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I rode my clipless pedals for the first time yesterday and thought the following:
a) What the hell was I afraid of all this time?
b) I'm never riding without clipless pedals again.
I got what I thought was an absolute steal on a pair of Eggbeaters. I installed them on my bike on Saturday... AFTER a 20-mile ride 'cause I was too chicken for one reason or other. Then yesterday I went on a slightly burlier ride at the Blue Mountain Reserve near Peekskill, NY and decided that if I better just get this clipless orientation over and done with.
Took me all of about a minute to get used to clicking in and snapping out. It was fantastic. Click, ride, ride, ride, snap-off. They felt GREAT! Even when I fell, it felt great. At one point, I was going uphill, my tires slipped on some slippery rocks and I went down sideways. But I went down so fast I didn't have time to react with my feet, and I ended up on my back with the bike vertically on top of me, still attached to my feet! Everyone got a good laugh out of it - I looked like the dead horse in Dean Wormer's office in Animal House.
Anyway, the best thing about the clipless pedals was my ability to bunny-hop. I think it's all mind over matter. I'd been dying to learn how to bunny hop that I'd read up and studied technique for a while now. So the moment I snapped on the pedals, I tried to bunny-hop and was able to pull off three bunny-hopes in a row on a clear straight. THREE! Holy crap, I was so happy I yelled "WHO-HOOOO!!!" The trick now is being able to get distance on that bunny-hop. And that should come with some more practice on these pedals.
I guess I just wanted to chime in and add to the general consensus that clipless pedals rule, and that I feel like a wuss for not trying this three months earlier when I first bought my bike.
a) What the hell was I afraid of all this time?
b) I'm never riding without clipless pedals again.
I got what I thought was an absolute steal on a pair of Eggbeaters. I installed them on my bike on Saturday... AFTER a 20-mile ride 'cause I was too chicken for one reason or other. Then yesterday I went on a slightly burlier ride at the Blue Mountain Reserve near Peekskill, NY and decided that if I better just get this clipless orientation over and done with.
Took me all of about a minute to get used to clicking in and snapping out. It was fantastic. Click, ride, ride, ride, snap-off. They felt GREAT! Even when I fell, it felt great. At one point, I was going uphill, my tires slipped on some slippery rocks and I went down sideways. But I went down so fast I didn't have time to react with my feet, and I ended up on my back with the bike vertically on top of me, still attached to my feet! Everyone got a good laugh out of it - I looked like the dead horse in Dean Wormer's office in Animal House.
Anyway, the best thing about the clipless pedals was my ability to bunny-hop. I think it's all mind over matter. I'd been dying to learn how to bunny hop that I'd read up and studied technique for a while now. So the moment I snapped on the pedals, I tried to bunny-hop and was able to pull off three bunny-hopes in a row on a clear straight. THREE! Holy crap, I was so happy I yelled "WHO-HOOOO!!!" The trick now is being able to get distance on that bunny-hop. And that should come with some more practice on these pedals.
I guess I just wanted to chime in and add to the general consensus that clipless pedals rule, and that I feel like a wuss for not trying this three months earlier when I first bought my bike.