Originally Posted by
dcrowell
Plenty people ride thousands of miles per year without using clipless. I've used them, but have switched back to plain pedals. I may give clipless another try sometime.
There's nothing to be scared of. You'll probably fall once, while at a stand-still. Then it'll be second nature.
An honest flat pedal user!
Persoanlly I prefer clipless by a huge margin. But the kind I use require rotating the heel out to unclip, a motion very like the one used to get out of ski bindings. That meant that for me, with the timing of when in my life I tried clipless it came entirely naturally. A few rides and it was ingrained.
Clipless has likely saved me a couple of very nasty crashes. All going downhill at speed and hitting something where it was difficult to stay up. If my foot had come off the pedals and hit the ground with any force the odds are it would have sent me flying.
Mine are SPDs and give me a recessed cleat in a flat shoe. There are some sections of the beach bike path where simple pedals would be slightly nicer, and traditional cleats would be a real pain.