Originally Posted by
FunkyStickman
For an alternative point-of-view, read
Grant Petersen's nifty little rant about cycling shoes and pedals.
What it boils down to is
feel. That's such a subjective topic, everybody says they "feel" better, but they do not actually make a measurable difference in efficiency
if your pedaling technique is already good. Now, in all fairness, if they "feel better" then you might be tempted to work harder, but the fact is they're just different, not better or worse.
They value of the study that Grant quotes has been debated endlessly. Many would argue just the opposite of what you're saying, and that you need good pedaling technique to get the most out of clipless pedals.
The problem with clipless pedals in my mind is that they require a substantial investment both in terms of time and money to figure out if you like them or not.