Originally Posted by cyccommute

I'd say skip the clips and go directly to clipless. Yes, there is a learning curve for clipless and, yes, you may experience an embarrassing (very slow speed) crash but there is also a learning curve for toe clips. With clipless...especially 2 sided mountain bike pedals...if your foot hits the pedal, you'll likely engage. With clips, you have to rotate the pedal and hunt around for the space to put your foot then reach down and cinch the strap if you want a more positive engagement with the pedal. Most people don't bother with cinching them down because it's mostly a pain to do and you have to plan much further ahead to release the strap vs. simply rotating your foot.