I just got a bike fitting a couple of weeks ago, and one of the things the guy did is try to get me to even out my pedal stroke (I have clipless pedals and shoes). I was putting a lot of pressure on the downstroke but nowhere else, one of the things he had me do was try to pedal with just one foot, and keep the whole rotation perfectly smooth (well - as smooth as possible). I've been working on it, though it seems to be using new muscles so I can't go full out for as long. I assume that will go away eventually, but even right now - I biked an hour and a half in the same amount of time that I used to, with the same average speed that I used to, but I was *much* less tired at the end of the ride! Could have kept biking a lot longer, whereas usually I'm totally exhausted. I imagine I'll just be faster (and more exhausted, lol) once my muscles get used to it.

So I don't think that's quite as possible with clips, because you can't pull backwards. To be fair, it may not be an issue if you were like me last year where I didn't have a smooth pedals stroke anyways. :-)

I wish I could offer advice about switching from toe clips to "clipless", but I tried toe clips a couple of times and they scared me so I'm probably not the best person to ask. I didn't like that you had to remember to slide your foot backwards first. To be fair, clipless also scared me at first but I figured I'd get used to clipping in and out of them without thinking about it eventually, and that's what happened.

Changing shoes is certainly the drawback. With mountain shoes and cleats you certainly don't have to change shoes "everywhere" - I'd go grocery shopping in my bike shoes, at friends houses they always ask that you take off your shoes anyways, and at work I have a desk so I can keep a pair of regular shoes here. But any time you're going to spend any large amount of time off the bike standing up or walking it's annoying, they're certainly not as comfortable for regular walking as normal shoes.