1st time last night on clipless…did a bit of practicing on a field and thought I had it sussed.
Went out for an easy ride and did a comedy fall off into a bramble bush laced with nettles 😳
15 minutes late another comedy moment when I had to stop suddenly and dissappeared down an enbankment with bike still attached.

Will try again tonight after practicing emergency stops 🙂

Anyone got any similar anecdotes to cheer me up

Oh yeah!

One of my first proper rides out with SPDs, got to stalling point on a real steep climb, wobbled over the edge and rolled down the hill – very similar to your second ‘incident’. Dick Barton will recall it…

I fell over 5 times on the tarmac driveway before i worked it out. 😳

Went over in Wimbledon High street at school turn out time right by a bus stop in front of around 50 kids.

Have you set your cleats up to allow for your foot position?

Sideways down a bramble covered steep face, upside down? Check!

High speed into a tree to a dead stop that breaks collar bone? Check!

Just bought some flats…

On the positive side, you’ll be able to bunny hop like Hans Rey.

First time out and thought an easy road ride would be best.

Set the tension really low and off I went. Happy days until I got to the first set of traffic lights……came to a stop…………and fell to the left.

Red-face moment, especially since it was summer and there was a stunning lady with the roof down on her car….. 🙁

First ride with clip less pedals I was out for a gentle ride along an old railway line with my girlfriend and fell twice.

First time we stopped to grab a drink and I forgot I was clipped in que falling back onto tarmac track legs flailing around like a turtle turned on it’s back.

Second time we were approaching a road and one of those zig zag fences to stop you cycling strait over the road, I was following my girlfriend at this point and she decided on the down slope to the fence that she couldn’t cycle through the gap and stopped in the middle of the trail, this time I rather abruptly fell into the gravel at the side of the trail getting cuts up my left shin and knee.

First time out, came to a junction, took my right foot out and promptly tried to put my left foot down which was still attached, fell to the left with a flailing right leg, didn’t feel stupid at all……………..Not got much better since!

First time was on the way back from practising with them on a quiet bit of industrial estate road, thought I had the hang of it. Almost got to my street but there was a bit of a traffic jam…over I went…broke my light as well!

2nd time was in the woods, I was going very slowly, front wheel got a bit stuck in a little dip as I didn’t have any momentum, fell over into half bramble and half muddy puddles! No one noticed the extra mud when I emerged thankfully!

Nothing than worse than trying to pull your foot off, failing and then falling with nothing you can do about it, especially if there are people watching!

I’ve been swapping between flats and spds ever since and still can’t decide which I prefer!

Arrived at a gate on Mastiles Lane, a party of ramblers sat lining both walls up to the gate. Up I cycle proffering a cheers hello then got to the gate, stopped and tumbled in slow mo to the floor. Mae their day I did, howls of laughter.

Worst one I had was getting a branch through one of the vents in my helmet at low speed, ended up on my back still clipped in with bike on top of me and a snapped of branch sticking out of my head.

My mate did the best one I remember.

Coming to a gate on the Cleaveland Way, smashed straight into it, a lot of walkers did what I did……….laughed 😀

After years of biking in clips, youll still fall every now and then, its the law.

Have you set your cleats up to allow for your foot position?

No….not sure what you mean
I’m using Crank bros cleats with Acids if it’s relevant

I do have to twist quite a lot to get them out

When I bought my first spuds the guy in the LBS was chortling away to himself. “I’m going to fall off, aren’t I?” says I. “Yip, you are. Don’t worry though. Its a right of passage”

Sure enough. First commute to work takes me down the canal towpath. A dog comes hurtling out of the bushes right in front of me. I slammed on, stopped before I hit it, then did the slow-motion tumble to the side. Luckily I toppled to the right. If I’d have gone left it could have meant comedy gold/and/or me drowning, trying to swim while still clipped in 😀

I blame wives and girlfriends for SPD fails.

On a gentle ride with Mrs PixelMix she stopped abruptly on a bend. I managed to stop without hitting her but didn’t have time to unclip. If she hadn’t been there, I would have had time/room to unclip, but as it was, I starting falling to the side, and leaned on her whilst simultaneously unclipping. I got my foot out, but she wasn’t amused since I effectively pushed her over. 🙂

It just becomes natural after 20 years, now I twist my feet to dismount when riding flats. Tip, get the tension right!

Back in the days before mountain bikes and clipless pedals, I was trackstanding at a set of lights in the middle of Birmingham on my racer with toe clips and straps, waiting for a gap in the oncoming traffic.
I went over to the right, pinning the buckle on the strap under my foot.
I had to do a sort of Tiswas Dying Fly to get some clearance under my foot to undo the buckle. 😳

Always remember your using clipless when you arrive at the traffic lights.

