I have commuted with Look and SPD pedals. I bring a pair of regular shoes with me and change into them. Once, I got caught out without my bike shoes and had to ride home with regular shoes on the SPD's. It was OK; I took it easy and made it.

I find that I can get into the Look pedals faster from a stoplight than my SPD's. I used to ride a lot of MTB; back then I was used to the SPD's and I was fast in them. But now, the tread on the bottom of the shoe messes me up.

My vast preference is SPD, because I can walk comfortably in the shoes. I always walk around a bit getting the bike ready to go, locking up, and going to my office. My SPD shoes have ski-type buckles, so they're quick to get on and off, too!

Because it is as easy to slip on my Shimano sandals when leaving the house as any other shoe.

And also because if I don't and instead wear my regular sandals I already have on to get a coffee, that it is not awkward to ride a mile or so. Far from awkward in fact, the only reason I don't ride faster is because I have no need to when cruising the hood to get a coffee.

Al

I agree with all that :) It's just that... what's the downside to the clipless/combo pedals? The only downside I can think of is the learning curve for clipping into single-sided pedals. And there are major upsides, such as the fact that you can comfortably ride much longer distances in street shoes. Maybe not an issue for me, but I often want to do that.

Its all persona preference, so there is nothing to debate, just to discuss.

Anyway, the downside for me goes beyond the learning curve. I can flip and clip a double sided pedal no problem (used clips/straps for years) But I can't do it as quickly as double sided entry and with the platform/clipless one must look down to know if it needs flipping or have a 50% fail rate.
I almost always clip my 2nd foot in on the very first rotation of the crank, foot on the pedal at 3-12'oc when the pedal gets to the 9'oc I am clipped in, 95% of the time, ready to pull up on the first upstroke possible. I can't see doing that with double sided and don't want to take eyes off road to look at pedal either.

I also found in trying platfrom/clipless pedals that if ones foot was missplaced slightly a slight wiggle adjustment did not let the cleat slide into the pedal easily as the metal cage around the clipless grabbed the shoe and didn't allow lateral sliding in, so it actually made clipping in a bit harder.

Al

Eggbeaters

My Shimano M520 SPD's came with a flat plastic platform on one side and reflectors on the edges, which i promptly removed so I could clip on both sides of the pedal.
They're pretty unexpensive and easy to unclip at the loosest setting. Replacement cleats are available at most any bike store.
Pair them up with a good mountain bike shoe and you're ready to start going clipless.
I've never tried Eggbeaters, but I see no point in them unless your daily commute involves going through miles of mud.

Well, I switched from clips and straps to SPD clipless this summer, and loved it. But my commute is really too short to make it worth the hassle of changing shoes for work and etc (my Shimano shoes should probably be size 44, instead of 43, and walking around in them for hours is unpleasant). So I went down to the LBS and picked up some Wellgo double-sided pedals with plain cage on one side and a clipless side on the other. So now I can ride clipless when the urge strikes me, but the majority of my miles on the commuter bike are sans clips. The double-sided SPD pedals went on the new-to-me roadie, to replace the platforms with icky plastic toe clips, so all is well.

I still think that toe clips are the most versatile solution, but I've become a bit spoiled. I really prefer clipless to everything else! As for toe clips themselves, I like the old-style steel variety - XL to fit normal shoes or even hiking boots. Plastic? PAH! They can fit bigger shoes, but I care not. I've never used a plastic toe clip that I didn't hate.

I had serious problems with EggBeaters and hotspots until I bought a decent pair of shoes. Now I can't believe how good they are :)

What kind of problems did you have that a good pair of shoes got rid of?

Thank you all for your comments, I'd like to give back to the community.

I got the Shimano A520, and used them twice already on my commute (about 4.20 Km each way) with running shoes.

The SPD side is like a regular SPD pedal, the cage is below the SPD thing, so it can't be used.
The other side of the pedal isn't flat at all.
It has a ridge where the bearing is, which isn't convenient at all.

I ended riding the SPD side.
I guess I'll look for some SPD shoes that look ok for work.
I don't want to carry 2 pairs of shoes.

Tal.

I use Eggbeaters. If you want something with a platform, try either (Eggbeater) Candy or Smarty pedals.

+ 1
 

My shoe size is such that I can only get road clipless to fit my feet. On my commuter bike, I've gone back to clips & straps so that my street shoes work. On my road rides, I switch back to clipless since I'm not going to be walking much with those big hard lumps under the ball of my foot.

In Germany this fall I had a helluva time finding clips & straps for my bike. The local LBS's said 'no one uses those anymore'. At least there are multiple types of clips that are available via the web.

Tal, your other option--besides getting new shoes--is to get a clip-on platform which attaches to the SPD pedal and turns it back into a platform pedal. Nashbar sells those for around $10, I believe. Hope that helps.

I tried a pair of the Crankbros Smarty pedals but the cost of buying new cleats for all my shoes would have been prohibitive. Also never got used to the lack of 'click' when engaging the cleat/pedal. They did look a lot nicer and were lighter than most of the SPD pedals I have with the exception of the XTR pedals.

Also have the Nashbar Rodeo pedals and one of them has some bad threads/pitch such that it has stripped two of my cranks. I'd use the platform/SPD pedals if I only rode one bike.

I have a pair of these and I do not recommend them if you are thinking of taking them on or off on a regular basis (engaging the pedal ain't so easy without your weight behind the cleat and disengaging these without a screwdrive is impossible). If you want mine, they're yours for cost of shipping.

That's what I heard.
And I want things to be as simple as possible.
When I return home after work I might go on a workout ride, for which I'd have the SPD shoes.

The Campus, or the Shimano M324 are too wide for my taste.
I like the size of the A520. It's like a road (e.g. SPD-SL) pedal.

Tal.

I'd like to report that I did get the Shimano A520, and it's "other side" isn't flat, and it's uncomfortable to ride with running shoes.

However, I followed an advice I got here on BF, and got the Winwood Decksters, and I'd like to say that I love them!

They're a bit heavy, but I hope it means they're not fragile.
Because they're so heavy, they're always on the bottom, so I have to remember that, and flip them when I start riding.
But it's not really a problem, as I only use them for short commutes.

Tal.

+1 on the M520 pedals. Plus, you can get them for cheap at probikekit.com.
http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=d1013

eggbeaters

I found this today while browsing the site of a local shop.

http://www.frankscyclery.com/Pics/100_0498.jpg

They're eggbeater pedals with some type of platform clipped to one side. Seems to be for pedaling, although it could just be a reflector holder.

I've never seen one before, not for eggbeaters anyway. All my bikes have eggbeaters, though I don't really have a use for this since I never ride in anything but bike shoes - and wouldn't want to.

I went from toe cages to SPD's at Christmas. I will never go back. What a joy to get in and out of. I have a 20 mile commute to work with very little stopping. Some people complain of "hot spots" with SPD style pedals. I have'nt experienced it. Plus the float makes my feet more comfortable as compared to being locked into position with the cages.

I've been running the standard platform-&-straps that came with my Kona Jake since last summer. But I'm currently building up an MTB and gonna buy a set of clipless and shoes- will try them out on both bikes and use them for whichever suits my purposes best, or convert both bike to clipless.

AT any rate, I'll be buying some type of MTB shoe that I can walk around in reasonably- I lift weights 3x a week upon arrival at work, so I'd either need suitable bike shoes, or to keep yet another pair of shoes in my locker (alongside my work shoes.)

Im running platforms with Power Grips.