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Clips Clipped Confidence
I've done it, i listened and took the advice of fellow 'Mob'ers and bought some clipless pedals and shoes.
Also took the advise and went to Terry Hills for my first ride with my new pedals in toe.
Sure feels funny being so connected, but somehow feels good too.
Then decided to practice going quickly around some corners for practice, .....aaaaah the fun began...!!!
What an emotional rollercoaster, first i feel good, then i feel ridiculously inept, confidence soars, then plumetts when technical stuff arises.
"man these are gonna take some practice".....oh , and note to one self , never try to track stand with them in the lounge room, furniture hurts.
I can feel the difference in pedal strokes , but i think my pedaling action will need practice to maximise power delivery. I'm gonna persist with these until convinced otherwise. Thanks to the people who helped my decision.............vc
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what pedals/shoes did you end up with?
Just remember pedal in circles..... full rotations push down pull up.....
ROFL!
mate, we've all been there. You at least had the good sense to use flat pedals while learning your off road riding skills. I can't claim to have been so intelligent - I tried to tackle both at the same time.
The only cure is time on the bike. You can accelerate your acclimatisation by practicing emergency unclipping at the local park for 10-15 minutes a day (short, frequent session seem to train the brain better), having a play at practising your skills by doing slow speed turns around markers (on grass!), riding up and down gutters, riding down short sets of steps etc.
One thing that helped settle my mind was buying a set of 661 forearm/elbow pads. Funnily enough I stopped falling off after that - probably because I wasn't so worried about hurting myself on trail obstacles I was free to focus on getting past them, instead of freezing up.
Through personal experience, don't do wheelies while clipped in especially if you can't control them with your back brake.
A friend of mine ( who shal remain nameless ) recently broke 2 vertebrae in his back when he was teaching his young son how to wheelie in the local park. The first 30 or so examples went fine but on the 31st he decided to really pop a big one and overcooked it a little. His normal bail out technique was hampered somewhat by the clip ins he forgot he was wearing.... Cue large group of amused onlookers and the sound of ambulance sirens.
His comment afterwards was that it would have been really, really funny if he hadn't been in bl00dy agony !
He's back on the bike now and heading up for the 50k race at dirtworks....
CB
I got shimano M454 pedals ? very basic , with a resin flat pedal surrounding the clips. The shoes are shimano Mo76, bit tight in the toe area, Got the lot from a local shop for $180 .
Oh...and i wear my elbow and knee guards too.Wheelies are done cautiously, and red hill seems scarier now, so much to master again. BY GOING FORWARD I'VE HAD TO TAKE A FEW STEPS BACK .
Yes, well my wheelie while clipped in got me a trip to Mona Vale hospital's emergency department. I was lucky in the end and only suffered bruising
Requires a few steps back
That's it exactly mate
I'm pretty used to being clipped in
But on Monday I was showing off my (lack of) wheelie skills
I managed to pop a (for me) good one and was so surprised
Forgot my back brake when I looped out and slammed onto my tail bone
God that hurt
Went for a ride with my wife and thought I would put on flats for a pootle around
Popped off this little lip I found
Brain in neutral and relying on the clips to hold my feet to the pedals
I wound up sliding along the concrete on my back
God that hurt
But that's MTB'ing
Only one mistake from pain
That's why we love it
Doing rolling stoppies clipped in is even scarier than wheelies!
I was stuffing around in the carpark at Loftus, practising a few stoppies while the guys were still getting ready.
Got the back wheel too high, started going over the falls, tried to stick a leg out and didn't get unclipped. Ouch.
I'm glad I'm not the only one to completely flip whilst cliped in. 6 weeks out due to wrist bruising/ligament damage. Hate the idea of an endo! All better now.
While i was clipped in i was scrubbing in my pads and grabbed a handfull of brake.... nothing happened, grabbed another handfull and i got to the point where my backwheel was about 3/4 a metre high so i thought ok let go but i just didn't :S thankfully i have shimano's and my tension was at the lowest, i clipped out but it still hurt like a bi**h. The big graze on my chijn stopped my from doing it again
Btw im very happy with clip ins haven't had them for long, and havent given them a lotta usage but so far im very happy
Jono
So how are those brakes going, young padawan? Have you sorted them out yet?
I think the fronts are fine now but the backs i think are in need of a new seal. So i think thats where i am atm. All i wanna do is ride this bike im sick of stuffing around with the brakes!!!!
Good man Victor
Let the tension screw on the back of the pedal all the way out while you're getting used to them
not to play with your bike Jonathon , now look what happened
There were a few skills I have been struggling with and I found myself pulling my feet out of the clips before I approach areas that required them which just stuffed me up more. I took the clipless off and put the flats back on.....mistake! It is amazing how quick and comfortable clipless feel and how much better it is to ride with them once used to them. My feet were everywhere and the lack of power was horrible. Clipless all the way.
Ive come to rest with the fork, but the brakes i did ages ago and i have been having endless sh*t with them. Im preitty sure its just the seal now.