Originally Posted by kxpedder7
Shimano did a lot of testing in the 1980's to prove that that really wasn't the case. Yes you can get a better pull on your up stroke but on a dynometer, there was only a slight difference.
The only really advance to clipless in my opinion is that if your ride really bumpy terrain, your feet are less likely to slip off the pedals.
What kind of bikes were they testing with in the 80's? My guess would not be MTN bikes.