I love SPD's. I've been using toe clips and straps since 1975, and I prefer using some sort of foot retention over none at all. My favorite is SPD's. I have five bikes I ride regularly. If I could afford to, I would put SPD's on all of them. I'm doing it gradually. I love the kind that are plain on one side and have an SPD interface on the other. I'd like to put toe clips and straps on the plain side, but they would drag on the ground, so that won't work. I'm thinking of putting PowerGrips on the plain side. I figure if they rub the ground, that should be OK, unless they snag on something, but that doesn't seem likely.