Tips for learning to use clipless

[Ponch]

Ok, well I have finally decided to take all of the advice I have read about clipless being better and even safer. I got a set of Shimano 858's from Kipper, a pair of Diadora Geko's from precision and the cleats should be arriving in the mail today. What tips, drills, and skill building type of stuff can I do to shorten the "learning curve" of clipless? Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Jesse

[~ Pakiha ~]

For me, I brought my bike in to the living room and clipped in and out while watching tv and balancing against a door frame. the trick for me was finding out where on my foot the clip was. After that I clipped in and out for about an hour untill i felt it was an after thought process. but P.S. your still goin g to eat $#*% at least once cause of them.

have the tension screw set no too loose or not too tight. keep them clean, in the past i would put a drop or three of tri-flow on the cleat and the pedal... now i have platforms and don't worry about it.

[Big Guy]

Ride in a park, on the grass, ride. stop, put your foot down, repeat for the other foot.

I crashed because I forgot to unclip twice. Once I was at a traffic light and once on a flat single track.

I keep my clips fairly loose and never had a problem with then not unclipping when they needed to.

please note that being "unclipped" with the pedals pictured or most are sketchier than being clipped in (imo), because when you are clipped in your shoe is in contact with the mechanism ,"cage" and secure, when you are unclipped the sole is now in contact with the mechanism and it will feel like you are standing on a ball bearing(stiff soles on your shoes). that is why i run platforms(personal preference) the benefit from clipless i found was strictly climbing.i switched to platforms mainly because when you look down that steep chute you ask yourself " to clip or not to clip? either way you are thinking about the pedals and not the trail or lack there of that is in front of you.

[Evel Knievel]

Ride really mellow beginer trails for your first 5 rides . You should have it down after that.

[LBmtb]

You're going to fall no matter what. Like evel said, don't ride anything gnarly until you're somewhat comfortable with them.

[Ponch]

All good info. I want to figure out the skill as I would like to get into X-C racing someday and figured clipless would be a huge advantage there. Any opinions on that?

[ECOdork]

All good advice. First try it in the grass and on not-so gnarly trails. Work up to the nasty stuff.
And I like to say that it will get worse before it gets better, but once your brain gets it, it is a wonderful thing.
Teach yourself to pull up on the pedals as well as push down...in other words, make small and even circles. You'll blow your mind with how you can climb up stuff you once thought insurmountable!

[trmcnulty]

Check your cleat screws often (I do it before every ride). There is nothing like clipping in and realizing that you can't get out because you lost a screw and the cleats no longer rotate with your foot. This didn't happen to me mid death climb on an extremely exposed singletrack...I swear....

If I said anything else there would be an echo in the thread. Good luck, and you'll love them soon.

[Epic_Mtn_Biker]

Originally Posted by texlepomis

All good advice. First try it in the grass and on not-so gnarly trails. Work up to the nasty stuff.
And I like to say that it will get worse before it gets better, but once your brain gets it, it is a wonderful thing.
Teach yourself to pull up on the pedals as well as push down...in other words, make small and even circles. You'll blow your mind with how you can climb up stuff you once thought insurmountable!

i have to agree with Texlepomis & the opinions of the others, i would also like to add that as you get used to the pedals tighten down the tension and you won't accidentally clip out on the really wild stuff that easily.

that's just my preference, having the tension as high as possible
once you learn how to go thru the crazy stuff while being clipped in you won't need the cage type pedals

how secure do you feel bombing down a rock garden with egg beaters?
egg beaters!!!!!

[Evel Knievel]

Originally Posted by flyingmonkey

how secure do you feel bombing down a rock garden with egg beaters?
egg beaters!!!!!

Rock solid .

i will pray for you...i would not trust them for anything other than eggs
A-frame baby A-frames!!!!!

[~ Pakiha ~]

I gave flyingmonkey those A-Frames (your Welcome) and He gave me his DX platforms (Thank you) It all boils down to personal preference. Me personaly, I ride a 32 lb Trek Liquid and I didn't like the feeling of my bike leaving my feet during drops. To me knowing that where i put my feet my bike goes adds more confidence to my ride.

That may beg the question,"Am I really into bondage?" well yes, it's all about control. While I am at it I am also a masochist, but aren't all MTBer's??

[Schecky]

Originally Posted by flyingmonkey

how secure do you feel bombing down a rock garden with egg beaters?
egg beaters!!!!!

Originally Posted by Evel Knievel

Rock solid .

Ditto!

I would think egg beaters look funny on a Banshee scream.
anyhow ride free

[Sway]

platforms for me... but i'm a noob and have to jump off a lot.

[Ponch]

Well all great advice, after reading it I decided just to get on and see what happens. I road from my house (Moulton and C.V.) to Aliso Woods. I then rode down to meadows trail?, which lead me to some steep switch backs. Everything was going great until half way up the switch backs I lost my foward progress. Guess what happened, just like you guys said, I tipped over, failed to unclip, and crashed into some bushes and down part of the hill. Other than that, I think it went pretty good. I need to tighten them a bit, too much "wiggle room" when I am clipped in.

[cow]

Originally Posted by four1481

I need to tighten them a bit, too much "wiggle room" when I am clipped in.

One thing to keep in mind when tightening them up to remove the float (thats the official term), is that the cleats need to be positioned correctly so as not to bind up your knee. If you find that your knees are hurting at all after riding, adjust the cleats a bit.

Good luck with your clipless adventures, I know once I took a couple rides on mine I was hooked, literally, and figuratively..


-Mike