Originally Posted by
chugger3
I didn't get the hoped-for big feeling of more power and speed with these things.
That's because they don't offer a "big feeling of power and speed" They offer a tiny advantage that is mainly relevant to racers and intense riders, but for most of us doesn't make a huge difference. At high cadence the clips hold your feet on the pedals, and in steep, slow, out-of-saddle climbs they might help you pull up. They may also give you the smugness of mastering a new skill and perhaps a zen-like feeling of one-ness with the bike. However their efficiency in ordinary non-intense riding is negligible. All the talk of exerting power around the full pedal stroke is mostly hype. Most people don't pull up, they just unweight their leg partially on the upstroke, so the clipless pedals don't help there, and normally you have enough foot grip with ordinary platform pedals to push through the top of the stroke and pull through the bottom without being attached.
So have fun with them, but don't expect them to make very much difference unless you're riding all out, or mashing a really steep climb.