Originally Posted by 46x17

Almost all the messengers and in san francisco that ride a FIXED GEAR bicycles and almost all the people that have been riding fixed for a long time on city streets ride with clips and straps. (Clipless is for road and mtn bikes!). Why? Because they know that clipless is unsafe on a fixed gear bicycle that does not have a handbrake (and even with a handbrake it is dangerous). They are unsafe because they are DESIGNED to release under certain amount of strain and when your foot moves sideways. This causes accidental unclipping when you least want it for example pulling a hockey stop at a busy intersection. With clips and straps this is not the case as long as you buy decent straps and check them every once in a while. True you can get more better power transfer with clipless shoes than with adidas sambas, but is you get some proper cycling shoes with a hard sole the difference is minimal.