I didn’t 😀

been riding clipless for about 2 years, and no problems! Then again first ride I kept clipping in/out a lot to get used to them!

First ride with SPDs. Had an over the bar crash and landed on my head, with the bike still attached.
20 minutes later I lost traction on a steep hill and stalled. I couldn’t get unclipped and as I fell, I stuck my left arm out. The whole way down I was thinking, “thats going to break”
Thankfully it didn’t.

That was the beginning and end of my SPD experiment.

Mine came at the end of one of the routes at Queen Elizabeth Country Park near Petersfield.

Got to the end of the trail & decided to hold onto a conveniently located fence post.

Just so happened that a big bunch of walkers were passing at the point where I somehow let go and topled over sideways in a big heap.

The best one I had was also at QE – I had just finished a ride & was heading into the car park. I saw some hot ladies 😯 & decided the best way to impress them was with a wheelie! All was going well but I leant back too far & fell flat on my ar$e resulting in a rather large cut to my derierre!

I have now realised that saying about my experiences, I’m gonna come a cropper soon…

All the people who gave up after a few tries… quitters! I started using Look Delta cleats and pedals a couple of years before SPDs came out – had a few mud-jam lock-ins with the Looks but I reckon my ankle-flick action on SPDs could unclip me even if someone cheekily glued me in. I back off the spring tension all the way and 3 clicks back.
I actually don’t think I’ve ever fallen over clipped in with SPDs.

My first few clipped in rides and falls climaxed with a basil faultyesque whipping of the bike with a fern!! Second nature now though.

I was doing a techy climb on Exmoor following two mates. The front mate accidentally wheelied and fell off, the second mate who was just in front got distracted, wobbled and fell. I didn’t notice and ran into him falling right off-trail into a deep ditch upside down with bike still attached.

Third mate at the back fell of laughing.

I did the slow sideways fall right in front of a bunch of schoolkids crossing a pedestrian crossing. The teacher that was with them gave me a thumbs up. Sooooo embarassing!

Never done it. I find using my brain helped when I first started using them 🙂

I fell over outside hatton cross tube station next to bus, bus stop, people walking past etc. Scared the crap out of a lorry driver who thought he was responsible for me going over and that I’d gone under his wheels.

Had plenty of trail clipless falls too. Best one was down the side of a trail upside down into a bush. I had to take my shoes off to get out from under it so when some people came past they saw some bloke in his socks dragging a bike up the side of the hill out of bushes.

Stalled,fell down hill into thick brush.
Bike hooked up in such a position that I could not un-clip.
Only had to wait 5 or 10 mins for somebody to come along and lift bike up so I as able to part company with.
Most folk find this far more amusing than I do.

First time out with SPDs I stalled going up a hill, fortunately there was a handy cactus by the side of the trail to soften the landing.

Roadie clipless are even more fun – especially setting off on busy roundabouts.

I had a test drive and parked back up on my drive.

Got off the bike, but Forgot I was clipped in. Toppled off while shouting S**T..Banged my head on neighbour’s wall and scraped my face. Looked up and she was just staring at me with a stunned look on her face.

I have lots of fallings off at low speed (sideways, even on my back still clipped in)

Had one proper scary moment. Was trackstanding waiting to turn right. I lost my balance, but couldnt unclip to get a foot down. What stopped my toppling in front of the oncoming car was absolute luck and it scared the crap out of me

I ride flats now

Guy I rode with a few years ago, 1st time out with clips toppled every time he stopped – gravel carpark, muddy bit, heathery bit, gorsey bit, flat rocky bit at top of the hill. Funny at first, then increasingly concerning!

Just never managed to unclip while upright, not once. Even had shoes off at one point to get them out the pedals.

Brand new shimano spds with adjustable tension, insisted all the way up he was running at loosest setting, had actually tightened it up to max. Cue hilarity once we’d checked it out at top of the hill and much piss-taking, followed by a thankfully event free descent.

If using crank bros cleats make sure that you have the cleat with the dots on the correct foot for easy in/out (maybe the right one?). If on the other foot the exit angle is higher.

Started with Time Atacs and dremelled the angle to a little easier, now got Look 4×4 (egg beaters but better bearings) and they are easier to get into and very easy to get out.

Think I fell with cleats maybe once or twice but never since, and whenever I fall they have never got in the way. Even when the bike clagged down in mud and I thought I was going to tip straight on my side, I managed to just step out of the bike elegantly and walk away as it tipped over.

Won’t touch spds after reading of people getting trapped in them as they don’t clear mud well.