Clip less pedals – unclipping

You can bring your bike inside and practice in a doorway a few times until you get the hang of it. They say you should start off on grass to cushion your fall, but not all styles of bikes are conducive to that.

Good luck.

Liz

Only three? I’m jealous. On the bright side, I fell so often I stopped worrying about falling. Being a big baby I decided to ease myself into the system by staying clipped in on my non-dominant leg first. I kept my other leg free. Once I was comfortable with that arrangement I clipped in my other side when I had plenty of room to ride and not a lot of starting and stopping (intersections or small children). That cut down on most accidental rest stops on the pavement. Finally I got tough and forced myself to deal with it. That may have been last week. :cool:But in all seriousness I had to work out a plan to get used to the system. Being able to anticipate a stop well before it happened was key. Your mileage may vary.

Happy tails,
ann

I just do a quick snap outward of the heel. I know it feels odd at first, but it does become second nature.

@StopMeansStop 4790 wrote:

How much slack should there be between the cleat and pedal? When I do a twist, I feel some wobble sometimes before it snaps out.

The standard is 6 degrees of float. Some pedals run more few run less. There needs to be a certain amount of slack in the pedal/cleat interface or there’s no give for your knees.

If we’re talking Shimano SPD cleats here there are also several versions There’s the SH-51 and the SH-56. The SH-51 is black and is a single release cleat. The SH-56 is gold and is a multi-release. the 56’s release in multiple directions and are a bit easier to get to release. The 51’s are twist heel out only and can take some getting used to for a person unfamiliar with them.

I rarely unclip my left foot. I pretty much always use my right, and have found that the easiest release comes with the crank arm in the 6’oclock or 9’oclock position, it’s where your heel has the most leverage and the crank arm is least likely to spin. Your (and others) experience may vary, but it works for me.. I’ve been doing it so long I’d honestly have to go look any more to see what it is I still do most frequently since it’s become such second nature.

I also do not wait until full stop to unclip.

Eventually this motion becomes second nature. I went through this in the mid 1980s. It brings back fond memories. Hang in there.

Which pedals did you get?

@PotomacCyclist 4815 wrote:

View it as a rite of passage. The only way to get comfortable with clipless pedals is practice. The doorway tip is a good recommendation.

Many beginners forget to lean to the correct side. If you unclip your right shoe as you approach a stop, you have to lean your body to the right as well. If you lean to the left, then you’ll do the slow tip-over. (This is based on what I’ve heard from others. I never had this problem myself. Well, maybe once. Or twice. Or three times…)

The good news is that once you get used to the pedals, you shouldn’t have many more problems. I had a lot of issues during the first 2 or 3 weeks with clipless pedals. But none since fall 2009. Fortunately, even when you do have issues with the pedals, it only happens when you are stopped or almost stopped at an intersection. It’s unusual to have a problem with the pedal when riding at faster speeds. Normally you wouldn’t be trying to unclip in those situations.

I’ve fallen exactly once in clipless pedals, several thousand miles after I first started using them. I thought I was immune. Then I pulled up to a stop sign outside one of the largest bars in Tampa, FL (and that’s saying something), unclipped on the right, and leaned left. About a thousand people yelling “Nice one, Lance!” really helped encourage better pedal discipline. Haven’t done it since.

Over-tighten the bolts holding the cleat in place and you may end up shearing them. Like everything else on a bike (or motorcycle, or car, chainsaw, etc.) you just have to perform regular checks. Things just tend to work themselves loose over time.