I put some MKS sylvan pedals on a bike that I intended to use for "around town" errands and couldn't get used to it after years of using clipless. For me, clipless is superior in every way to platforms, except the requirement for special shoes.

Someone needs to design a clipless pedal with a true recessed cleat. I'm tired of the clacking around with SPD-type shoes.

Platforms here, will never use anything else for city riding.

For me at least, toe clips or clipless does not gain me the ability to add power by pulling up, they just keep my feet firmly on the pedal so that my trailing leg can take its weight off the pedal without slipping off. The trailing leg isn't helping, it's just getting out of the way.
With platforms, you need to maintain a little pressure on the trailing foot to keep the foot on the pedal.
For me it doesn't matter if I'm using toe clips or clipless, either works OK for me.
I've never fallen due to either clipless or toe clips but that's because I have good control of the bike during the summer.

However, in the winter I'm just as happy to go to no clips at all because if I'm really wallowing through deep rutted snow, the bike spins out from under me fairly often and I want my foot to just go straight to the ground. Last time I rode, on Monday, I probably would have fallen a half dozen times in clips or clipless, because I was wallowing through probably 10 inches of mushed-up crap that was badly rutted, and the bike just went out from under me with no warning several times. So for me, in the winter, plain old platforms are the way to go.

Actually it was city riding that convinced me to get some toe clips. I was in front at a light with an F250 behind me in heavy rain. When the light turned green, I stepped on it and my shoes slipped off the pedals. The truck nearly hit me. I decided that in those conditions, it was a safety feature to have my feet firmly attached to my pedals.

Campus/Rodeo pedals from Nashbar. Clipped in power when you need it and fast on the pedal when you need that. I wouldn't commute with anything else.

MKS platform pedals, no toe clips, Keen Venice sandals, wool socks. This setup works great all year round for commuting and all the other bike riding I do. I am 53 and ride 5K to 6K miles per year, and don't have any knee pains or other bike related aches and pains. Comfort trumps speed for me, but honestly platform pedals with Keen sandals doesn't make any difference in my speed compared to any kind of clip in pedal.

Riding clipless in the city is like driving a manual transmission. It's more hardcore, but in stop-and-go traffic it can be a pain.

Thankfully, bikes have the freedom to move ahead in clogged traffic. But stoplights and stopsigns every 100 ft or so is painful. Nonetheless, I roll with platforms. But, I'll purchase a roadbike this year for commuting etc. and they'll have clipless.

After fiddling around with shoe covers for the last two years, I've given up and just wear regular boots when it rains (which is pretty much all winter around here). My pedals are flat on one side, spd on the other, so I can use my bike shoes on dry days, boots on wet days.

One nice thing about lugged sole boots - they stay in place on the flat pedals pretty well.

*anit-clipless zealot chiming in*

I ride pinned BMX pedals on the franken-Breezer xtracycle... you want a pedal that you won't slip off... go with pinned BMX and your foot will not move.

I have cheapo nylon platforms on my recently converted to single-speed Steamroller, boy what a fun bike.

I use MKS touring pedals, with... ahem, Powergrips, on my fixed gear bike. The powergrips are more of a retention device to keep feet on pedals when spinning really fast downhill.

All these bikes see a lot of service in the city. My commute is only about 7-8 miles round trip, and I often hop on and off the bike throughout the day to run errands. I just can't justify wearing special shoes to do all this, even though I have used, and like walkable SPD style mountain shoes and pedals.

This being said, SPD pedals do reside on my tandem, and my LD road bikes.

Use the right tool for the job. I imagine if my commute was, say 30+ miles round trip, I'd probably have a different approach. But even then there really isn't any reason why you should think it is a requirement to ride clipless just because you're putting on longer miles ;)

I had always used some sort of toe clip or cleat and felt I HAD to have them. But then I managed to misplace my cycling shoes, so I climbed on my bike with my sneakers and made it - but hated it that first day! I ended up wearing my sneakers for a couple weeks before I found my cycling shoes again and by then I enjoyed the idea of being able to walk through a grocery store normally or being able to get to work and not having to change shoes the minute I walked through the door. Now I"m considering going clipless on our upcoming tour, but haven't decided yet.

SPDs in the summer, platforms in the winter.

No clips, no clipless or anything fancy here!

I used to use SPD's, but now that I'm riding a folding bike, that's not an option; and I hardly miss them. I also found it's easier to spin and still keep your feet on the pedals if you use short crank arms (I'm using 152's now!).

I guess I should qualify that I can clip in and out of eggbeaters as good as I can use platforms so for me it really is a no brainer. SPDs and such would be a much different story. (and for the record I don't pull up on the pedals either. Just like having my foot attached so I don't need to worry about keeping that slight pressure on the backend of the stroke).

I guess my other reason for clipless is that my commuter bike is my brevet and weekend bike ride bike too. I can't imaging riding 200+ miles in a day on platforms. I tried 40 once with platforms and it was brutal.

Anyone ever use the half clip (Toe clip w/ no strap)?

2 sided Forte Campus pedals. Use the SPD side 95% of the time. The flat side if I don't want to put on my SPD shoes just to run to the store.

I've used them, and I generally like them. Two shortcomings - they rub a hole in the toe of my shoe eventually, and they don't fit when I wear my hiking boots.

I will be switching to BMX pedals as well. They are also more environmentally friendly as there is less miscellaneous stuff that goes along with them.

