Originally Posted by
charles vail
I think any retention pedal system to be a solution to a non-existent problem. I think many riders are fooling themselves into believing that a retention system gives them significant performance gains.
I use SPD, and before that, toe clips (and I'd go back to toe clips with no reservations) NOT for performance gains, but for safety. I went out and bought toe clips the day my sneakers slipped off the pedals TWICE in one day while I was first in line at a stoplight, a large truck behind me, and the light turned green. It's not fun to lose your power when there's a truck 5 feet behind you gaining speed.
I use SPDs mainly because I can get INTO them faster than I can toe clips. SPD is pretty cheap to get into; I buy mountain shoes when they're on sale for $35 or less, and I bought slightly-used pedals off eBay for $20.