Clipless pedals

From MTB Repair and Skills

Switching from platform to clipless bike pedals can be intimidating for beginning mountain bikers but clipless pedals actually give you much better control of your bike and can help you avoid pedal-shin contact. Getting familiar with your new pedals is the key to staying safe on the trail.

To get comfortable using clipless pedals, take your bike to a flat grassy or soft area and clip in. Pedal two or three strokes and coast to a stop. As you start to loose your balance, attempt to unclip by turning your heel away from the bike.

The point of this exercise is two fold:

1. By coasting to a stop you'll be "surprised" by the direction of your fall and will need to think fast. This helps you establish the unclipping motion without thinking.

2. It offers a low risk environment that is much more forgiving than most trail environments since you will probably fall several times before you get the hang of clipping and unclipping.