Definitely cleated pedals. SPD-M and other recessed cleat standards are practical; SPD-SL and Look Keo a bit awkward off the bike; but cleated pedals with cycling shows in general far more comfortable and in my view safe than the alternatives. The type of pedal you can ride with a regular show but that goes over your foot strikes me as dangerous as they won't release as readily in a crash as, say, SPD-M does (and I speak from experience with the SPD-M releasing properly in a crash). Even the traditional flat if your foot slips at any point and shoots forward (into the front spokes, as also happened to me a long time ago, triggering an over-the-handlebars crash).

But there's something to be said for those flats on an errand bike or a shorter commute. Just show up and go. No debate over finding a pair of shoes that's useful both on and off the bike. Someone correct me if I'm wrong about the foot straps/toe cages though.

Power Grips have served me well ~ five years road bike riding; thousands of miles after Tombay w/ Look kept me from riding about six weeks.

Definitely flats. Mobility is king where you have many stops and gos and obstacles to steer clear off. Fast acceleration and decelleration and steering. Fast to put your feet down during e braking.

Tioga D-Spyder, pinned both sides, with the plastic mini toe clips for me. Have that setup on 2 bikes. Can wear regular shoes and NEVER be unable to get your foot out in an instant. I can pull up, although I'm sure it's not to the degree needed for racing.

Flats (Race Face chester or equal) don't let you feet slip. Even as a kid with just the rubber block pedals my feet never slipped.

For riding (commute or recreational) I just re-use either old normal shoes that are not good for walking anymore, or just wear what I wear at work. Much less hassle, much cheaper that way. I also don't wear bibs etc.... I'm a simpleton. Same policy for my hybrid and my fatbike.

Maybe SPD work a tiny bit better in a race... but is that the typical commute scenario?

in the winter I wear sievi gore tex leather boots. So flats it is. I just love how I can wear anything I want and just ride.

I don't have the right size allen wrench to turn those pins. I'll just put up with the slight inconvenience for now. We shall see whether that inconvenience accumulates into action down the road.

Fyi you can buy a very good multitool for around $20. I believe this is the same one I own.
https://www.amazon.com/Crank-Brother...dp/B000S6HZCC/

This slightly smaller and slightly cheaper one would probably work as well:
https://www.amazon.com/Crank-Brother...dp/B000621XJO/

Your call of course.

Bucking the boots trend(I don't like boots) and going clipless for winter. First time with clipless.

I don't like wearing boots and I'm tired of my feet slipping when it rains*. If I'm buying nice pedals anyway, I'll just go clipless. I also want shoe covers for the rain, which rules out

*I live in a temperate rainforest. Last fall/winter/spring got 140" inches of rain. When I say wet and rain, I'm not ****ing around.

For really cold weather I have some SPD boots. For the torrential downpours we sometimes get I've been trying out some Shower's Pass waterproof socks under my normal riding shoes, and so far I have to say that I like them and they seem to work as advertised.

I went from clipless to platform long ago because I got tired of being a bike nerd.

+1

There are some cyclists who get benefit from (aka 'need') clipless. Most others that have clipless do it because they think they are supposed to.

there's also a third group: people who ride clipless simply because they like it.

i certainly don't need to be locked on to my pedals for my short little 5 mile runs to and from the office everyday, but i greatly prefer to have my foot attached to the pedal if i have the option to.

#bikenerdpride

Count me as a member of that third group.
I ride in SPD commuter shoes https://www.amazon.ca/Pearl-Izumi-X-...+cycling+shoes

My work is casual, so I can wear these shoes all day at my desk.

and use the shimano 530 pedals https://www.amazon.ca/SPD-Touring-Pe...spd+pedals+530

These work very well for my roughly 10k commute. The first 8k or so is on a MUP with no interruptions, so I'm clipped in. The last 2k is in traffic with lots of lights and stop signs, so I un-clip one foot for that section. Keeping the other clipped in makes it easy to pull my pedal up to a good starting position.

:thumb:

Yeah, that's me. I simply much prefer being clipped in, not a matter of need. In fact, my commute is shorter than yours but the distance of my ride has no bearing on my preference for clipless.

Flats. When I started bike commuting full-time a few months ago, I went from a single speed with eggbeaters to a proper commuter with panniers and flat pedals and stuff. I love it. No more swapping shoes. For a 6mi ride each way, I love having the weight off my back, a more relaxed upright position, and free feet. No regrets.

I currently only own one bike so I use flats Monday through Friday when my commute is only 5 miles to the office and gym. On the weekends I put on the clipless pedals for my 30-40 miles rides.

MTB shoes with SPD pedals.

My commute is 13 miles each way.

When I worked at a casual place, I wore Shimano MT22 MTB shoes that can pass for slightly odd casual shoes. Discontinued but there are others.

Now I wear overtly cycling shoes (Mavic in summer, Shimano winter shoes in, well, winter) and shower/change at work.

I don't like riding without foot retention. I can do it - my daily/commute bike has those pedals that have SPD on one side and cage on the other - but I like always having my feet correctly positioned.

Okay. Unclipping is a pain in the ass. I've got to hold onto a wall and struggle for 30 seconds.

Thank goodness for no stoplights.

Seriously? I've only been riding clipless for a few days, but I have had the shoes (MT41) for years, just not the cleats or pedals. Clip my right foot in at the start and clip and unclip my left foot as necessary. Its a pain vs PowerGrips, but it is indeed possible. And very easy... relatively easy. You need to be able to unclip without struggle, even if you do not normally encounter lights or other obstacles on your route! Lower the tension on your pedals if you can't get out of them without a fight. What kind of pedals are these??

lol one of my early clipless experiences, I didn't have my cleats screwed in tight enough, so when I tried to unclip, the foot rotated, the shoe rotated, the cleat just stayed still. Before long, I was lying sideways in my driveway with a bloody knee, still unable to detach myself from the bike!

After I got the cleats screwed down good and hard though, it was never a difficulty to unclip.

My biggest annoyance was the price I'd have to pay to stay in the clipless-pedal game, because it locked me into expensive shoes that needed replacing every so often.

That was the first ride. It's still annoying, but doable. It's a lot easier to unclip at the top of the pedal stroke, which is the opposite of intuitive for me.

m424 shimano pedals.

There isn't a single stop sign or stoplight on my 3 mile commute. Or curb, for that matter. Yay rural life?

Flats for me. Lots of stops and only a 2.5 mile one way commute.

Today, I took my fixie out for a couple of short rides. It's my last bike with toe clips. I realized this after I put on my SPD shoes. Well, it turns out that my SPD shoes work well with toe clips.