I have never had my feet attached to my pedals before. Every bike I have ever had was platforms.

That having been said, my rides can be upwards of 8-10 hours of seat/pedal time over a day. I like the freedom of platforms. My feet move around forwards/backwards on the pedals to shift the contact points. If my calves are worn out I move my feet forwards to decrease the wear on my calves. I don't ride fast - average close to 10mph, on a full day that may drift off to about a 9 average.

Due to some knee problems that I developed last riding season and some research I have done, here on BF and elsewhere, I have just made the switch to SPD. I am hoping for two things - more power and to curb my knee problems. I don't expect SPD's to be the only remedy, but that opens up the ability to work my leg muscles in totally new/different ways that aren't possible without my feet being locked to my pedals.

That having been said, I am not in any way ready to give up the freedom of platforms for a day of riding so I am going to run reversible SPD/platforms. I will loose the efficiency of the side of the pedal I am putting my foot on not mattering as both sides aren't the same, but efficiency there doesn't matter to me one bit.

So the way I see it is reversible pedals give me the ability to take care of 3 riding needs - the two benefits I mentioned before for SPD's - more power, less risk of injury, with the added bonus of unclipping and having the free range of platform pedals when I want that, or if my calves need a break from the fixed foot position.

This riding season will be different for me for a variety of reasons. We'll see how I get along as the miles add.