Originally Posted by
spectastic
For serious road riding/racing purposes, definitely go with the SPD SL, look or speedplay.
For commuting or mountain biking, go with SPD. From what you've provided, it sounds like spd is a better option. Most mountain bike shoes allow you to have full traction when you're walking, and they're stiff to give you the benefit of stiffness.
I now have platform pedals on my commuter, with toeclips. I chose this option because it's convenient. I can wear any shoe I want, and I can use a steel insole or something to make it stiff (I still need to try that).
There are also pedals out there that's half platform and half SPD. That's also an option.
Thanks for your feedback. What type of MTB shoes you use?
I once had a chance to try biking shoes. They were
Bontrager RL MTB I could not walk in them comfortably. The soles were very stiff and that was fine, but the treads were made of hard plastic which did not make sense to me. Since the treads would never effect sole stiffness I wonder why Bontrager did not put rubber treads. It would have made walking so much easier. Do all other MTB shoes come with hard plastic treads?