Originally Posted by
Doohickie
On the contrary... if you have a hot spot with a pedal, you can shift your fit a bit to relieve it. If you go clipless, you are stuck. If you get a hot spot, tough luck, you're stuck with it for the rest of your ride.
+1. This is what sent me back to toe clips from SPD style clipless. I purchased a set of SPD for my commuter and after a year of fiddling (different shoes, different pedals etc.) I could never alleviate hot spots when riding for more than and hour. Also I found that in the winter the pedal acted as a heat sink and my feet would get colder faster. I got some Soma Double Gate toes clips in the large size, I wear a size 11.5 & 12 shoe and really like them. They with a set of MKS Touring pedals, have made things much more comfortable.
While I really enjoyed the attached feeling that the SPD pedals provided, my current set up allows much more flexibilty in foot position and choice of shoes. Clipless work well for some but they are not mandatory, as many bike shop sales people would make you believe. The total cost for my set up was under $50.