Originally Posted by
MKahrl
You're going to be able to ride more at your husband's pace when you've been riding more and have gotten fitter AND he comes to his senses and slows down and teaches you how to draft. There are reasons to switch to clipless but every scientific study done on power transfer to pedals indicates there are no energy efficiency gains for clipless pedals over plain o' flat platform pedals.
If that were true, we'd see some racers using flats. I've never seen or heard of one. It's pretty obvious that foot retention allows the use of more muscles which increases endurance. Short-term power is limited by aerobic ability, not one's pedals, but all-day power is another story. Hence everyone who's riding any distance uses clipless.
I've liked SPDs used with MTB shoes. It's nice to be able to walk around. I prefer Sidi Dominators. They're expensive but I had a pair that went over 50,000 miles before they were stolen. They didn't even show wear. Double-sided pedals are the easiest to clip into, no need to turn them over. I captain a tandem and use double sided there because I can never miss a clip. I use single-sided on my single road bikes, well, just because it's cooler, looks more roadie.