davester

I think it's highly amusing that there are such emotionally charged attachments to different pedal systems displayed in this thread. In my personal experience there are advantages and disadvantages to each system but some of those differences have been way overstated here. I've been riding pretty seriously for about 40 years, and have raced, toured, done centuries, double centuries, MTB rides, and just farting around rides. On my various road bikes I currently have either toeclips + straps or clipless. On my MTB I ran toeclips and straps for a while, switched to SPDs, and then switched again to flats with gripping pins. Back in the olden days when I was racing I used toeclips + straps + cleats.

Here's my comparison of the pros and cons of the different use cases for pedal systems:

Regular Road Riding (centuries, fast group rides) - toeclips + straps (no cleats and straps not too tight) vs clipless: I find these two systems to be pretty equivalent in terms of foot retention on the pedal and ability to get into and out of the pedal. I'm just as happy riding either system, and do so interchangeably. On fast Strava segments where I'm going for speed there is zero difference between these systems. In my experience, anyone who claims that clipless systems make you go faster is drinking koolaid. The SPDs perhaps have a slight advantage in lateral rotation (given the right cleats) but I don't find this to be a big deal as long as you don't tighten your straps. Perhaps those with knee problems might find this to be more important. SPDs also might have a slight advantage on extremely steep hills where you might want to pull up hard on the back for a couple of strokes on short steep sections, although this is questionable since testing has shown that overall efficiency actually decreases when pulling up on the backstroke. The massive downside for all clipless pedals except SPD is that you can't walk in the shoes. Even with SPD, those clunky shoes with recessed cleats are not great for walking. I would NEVER tour with clipless pedals. I can see riding flats for these kinds of rides, though I haven't tried it for decades and I do like having some degree of foot retention just so my foot doesn't move around to different locations on the pedal...not a big deal though.

Road Racing - toeclips + straps + cleats and tight straps vs clipless: BITD we used toeclips + straps + cleats+ tight straps to race. The reason for the increase in degree retention here is that you do not want anything throwing you off your pedal alignment during a race. You want to be locked down and don't want to have to think about your pedals. This is where the switch to clipless made a huge difference. Not only did my feet hurt due to the straps after a couple of hours of riding, but there was absolutely zero lateral rotation and if your cleats weren't perfectly placed you could get serious knee pain (and the early nail-on cleats were NOT adjustable). Not only that, but getting out of the straps either at a sudden stop or during a crash was not assured. A big win for "clipless pedals"

MTB Off-Road or Recreational Road: flats vs SPD clipless: Pretty much every slow speed crash I've had on rocky trails has been because I was using toeclips+straps or SPD pedals and couldn't release quickly enough to make quick foot-ground contact out to steady myself. I also know some mountain bike team coaches who've been seriously injured because of this problem. This caused me to switch to flat pedals with gripping pins along with 510 sticky-soled shoes. What a revelation! Foot retention is still pretty good (though you have to be aware that and I can whip my foot off the pedal instantly. I will never go back. That said, I can see that if you are one of those folks who likes to catch "big air", flats are not for you.

Casual Riding, Grocery Getting, Short Commutes: flats or toeclips + straps, doesn't matter: There is zero reason for either toeclips+ straps or clipless for these kinds of rides. Also, why would you want to carry a second pair of shoes for the activities you want to do when you get where you're going.