You probably wouldn't kill a cliipless pair. However, it might be a good idea to get into the habit of going through a curve with the *inside* pedal in the 12 o'clock position. It does mean you have to stop pedalling momentarily, of course, but if you are going that quickly, that doesn't matter, and you are probably leaning quite a way into the corner. It's surprising, actually, because when you stand next to your bike and lean it over, it seems to go a l-o-n-g way before the pedal (in six o'clock position) touches the ground.

I find that cornering with the inside pedal up does three things: 1) It preserves the pedals and even more iimportantly, the cranks from damage. 2) It avoids the very problem you are talking about -- pitching myself off the bike. And 3) Having my weight on the outside pedal seems to add more control to the bike, especially if you have to sharpen the turn or you go over corrugations/potholes. For MTBers, it enables them to get the inside foot out and stabilise the bike by dragging it on the gravel if the rear end breaks away.

It's great riding behind someone coasting downhill on a sealed road at speed and watching the change in pedal position as they negotiate each corner.

As to pedals, clips and straps... the ordinary plastic ones I found to be quite satisfactory. They are resilient and take lots of scuffing. The cheapest pedals have suspect bearings, however, and because they are unsealed need regular overhauling. Note that you may have to make up and insert spaces between the pedal and clip mount to get a satisfactory "fit" for your foot.

I've heard of Powergrips, but have no experience with them. Others posting elsewhere seem to like them very much for their simplicity, and particularly because they are easy to adjust for big boots as required in northern American winters.

FWIW

R