its all an opinion thing and there is no right answer. i commute (have no car) on my fixie but i also train for races on it. i ride clipless on 4/6 of my bikes (bmx clipless just isnt how its done). anyway, clipless systems are much better for efficiency, comfort blah blah blah, but when it comes down to it its a pain in the ***** to have to bring an extra pair of shoes with you everywhere you go. hell, its also a pain in the ass to walk around a store clunken with every step. i swear by clipless for my performance needs but for daily riding and a few weekly training rides, some nice straps (powergrips) do a good job. also, im with you on the brooks thing. i dont own one, but i have ridden some nicely broken in ones, and my selle italia flite (s) would kick a brooks ***** any day of the week.