I ditched the clip-ins at the start of this year. For the past 6 years, I had been riding with Look Keos. They were OK, but I didn't like having to replace the plastic cleats every year, which would get pretty loose. Finally, my cycling shoes began to need replacing, but instead of buying new ones, I went ahead and bought platform pedals for my bikes. I use the MKS Lambda pedals, bought from Treefort Bikes for around $37. These pedals are also sold elsewhere as "Grip Kings".

http://www.treefortbikes.com/#navbar...22360767___114

Now I can just wear sneakers at all times, which is very comfortable. It is nice to be able to come to a stoplight, put both feet on the ground and stand up straight to stretch. I haven't really noticed any drop in power, and I still keep up with group rides just fine. But I do get asked a lot of questions, since I'm always the only one without clip-ins.

The only time when I would like to have clip-ins is when climbing steep grades >15%, because then you do actually pull up on the pedals, but otherwise, I think being clipped in is way overhyped.