless. The problem comes not when you first ride, but you you relax a bit and don't pay attention.
That was around 20 years ago though and I can honesly say that since then I cannot attribute a single crash or injury to the fact that I ride clipless. I feel so much more stable and secure then I do when riding flats.
That loose bolt thingy happened to a mate. Though he stopped at his house gate and had to take one shoe off, to the amusement of Mrs Mate.
For me, who'd long-before been used to plates and toe-clips*, practising unclipping was the key. Click clack approaching every hazard was my routine until I'd built confidence.
*Which used to come undone if one pulled hard enough: the leather straps had enough give.
First time I tried SPDs I lived in a rented house in a cul-de-sac and decided it would be sensible to ride around the grass in the circle at the end of the road practicing clipping in and out.
This worked very well until I decided I had it nailed and pottered back to the house.
On getting near the front door I forgot to unclip and fell towards the house, managing to grab the window sill.
I ended up still on the bike, but holding onto the window sill in some kind of death grip at pretty much a full arm stretch to the side. I couldn't get back up, so was pretty much stuck - had to let go after realising it wasn't gonna be long before my death grip gave up anyway.
Saw a bloke at Cwmcarn end up falling down the hillside into the stream/river at the bottom when he failed to unclip. You go up from the car park for a bit, then back down to the valley floor, cross the stream/river and then climb again. He was negotiating a narrow bit by a tree with a couple of roots, messed up & lost his balance, failed to unclip & went down the hillside with his bike still attached into the water.
It was Feb/March so pretty cold. I would have offered assistance but all his mates were there & I figured they'd help him up once they'd all stopped wetting themselves with laughter.
You'll be fine though. 🙂
Just loosen the tension right off & regularly clip out & back in again while riding to get used to it, rather than just when you stop. It helps if you unclip a foot while braking too for a while so you can put it straight down, rather than doing the panicked foot wobble when you do finally come to a halt.
Anyone got any funny stories
*Everyone* does. It happens to us all... done it too many times to rememeber, apart from the time I toppled over traversing a 45 degree slope of very sharp pointy rock on the Long Mynd, cutting my arm open at the start of a ride. Still got those scars.
To be fair, I was using a worn out pair of those Onza pedals that were notorious for getting stuck. Nowadays I think SPDs are a bit better, plus they tend to come with multi-release cleats so they release your foot if you simply yank hard upwards. Should be a lot easier to start off with now.
Loose cleat thing also happened to me several times. Take your shoe off, then try and figure out how to remove the shoe from the pedal.
Also a tip for a beginner - on a fast open corner, unclip the inside pedal and rest it on the toe just in case you slip and need to dab.
Brecon Beast last year got to the top just before gap descent, suffering from bad cramp, I didn't have enough energy to unclip so just had no choice but to slowly topple sideways into grass. The hikers thought it was hilarious. I was too tired to care 😆
The first time I fitted SPDs, I practised (probably to the amusement of the neighbours) by cycling round the back garden with lots of clipping in and out.
So before I venturing on to the road, I had a reasonable amount of confidence I wasn’t going to drop the bike the first time I stopped.
Ride flats on my mtb (flirted with spds but never truely got on with them for offroad). Recently got a gnarmac bike and fitted clips, all has been fine until a couple of weeks ago. Riding the Thames towpath, come up to a group of 3 dog walkers and 3 dogs. Give them the bell and they move aside say hello as I pass slowly and then realise that one of the dogs is not going to oblige and stay to the side, rather cross my path. Cue panicked dog avoidance, whilst trying to unsuccessfully un-clip. Semi landed on one of the other dogs but managed to do a good enough job of bridging it.
Strangely (given the anticipated reaction)the ladies walking the dogs were more worried about me (and I was more worried about the dog). Outcome was just some wounded pride, much to the hilarity of my riding partner.
The only person I've known was an ex GF on roadie clipless (she refused to ride MTB clipped in) she did a slow-mo fall into a hedge...no harm done except her pride.
Try to think ahead and don't try and second guess what other are going to do
My first outing with clippies.....coming to a T junction.....I saw a car , it's going to turn left...it's going to turn left
WRONG!!.......sheeet ....panic!!.....bang I'm on the floor...only then does the foot come loose...lol......lucky for me it was only 8am Sunday morning.....so no one saw me......oooooh the shame!!....lol
I did it. Once. Not again, I fully accept I'm in the minority but I'm too old to learn properly
I do want a CX bike though so something might have to change... 😕
Put some brand spanking new SPD520's on for commuting. Had heard they can be a bit tight to start, so thought I would have a quick try in the living room to see how tight they really were. I lost balance and fell slowly grasping at thin air and the smooth wall, leaving my ribs fully exposed for the sharp edge of the coffee table just under me. It took 4 weeks for my broken rib to heal enough for me to carry the bike down the 4 flights of stairs from my flat to take it out for a ride on the road...
