Cycle accident and cleats.

[Reggie-rock]

I just had a thought, if your fixed to your peddles via. cleats, if you do have an accident are your injures likely to be more serious as you may have little time to un-clip yourself from the pedals.

 

[I like Skol]

You just tend to separate from the bike during the course of the fall without having to consciously unclip (at least I do with MTB SPDs). In all my off-road offs I have come away from the bike cleanly even when going over the bars and my two road dismounts were also very smoothly executed affairs with the one that would have likely given trouble actually being the less clumsy of the two. My bike slid out from under me on a slippy mini roundabout at about 20mph and we (bike and me) ended up sliding along the tarmac side by side but definitely not attached

 

[Sharky]

As above
In comparison with the old toe clips and straps, if you crashed with the straps tight, you would stay connected to the bike and increase possible injuries.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Yes, cleats are wonderful (and slightly paradoxical) things: they secure your feet to the pedals nicely in wet weather, unclip nicely when you come off the bike, but also (occasionally) don't unclip when you want them to, resulting in nice little "clip-stacks". Marvellous piece of technology.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Ive always un clipped subconsciously when it all goes wrong, it tends to be more difficult if you actually think about it ..after a beer or 2 is the way to good you tube vids, car parks are best..

 

[PhilDawson8270]

Although if you stay clipped, there are less limbs flapping around to be injured.

My 1 fall, caused by turning into a side road way too fast in the cold. 1 leg unclipped the one under the bike was still clipped in. I must say, unclipping while lay on the floor, with your foot between the bike and the floor is quite awkward.

 

[mjr]

I doubt they make much difference in moving crashes, but in standing falls and clipless moments, your leg seems to be trapped under the bike and easily has seat or down tubes and chainstays land on it, depending on pedal position at the time. Another reason I don't plan to use clips again.

 

[tallliman]

My recent accident on the tram tracks in Nottingham left someone else disconnecting my feet from my pedals (from memory). However, I did go down very quickly so no time to react.

 

[screenman]

Yes, cleats are wonderful (and slightly paradoxical) things: they secure your feet to the pedals nicely in wet weather, unclip nicely when you come off the bike, but also (occasionally) don't unclip when you want them to, resulting in nice little "clip-stacks". Marvellous piece of technology.[/Q

I have been using them for over 25 years and never failed to get unskilled, am I doing something wrong?

 

[screenman]

I doubt they make much difference in moving crashes, but in standing falls and clipless moments, your leg seems to be trapped under the bike and easily has seat or down tubes and chainstays land on it, depending on pedal position at the time. Another reason I don't plan to use clips again.

Why do you not unclip before you fall off, some of you sound like you need stabilizers.

 

[vickster]

You're better using pedals

 

[slowmotion]

My brother in law is a very experienced cyclist and was setting out on his titanium steed for a ride four years ago. Riding down a quiet, remote, single track country lane, he heard a large lorry behind him and pulled over onto a gently sloping verge to let it by. For reasons unknown, he failed to unclip his downhill shoe and toppled over.....between the front and back wheels of what turned out to be a large diesel fuel tanker. The rear wheel ran right over his hip, which was comprehensively crushed. Paramedics turned up quickly, shortly followed by the helicopter which whisked him to a specialist hospital 20 miles away where he lingered between life and death for a week.

He's made a remarkable recovery and is back on the bike again, and has been up Ventoux. You would never know he had ever had an accident. Yes, it was a freak accident, but it could happen to any of us, so I'm not too complacent. I do have SPDs and I love them.

Edit: BTW, his bike was completely unscathed, but his snazzy lycra tights were scissored off by the paramedics at about the time of his first shot of roadside morphine. He got really angry about that at the time.

 

[Drago]

I just had a thought, if your fixed to your peddles via. cleats, if you do have an accident are your injures likely to be more serious as you may have little time to un-clip yourself from the pedals.

I don't understand. If you're set up properly and suitably adept in their use, then it takes no longer to detach from spud pedals than it does from flats. IMHO as a trainer I believe a lot of grief comes not from being clipped in per se, but rather from riders going clipless before their basic, fundamental riding and control skills are properly developed.

 

[screenman]

I drive a manual and I cannot remember the last time I had too remember to use the clutch.

 

[Flying Dodo]

About 7 years ago I skidded on some gravel and hit a roadside Armco barrier sideways-on with my left shin taking the impact. I remember looking at my speedo and realising I was doing 25mph and thinking this could hurt. I was pivoted up and over the barrier, with the bike resting on top of the barrier and the action of rotating up unclipped me. I was left dangling down the other side of the barrier, holding on with one hand.

So any violent action should unclip you anyway, even if you don't remember to do it.