Today I joined THAT club

Today I joined THAT club

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Centurion07

Original Poster:

10,381 posts

246 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
Users of SPDs will know the club to which I refer.

Luckily there was no-one around to see it & I was up and away before anybody appeared.

On the way down however, I had time to mull over a few things:

1. I couldn't remember the last time I properly fell over and therefore wasn't sure how much it was going to hurt. I'm 38 now and don't bounce so well anymore!

2. As you're going over, it is the least natural movement in the world to continue to try & release your foot from said pedal.

3. I sure hope there's no-one around to see this.

4. Why did my brain, now displaying amazing clarity of thought as I braced to take the majority of the impact with an outstretched knee & elbow & then roll onto my shoulder, not make the connection between my pulling onto the verge & slowing down with my wanting to get off the bloody thing & therefore needing to release one of my feet?!

That said, I do remember twisting my foot to release & it didn't come out at the point I was expecting it to so there was a splitsecond delay before the panic twisting started! biggrin

IroningMan

10,154 posts

245 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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I joined that particular club at a feedstation in an Ironman race...there were lots of people to see it.

Gumstabber

348 posts

188 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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When this happens to me I usually find that upon hitting the ground I become unclipped. Now why couldn't it happen 1 second earlier?!

My other half thought it was hilarious when I started using them for mountain biking, this could have been because I forgot to unclip 4 times in the 10 mile circuit! Thankfully those times are now well passed.

TonyHetherington

32,091 posts

249 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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Excellent work thumbup

Did it once - through not changing down I 'stalled', thought I could make it, couldn't, panicked, then it was too late. Scuffed my seat and learnt a lesson biggrin

CoolC

4,213 posts

213 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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I joined that club rolling up to the car after a lap of Dalby Forest. Luckily it was just my mate there pointing and laughing.

gary71

1,963 posts

178 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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I'm a lifetime member...smile

After a couple of embarrasing moments 20 years ago when I bought my first pair I was all sorted until I bought some new pedals...

Clipped in for the first time trundling around the drive checking gear alignment, rode back into the garage and bang. Straight down hard onto my son's bike, a gas bottle and a welder. Result one ripped saddle, multiple bruises, a twisted ankle and a red face redface

Always remember to set the tension to minimum to start with! My instinctive flick of the ankle based on the old pedals just wasn't enough and it was too late to do anything about it!

Disastrous

10,072 posts

216 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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Does anyone NOT do this?? I've never used SPDs and I'm put off by the certainty of falling.

It's really irritating trying to rotate a toe clip when you're making off from a junction though so maybe they're better?

HurryUpAndWait

1,003 posts

202 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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Disastrous said:
Does anyone NOT do this?? I've never used SPDs and I'm put off by the certainty of falling.

It's really irritating trying to rotate a toe clip when you're making off from a junction though so maybe they're better?
Once you get used to them, I think they're safer than having cages. Plus you get to join the club! I joined it when I got to a T-junction to turn right, forgot to clip out, and TIMBER! I fell to the right, thankfully there wasn't a car turning into the junction, as more than my ego would have been bruised...

S10GTA

12,645 posts

166 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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I have had 2 that I can recall.

1. End of a hard reliability ride (read road race). It finished at one of the old boys houses, and was a bit of a social event. I had been dropped by the really fast boys and pulled into the close on my own. I pulled up outside the house, neglected to unclip, and ended up on my side. The bike was still attached, and everybody was in the front garden laughing at me

2. Set of traffic lights on a cross roads, trying to track-stand. There were millions of people around. I wished the ground would open up and swallow me. I actually did a lot of damaged to the derailure, which in turn caused the chain to drop inside of the cassette and bugger up the hub of my Zipp. A very costly mistake.

IroningMan

10,154 posts

245 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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Back the tension right off and you'll get used to them pretty quickly - it's a good idea to unclip early as lots of topples seem to come from 'can I get away with it?' junctions and such.

If I ever hame a moment now it's because I always put my left foot down first and my right leg isn't quite so well-practised at unclipping in a hurry.

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

197 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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Yup member here. I'm also in the more exclusive 'attempted a wheelie and went over the back with the bike still attached and landed flat on my back in the middle of the road' club biggrin

It was like I was trying to pedal upside down. Thank god for camel backs is all I can say.

IroningMan

10,154 posts

245 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
rhinochopig said:
Yup member here. I'm also in the more exclusive 'attempted a wheelie and went over the back with the bike still attached and landed flat on my back in the middle of the road' club biggrin

It was like I was trying to pedal upside down. Thank god for camel backs is all I can say.
Not in the road. In the garden. In front of my wife, children and mother-in-law.

'Watch this...'

scottri

950 posts

181 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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Did it twice. Once at the end of my drive just after fitting them and a 2nd time at a set of traffic lights waiting to turn right. Went down like a sack of st. I'm sure everyone else found it funny though!

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

197 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
quotequote all
IroningMan said:
rhinochopig said:
Yup member here. I'm also in the more exclusive 'attempted a wheelie and went over the back with the bike still attached and landed flat on my back in the middle of the road' club biggrin

It was like I was trying to pedal upside down. Thank god for camel backs is all I can say.
Not in the road. In the garden. In front of my wife, children and mother-in-law.

'Watch this...'
'Daddy, you do know the bike goes the other way up don't you?'

Thankfully my stunt was witnessed only by my less than sympathetic wife.

maturin23

586 posts

221 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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I did it at an ATM on a busy London junction. Plenty of stationary buses and people waiting to cross the road to see.

I'd been using the cleats for a few days; thought I would be clever and only un-clip my left foot whilst using the cash machine. Somehow managed to lean away from the ATM with my other foot still cleated in.

Bright shiny new bike, very shiny red face. biggrin

MadDad

3,834 posts

260 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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Good work that man!!

I joined the said club last year at the lights on the bridge in Henley in the middle of a sunny Sunday, much to the amusement of a huge queue of traffic, a beer garden full of lunchtime drinkers and a bridge full of pedestrians - what made it worse was I was trying (badly) to do a track stand!

I now have two tactics approaching red lights;

1 - unclip, dismount and wait for the lights to change.
2 - give myself enough room to roll slowly up to the lights without the need to drop my speed to the 'wobble point'.

Both work well in reducing the potential embarrassment factor, middle aged bruising, and frame/fork/wheel damage!

okgo

37,857 posts

197 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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I've never done it, but it seems most do!

nick s

1,368 posts

216 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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I've done this once, and i was almost stationary at a junction. I was surprised at how much it hurt, and how much i injured myself! My knee was bleeding quite a bit, i ripped my expensive cycling tights (it was winter) and cut and bruised my elbow and shoulder pretty badly. God knows what it feels like to fall off at speed then! redface

ewenm

28,506 posts

244 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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There's the special VIP membership you can get by unclipping on the left and then slowly toppling right (or vice versa) hehe

I've been riding clipless for years and still have the occasional wobble when I'm knackered or distracted.

TKF

6,232 posts

234 months

Wednesday 5th September 2012
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When I fitted mine I read tips that you should sit holding on to a wheelie bin and practice unclipping your left leg. The theory is leaning left becomes second nature so if you do fail to unclip then you fall on the pavement rather than the traffic.

After half a dozen goes I wobbled off down the drive, unclipped my left foot and then realised it was second nature for me to lean right.

When you get to that angle there is nothing you can do apart from brace for impact and hope nobody saw.

Everybody saw.