When you guys talk about clearance of road vs MTB pedals, do you just mean when cornering? If so, does that really make much difference unless you are leaned over a lot? I always thought that you put your inside pedal up when you're turning anyway.
It's a problem when pedaling through turns, which is mostly only a problem in races since riding casually you normally won't be taking turns that aggressively. The OP mentioned he was thinking about racing in the first post, that why people are mentioning road pedals and shoes.