Originally Posted by noglider

i've been using one form of foot retention or another for over 40 years. Back then, we had toe clips, now called cages. They're tricky to get into, and they don't prevent your feet from coming out of the back unless you tighten the straps down really hard. Racers would use a cleat with a slot so that when the strap is tight, your foot was stuck in. To get out, they would have to loosen the strap before pulling the foot out.

Modern cleats cause you to clip in, which creates confusing terminology. Toe cages should never have been called clips, but oh well. Modern cleats are called clipless because they don't use cages. But argh! These things do clip. I wish we had called them snap in pedals or click in or something.

I like the modern systems because they're easy to get into. It takes a little habit building to snap out without falling over. Practice!

When i'm tired or climbing hills, sometimes, rather than pressing down on my forward foot at the 2 o'clock position, i pull back with my bottom foot (at the 6 o'clock position) and simultaneously push forward with my top foot at the 12 o'clock position. I'm not saying this makes me faster, but the ability to use different muscles reduces fatigue and when you do the math just might be more efficient.

I like the spd kind of cleat best because the cleats are recessed, which allows for safe walking. I own four pairs of spd shoes. One of them is a pair of sandals! Some of my pedals are dual-purpose, with a regular old surface on one side and spd mechanism on the other side. This is really convenient if, for some reason, i'm not wearing my spd shoes. It's also handy for loaning my bike out. Dual sided spd pedals without cleats are pretty uncomfortable. But one advantage they have is that you don't have to flip the pedal over to engage.

Another thing i like about spd is that i can adjust them loose to minimize the effort to disengage. I've had a few panic stops where rather than twisting out as intended, i just pulled straight up and out. This is good for me. If you are racing, you'll want to adjust your pedals tighter than that, because you can't afford for your foot to come out until you intend it.