Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,320
Likes: 6,605
From: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
I agree that modern clipless systems are better than old fashioned toe clips and straps, but the disadvantage is the need for specialized shoes.
My approach to mitigate that is to wear sandals that use SPD cleats and pedals that are plain on one side and SPD on the other. It's an almost perfect compromise. When I have my sandals or cycling shoes on, I get to use my cleats. When I don't, I'm pedaling on the tops of my plain pedals with no retention.
I'm thinking of seeing if I can attach PowerGrips to these pedals. I can't attach toe clips, because they would scrape on the ground when I'm using cleats. But there ought to be no harm in rubbing PowerGrips on the ground.