In short broke a rib in a 4th floor flat clipped in
I wouldn't recommend falling onto a roadworks sign (5 minutes from my mates house just as we started) with the road diggers all watching, at the front of a queue of traffic, landing on the edge of the sign, which is raised by the way.
Or getting to the top of a sandy climb, rear wheel spins out - you stall, then tip gently sideways into a bush, tearing your brand new base layer.
There's probably more, but I've mentally wiped them.
I had a couple of topples when I went to SPD's many years ago, pretty standard stuff. Later I bought a new bike that came with clips and straps, went round to my mum and dad's house to show them. Rolled into the back garden, twisted my foot to unclip and went down like a sack of s*** into a newly planted flowerbed.
Dented top tube on an edging stone, 2 miles old. 😥
I'm not particularly precious about my bikes, but that was annoying.
Rode clipped in round grizedale with my gf without any bother. Then decided to try it at the weekend with my normal riding buddies. In the car park whilst everyone else was fannying around getting ready, pulled a wheelie and overcooked it. Something I regularly do on flats as I can just jump off the back. Not so clipped in. Fell flat on my back, luckily the full to the brim 3l camelbak ensured I had a reasonably soft landing and the only thing hurt was my pride! The rest of the ride went well. Apart from losing my rear mech 4 miles from the car and having to scoot/walk past all the gnarly doods doing the UKGE.
the joys of bringing along someone to make up the numbers eh? Does he still speak to you?one lad was a stand in for a cry off and is a total noob...
he lasted half a day.
Use [b]"multi-release"[/b] cleats.
Here is the blurb from Shimano.
Not sure that all pedals come with these, I've always used them and been surprised that many people have never heard of them.
The considerable force mentioned below can be adjusted by slackening of the pedal cleat settings as mentioned above.
[i]Shimano SH56 Multi-Release MTB SPD Cleats
The Shimano SH56 Multi-Release MTB SPD Cleats are quick and easy to use thanks to a convenient multi-release feature; simply twist or roll your foot to release yourself from the pedal. This cleat can also help to prevent the risk of toppling over your bike with both feet clipped in as it will release with a considerable upward force.
Shimano SH56 Multi-Release MTB SPD Cleats Extra Info
• Designed to work with all open design pedals
• Disengage from the pedal by rolling or twisting the foot in any direction
• The risk of toppling over with both feet still clipped in is minimised as the cleat will release with considerable upward force
Link
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-sh56-cleats/rp-prod10969
[/i]
My only tip...
If you think about unclipping then you won't manage it.
You have to do it without thinking about it.
So don't think about it, or you'll panic and it won't work.
You're thinking about it, aren't you?
Not sure that all pedals come with these
The ones I buy seem to - maybe it's because I've bought several pairs of budget pedals over the last 10 years or so. I've got a pile of the buggers at home which is annoying cos I don't really like them so have to buy proper cleats at full price.
All mention has thus far been about accidentally remaining clipped in.
My experience is that inadvertently unclipping while riding is potentially a lot more serious so once you've got used to them do them up a bit.
Coming unclipped as you fly into a bombhole or other such manoeuvre is 'unsettling' ie you have a good chance of falling/hitting something.
Ive always ridden big flat pedals on mtb's, dirt jump & trials bikes, then got a road bike to get some base miles in so thought id give clips a go, great, not fallen of the road bike once in the year ive had it!
So, the logical next step is to try them on the FS. numerous outings, no problems.
Except last weekend, finsihed my ride, back to the trail centre for a sit in the sun with my banana and protein shake. So I ride in, one in each hand, come to a complete stop at a funny angle, begin to loose my balance at which point for some reason (and I still dont know why) I priorited my shake and banana over grabbing the bar to balance and trackstand.
Over I went, landed on the end of the handlebar (glad I fitted good bar ends).
What about the protein shake and banana I hear you say, not a drop spilt of bruise on the banana.
Fool! haha
What about the protein shake and banana I hear you say, not a drop spilt of bruise on the banana.Fool! haha
Sounds like a good result to me!
Been using them for 25 years ish now. Had my first big crash where i didn't unclip 3 weeks ago, literally never been a problem, ever. now i hurt, a lot.
the most comical ones i have seen are people casually standing next to their bike kicking the pedals round having a chat, usually with the opposite foot to the pedal they are kicking round. cue wrong foot clipping in by accident, panic, lost balance and an ungraceful fall on top of the bike. It never gets old.
My experience is that if set up, maintained properly and kept on a relatively loose setting they never stay on in a crash. All of the incidents are slow speed jobs where you forget to unclip until too late. Had a few incidents with Crank Bros pedals but never with SPDs.