What happened to you when you fell over using clipless pedals?

Great thread,

Well to me it seems like it was only yesterday but it was actually Oct. 1990 that I first went to clipless pedals, after almost 6 months of riding flats... I showed up with this new group that I had heard was VERY fast so I was worried enough as it was about this, let alone going clipless.. I'll never forget this one guy said "Oh first day with clipless? This should be interesting" I just remember we was flying through this sweet trail that came to a climb and most of the guys were at the top of the hill already looking down and waiting.. As soon as I made it to the top I tried to put my right foot down but couldn't get it out quick enough so of course I fell over to the right..And yes they all laughed( but I wasn't done yet, ) I was laying on the ground for what seemed like forever so I wanted to get up as fast as I could ( big mistake) I pushed myself up so fast (all the while forgettting that my LEFT foot was still clipped in) that when I did stand up I just fell over now to the left side..They just laughed and laughed and laughed...I have to say it was pretty darn funny even if it was ME that was being laughed at...OK that's my first ride with clipless pedals story, hope you enjoyed it...:thumbsup: Once again great thread............CF.

When I first put my eggbeaters on my bike, it was winter and there was 3 feet of snow on the ground. For the next few months while the snow made riding impossible, I went down to my basement and rode circles as I practiced clipping and unclipping. I thought I was really slick, getting all of the silly falls out of the way when only my dog was watching. I met a friend of mine at a trail a few hours drive away, where it doesn’t snow so much. I was bragging to my friend about how I’d been practicing using my pedals, and I can get in and out of them with ease. When we hit a pretty hairy decent, however, I chickened out and decided to unclip and just stand on the pedals as I rode down the hill. As soon as I started to gain speed, my feet were sliding all over the place as I rode over the bumps. I tried to clip back in, but it wasn’t so easy while bouncing down a hill, so I looked down at my feet without thinking as I tried to clip in. I can’t explain exactly what happened, but the next thing I knew I was flying super-man style through the air, dragging my bike along behind me by the single foot that I managed to clip in before liftoff. I did a swan dive into a sand bank and somehow managed to turn face-up before my bike, which fell out of the sky as if dropped by God, landed saddle-first on my face.

I just lay there in a daze with my eyes clothes in a state of half-consciousness. I heard my friend ride up and exclaim, “holly ****!” He got off of his bike and paced back and forth repeating the phrase like the Rainman. I managed to open the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut to see blood streaming from my broken nose, which was newly positioned at an angle that placed it well within my field of view. We managed to laugh about the whole thing as we sat in the emergency room waiting for a doctor to come straighten my nose, which was caulked to one side and spraying blood like an airbrush every time I exhaled.

Anyway, I’ve got the hang it now, but you might not want to jump into the technical descents until you are completely comfortable riding clipless, and don’t try to stand on eggbeaters. I suppose I actually got lucky, I could have landed on a pile of jagged rocks, and a handlebar or pedal could have landed on my face rather than the saddle.

I'll update this thread tonight or tomorrow... installed the pedals last night. We will see how it goes today.
I will not be on the trails through. Probably neighborhood riding and/or gravel double track. Want to get familiar with the feel of them first.

Click to expand...

Ok, I am making good on my promise to come back tonight.

So I hit the neighborhood streets clipless for the first time tonight. (M520) Clipping in is rather easy and had no trouble getting going. While clipped in I felt like my feet were floating a little which was ok while seated but out of the saddle was a little iffy feeling.
Clipping out is a little slower than I would like right now. There have been several times on the trails where I had to quickly get a foot down to keep from taking a spill. With the time it took me to unclip I would have never gotten the foot down in time. Hopefully I get quicker with that.

I rode all over the roads without a problem and definitely noticed a huge difference in the pedaling.

Anyway.... I decided to try and hop some curbs and as I did it I was actually able to bunny hop.. .the back end got up well.
I knew of a nearby very short (like 200 feet) walking path with 'no bikes' signs on it.. but no one is ever on it. The path is soft with cedar chips all over it so I thought that would be a good place to really test the bunny hop.
1 hop, awesome. 2 hop cool! 3 hop OUCH! I did something funny the 3rd time, got the handlebars all twisted and took a dive forward and to the side. This happened in view of several backyards so of course I got "you all right?!!?" from someone sitting on their back porch. I just yelled 'yeah man', brushed off the dirt and headed home.

I'm sure I'll be taking some nasty spills once I hit the trails. CANT WAIT!

I got clipless a few weeks ago, set the pedals to the easiest release, and didn't have any problems. By Saturday my pedals were gunked up enough that I was having trouble getting out, and I was riding with people far more skilled and experienced than myself.
I fell. A lot.
The result?

The very first time I rode clipless I had my dogs and we were riding on a FS road and this guy on a friggin moped comes up and starts talking to me about this snake he saw and my dogs are all getting in his way so as I'm yelling at them and listening to this weirdo on a moped unclipping was the last thing on my mind and down I went. He just kinda looked at me and drove away.

..... Then after about 4 rides I was feeling pretty bad ass and I was on a piece of technical singletrack that was real rocky and as I made it up over some rocks (thinking that speed is my friend over and over again) without putting my foot down I was so excited that I failed to keep my handlebars from hittting the other rock that stuck out the side of the trail. The next thing I know I'm laying on top of my bike wondering what in the hell just happened. I managed to bend my brake lever with my abdomen and going to the doctors after everyone thought I was bleeding internally... I wasn't and the doc just rolled her eyes and told me about her husband hitting a squirrel with his bike and breaking his collarbone.... hehehehe