I've got two kinds of Shimano dual-sided SPD pedals, the A530's and M324's.

The A530's are on my do-it-all kind of bike. It's a cyclocross bike with a rack so it gets ridden whenever panniers are handy: long gravel rides, errands around town, whatever. It also has lower gearing than my road bike, so it sometimes sees hill duty. It's nice to be able to throw sandals on for a ride to the park with my kids, or to put MTB shoes on to clip in for a 20 mile gravel ride. Same bike, same pedals. So I totally see the upside of these pedals.

BUT... The platform side of the A530's is slippery. Especially when wet. And they feel narrow. They're OK for leisurely pedaling around town, but a little annoying for anything more than that. I don't have a problem with the SPD side. Rotate the pedal with my toe if necessary and clip in.

I've got M324's on the MTB my wife uses. The platform side of these pedals feels MUCH more stable and secure. The down side to these pedals, compared to the A530's, is that they're chunkier and heavier.