Agreed, and thank you!

I have twice ridden 115 miles in one day on platform pedals. I understand platform pedals are supposed to put me at a disadvantage. Perhaps so, but I think in terms of power the difference is much less than is commonly supposed. As far as needing to be clipped or strapped in to prevent a foot from sliding off the pedal, I will address that if it ever happens. In maybe 10k + miles I have yet to experience this problem.

Don in Austin

Double-sided SPDs work well for me in traffic and off the line at the lights.

I use xc race style mtb shoes with stiffer soles (eg Shimano M183s or M240s - nothing special, just ones I have so know the numbers by heart) and they work just as well for me on 200k+ road rides.

YMMV.

+1

I had SPDs for a while - now all of my bikes have Crank Bros. It's like having 4 sided SPDs.

There have also been a few threads on which pedal to use on tours, and several riders reported going on long distance tours with flat pedals, so it's a completely viable choice. The OP in fact stated he doesn't like using cleats on his commute, and was trying to commute in work shoes, but they didn't work well with toe clips, so flat pedals and work shoes might turn out to be ideal.

I suspected mtb shoes might be the answer.... found some remaindered shimanos, will try them on different bikes & pedals... a530 pedals on Amazon for $33 too. So the experiment won't have to be too expensive, i hope. Lots of good info here, thanks!

MTB shoes have been great for me. The soles are stiff so you don't get the fatigue in the foot and calf. I buy them either off eBay or on sale somewhere, I'm on my 2nd pair both cost < $40. The first pair (Shimano) lasted about 18,000 miles. The 2nd pair (Sette) are at 10,000 miles and appear to be in better shape than the Shimanos did at that age.

They are not light weight.

You can find mtb sport shoes that have a stiff sole. They have a piece on the sole that can be removed for spd's or left on for platform/ toe clip riding. Also they make spd pedals with a wider platform, shimano and eggbeaters make some. Good for when you have size 15 shoes :eek: .

I like Adidas Sambas. I use them now with a true platform (no clip at all), but they're also good for toe-clips because they're pretty low profile. (I have a 12 mile each way commute, which isn't 40 k each way, but still reasonably substantial.)

I have Shimano double-sided pedals. I ride with MTB shoes using the spd cleats 90+% of the time, but when I'm in heavy start n stop traffic, I'll ride the flats until the road opens up. I also ride the flats in street shoes for short errands or quick pleasure rides with the family, etc. If you do this, try to train yourself to use a heel first clip out motion every time you dismount, whether you are clipped in or not. Helps prevent embarassing moments when you forget if you are clipped in or not. I also found that multi-position cleats helped prevent clipout failures even in panic stops.

+1
While I like clipping in with my spds, during steady paces over relatively flat ground, I don't think they make any difference over riding the platforms. The only place I find them to be an advantage is in climbing and sprinting.

for the way most of us commute, i don't think that using platforms is putting you at much of a disadvantage power-wise.

the reason i ride clipless isn't because i fancy myself as some TdF champion or anything silly like that, i just like being physically attached to the bike. it makes me feel more in control of the bike and more secure on it when i'm up out of the saddle hammering my legs off to catch a green light.

Update (not that this issue will ever be closed for some people)

I accidentally ordered m530 spd pedals -- twin-sided spd -- instead of dual paltform/spd a530's I thought I'd purchased. Tried them anyway.

Compared to having to flip the pedal, having the cleat lock on either side -- and having a shoe that doesn't just skid when you put it down on the pavement -- was quite a revelation. Digging it a lot.

Now I've received platform/spd a530's after all, and will be trying them on my other main bike. Thanks everyone for sharing their experiences, Bikeforums FTW again

I use toe clips, no straps, and I have a pair of bike shoes with no cleats on them. It makes a significant difference over street shoes, although I still sometimes ride with street shoes.

Winwood 'decksters', take a spare cleat and so turn any double sided pedal
into one with a platform. QBP

$38 for these? That would be too high even if it came with cleats, and it doesn't?

I do this too i ride my 10.75 one way clipped in and then when i hit downtown stop and go traffic i just flip the pedels over. leaving one
foot clipped in and the other on the pedal until the next stinking light. . worst part of the commute is the lights don't line up right.

about trackstanding I am afraid to do this sometimes because I am afraid i won't be able to clip out and I will fall right in front of some cars.

practice at home on the sidewalk.

You could unclip one foot or both feet before you start the trackstand.

I'm still terrible at it. That's probably because I'm good at keeping one foot clipped in and leaning on my other foot, then taking off and clipping the other foot in very quickly.

If you want cleats for clip+strap pedals, three sources are:

Exustar cleats: http://www.velodromeshop.net/index.php?p=product&id=464

Dromarti cleats: http://www.dromarti.com/index.php?ma...products_id=18 (shoes are beautiful but expensive, for me anyway)

and

http://www.yellowjersey.org/tocleat.html

What kind of shoes are you wearing? Most cycling shoes that I know of (and pretty much all of the ones that I have owned) have zero heel-to-toe drop, which means that they are essentially flat-soled shoes. If you are wearing shoes with a significant heel-to-toe drop, it may be putting your feet in an uncomfortable position on the pedals, which is exacerbated by time and distance. I wear Chuck Taylors while riding my crosscheck, and I have never had a problem.

a little aluminum diamond deck plate and a drill press with a drill and a countersink bit,
and there is a DIY way too

I wear these with my MKS touring pedals and clips - no straps. They are plenty hard soled. I stand on the pedals alot on hills, and these feel great. I weigh 165 lbs.
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/59314...t-mocs-leather

I really like my Shimano M424's, set quite loose. In a scramble I can easily ride with one foot clipped in, and I just pop the left foot in or out as necessary without it feeling too awkward. I use multi-release cleats, and a couple of times I have been glad to be able to just yank them out vertically.

I can't imagine riding more than 100 feet without clipless.

I've been using platform pedals for almost 6 years now. All of my 3 bikes have platforms. I can wear any type of shoes I want. Clipless pedals are just a gimmick, absolutly unneccessary for daily commuting/errands.
I have even done a few 100 milers on my platforms with no problems. I just don't want to be attatched to my bike, I want to be free to get off my bike and walk or hike if I want to. Walking with cleated shoes is just stupid.

I have the BMX style platform pedals with the little pins sticking out of them. As long as I'm wearing a shoe with a soft sole at least 1/4" thick, the studs dig in and give me almost as good a grip as SPDs. What I like about them is that I can wear hiking boots in the winter, which are much warmer than any cycling shoe I've ever seen. And of course, I can walk places on my lunch hour in the same shoes or boots - no need to keep an extra pair under my desk just for that purpose.

This is a thread that could go on forever, and each view is valid. I am a study in clipless and platforms (as I'm sure many other are also). When I started commuting in the mid 1970s I rode platforms, and it was no big deal. In about 1982 or 1982 I started using clips and straps (because my nerdy roadie friends talked me into it), which worked great for me also. In 1997 I made the big jump to SPDs and rode with them until August of 2011. That's when I made full circle and began to ride platforms again, and the year since then has been a wonderful riding year. Each method has its own application and purpose. I don't think either way is right or wrong, just different and equally valid application. For me right now, as an official city/urban/flatbar/commuting/sidewalk bomber, platforms work. For me in the recent past, highway/long desert rides/metric centuries/club rides/long stretches with no stopping clipless was better. It's like arguing the difference between road tyres and mountain bike tyres.