Originally Posted by
umazuki
IMO the benefit of clipless is not so much "pulling up" - it's to keep your feet locked to the pedal. This allows you to spin
No, it really doesn't. People span for a century or so using straps and even platform pedals. It isn't even hard to do so.
Let me just say that I too had an accident with clipless - my tire got stuck in a storm drain as I was taking off. I was fine and the bike was fine, just a little banged up. I would have been more banged up if I were strapped in and all tangled up in the bike. Instead, my clipless pedals disengaged, I was thrown free of the bike, and I walked away.
Most people who have tried both would say you'd have come away easier with Powergrips. And obviously if you'd been riding with BMX/freeriding MTB pedals then there would have been no issue at all.