I'm a big fan of bmx platform pedals with the adjustable pins too (I'm using Kona Jacksh*t pedals). They grip better than any sneaker/toeclip set up I've run and have such a big surface area they don't bother my feet even in soft shoes.

I use clipless pedals on everything else.

++1. Agree. I switched to platform pedals in 2004 on my commute bike, and found the same thing on my approximately 1 hour commute in each direction. I have done time comparisons also on a 34 mile recreational ride loop that has almost no stop signals and some rolling hills, and even on that my time difference between clipless attached pedals and platform unattached pedals is virtually nil.

I like big flat downhill pedals. They grip my big snow boots real nice while my feet are nice and toasty!

Whether clipless pedals are more efficient depends a lot on individual biomechanics/pedaling style, ride intensity, and terrain. Experienced riders tend to ride more efficiently with clipless pedals when pushing themselves, particularly in hilly terrain. Most experienced riders use clipless pedals because they find them to be more efficient and/or comfortable. I say use the pedal that makes you happy. But all of these assertions that clipless pedals don't offer benefits are just ludicrous. Some riders do benefit from clipless pedals, while some do not... it's as simple as that.

I commute with Shimano's PD-M324 pedals, with SPD on one side, platform on the other. I'm a high school student, and commute in my running shoes, but do my recreational rides with my cycling shoes. I live in dense, urban traffic, and my commute is all stop-and-go, so clipless doesn't really make sense.

I use toe clips. I can't really ride in hiking boots with 'em, but riding in hiking boots means I have to raise my seat past the min. insertion mark (I have a short-ish torso and long legs). They're a very cheap in-between and I notice a little more efficiency than straight platforms. It's just easier being able to pull up.

I've given up on connecting my feet to pedals. I'm using MKS Sylvans.

I like to move my feet around on my pedals during all my rides. I like to position the foot higher and lower on the pedal, and I like to twist my toes inwards sometimes too. Both toe-clips, and clipless pedals end up hurting my feet and knees. I've adjusted the pedals endlessly but I'm never happy, so now my spds, and toe clips are sitting in a rubermaid box.

hmm...looks like you guys have hashed this out over and over but pls help me anyway... I am a commuter with a 40 minute ride, and I ride a fixie with metal toe clips and runners except in winter when I use platforms. I'd like to try clipless cause I think i could get unclipped faster than i can get a tight toe strap shoe pulled out and its time to buy new runners/shoes anyway. The main thing available for least $$ in shoes in Winnipeg seems to be SPD compatible stuff at Mountain equipment coop. So... eggbeaters or spd? My one concern is about float... which one gives you more motion and is that easier on the knees?

Strapless ATB toe clips. There just a safety item keeping your foot from slipping off the platform pedal when standing, especially when your loaded with 40 lbs of grocery items or touring gear trying to climb that steep hill. You can see them on my grocery getter and touring bike below.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...crossroads.jpg

I use toeclips, I like them a lot. I have noticed a significant difference in speed and comfort with them on. I would do clipless, but I don't really like the idea of changing my shoes everywhere I go, and I don't want to wear clipless shoes all day.

Of 13 bikes I have 1 with clipless pedals (my mtb) and when I get the new ss mtb built it too will run clipless since I ride on some pretty sketchy terrain.

The bikes with toe clips number 6... these are all road bikes or fixed gear bikes and the clips are essential with the fixed gears.

So that leaves 5 with flats or half step pedals and these are either older bikes with rat trap pedals, bmx half steps for utilitarian / winter riding, or simple flat pedals.

Finding good shoes for the clips is a bit of work as you want a shoe with firm sole for good power transfer, sturdy construction to handle the wear, and a fairly smooth sole to allow the pedal to slide in and out of the clip/strap smoothly.

This is one reason why clipless pedals are also very effective as they have extremely rigid soles to provide enough strength to hold the cleat and this also provides a better power transfer... when you are going fast and hard a little foot retention is a good thing.

I can ride pretty fast on any type of pedal and don't worry about my foot slipping off but am faster when I am clipped in or run clipless pedals... bunny hopping stuff is also easier when you are attached to your bike.

problems
 

After a few years of comparison testing over my weekly exercise route and on longer 30-60 mile rides I have concluded that (for me) I get no recognizable benefit from being attached to the pedals. I've tried power grips, old school slotted cleats and toeclips with straps, and finally SPD clip in shoes. Except for certain bike styles ( high bottom bracket recumbents and fixed gear riders) or actual racing, 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'll bet many riders have not tried a plain BMX style pedal on their good bike and so have nothing to compare with. I've tried them all and my evidence shows no significant gains. Perhaps my spin is efficient enough. I am not racing for money. If I were, I might want to be on an even playing field equipment wise since I wouldn't want my feet slipping off in a mad sprint, causing others to crash. I rarely if ever ride in a pack so its not a concern to me.:eek:

Flat pedals on the old Raleigh (errand bike, commutes), toe clips on the touring bike (commuting, longer pleasure rides). I can't afford the $ for clipless at the moment - upgrades to shifters and brakes came first!

I'm getting used to the toe clips - may try Powergrips at some point. However, I am having a problem with my feet that may actually force me into clipless. It would appear that my pedaling style is putting too much pressure on my metatarsal arch and on the joint of my big toe. Stiffer shoes and a fixed point of pressure may help, apparently.