That was my issue. On longer ride my toes would go numb and actually stay numb even hours after finishing the ride.

Having stiffer soled shoes makes a big difference using straps. The problem is that all of my stiff soled shoes were expensive low top hiking shoes (Vasque, Salomon)...after a few weeks of riding, the straps would start to wear holes in my shoes which isn't exactly a good thing if you're hiking in the rain. I tried to go riding with soft soled canvas/suede casual shoes and my arches would just ache on any type of ride over 30 minutes.

I bit the bullet and went to clipless combined with ultra stiff road shoes (My Shimano's are carbon soled). Everything improved: no numbness, no arch pain, felt like I was getting more power into the pedals, etc... Only downside was walking.

I could see switching back to straps if I'm doing a 10-15 min ride to a friend's house and don't want to switch out shoes...but everything else, you really can't beat clipless.

I bought my black Shimano 170's for around $65 brand new...which are basically the top of the line buckle/carbon soled model from last year. Just wait for sales (this shoes but last years model SH-R171 - ROAD - CYCLING FOOTWEAR AND PEDALS - LIFESTYLE GEAR - SHIMANO )

On longer rides they cannot be beat.