LOL, Or arguing about singlespeed vs gears, backpack vs panniers, messenger bag vs backpack. It never ends. Every person needs to follow their own path and do what works best for them.

+1:)

+1

I do exactly the same thing. I have a pair of Lake MTB shoes that work great and keeps me from grinding the cleat on the pavement. I also have egg beaters on my SS/FG and so far I love it.

Besides, egg beaters are simply some of the best mud-shedding pedals out there. Not that this is an issue on the road, but you could walk through the mud and still clip in to them.

I went to SPD with double-sided MTB pedals and a Shimano MT32L MTB shoe. I've never had a problem with quick starts/stops or getting off the line quickly with this set-up. My bike is a hybrid anyway, so it doesn't look too funky.

SPD's are the way to go. I have eggbeaters and have a pair of mountain shoes and a pair of skate-style shoes that I can walk in without the cleat scratching floors. It's easy to clip in and out because they're double sided pedals. Also, if I want don't want to clip in I don't have to. With mountain shoes and (especially) those skate-style shoes I have, my feet won't slip off even if I'm not clipped in.

The shoes I have are something like these: http://www.jensonusa.com/!9!44o5KFMU...FY1DMgodenIAog

The biggest problem I see with trackstanding is that it appears to cause motorists some anxiety in terms of what the cyclist is likely to do -- will they attempt to cross the intersection against the light? are they going to fall? Will they move in an unpredictable direction?

Don't get me wrong: Trackstanding is far better than one of the other alternatives I see a fair amount of here, which is riding in small circles while waiting for the light to change. That's just bad for everyone, I think.

I really don't find clipping in and out to be that difficult, and have never understood folks who trackstand for 20-60 seconds (or more) waiting for the light... and almost invariably creeping closer and closer to the flow of traffic. I get it if the light is 10 seconds or so from changing, but really: The 60 second trackstands I see from time to time? I admire the skills, but I question the judgement.

You're right, Captain John! This happened to me yesterday. I was behind a car which was stopped at a stop sign. I saw the driver in her rear view mirror, trying to figure out what I was doing. I realize that a track stand is not something a car driver sees often. Food for thought!

That's very true, I trackstand a lot when riding my fixed gear and I noticed that most drivers are a little confused when they see me do that, some get angry, some just shake their heads. I still believe that trackstanding is much better then riding around in circles. I've seen this too many times...I'll stop at the light and trackstand and all of a sudden some guy with clipless pedals comes up ahead of me and starts wobblying and riding circles all over the place, they look so dumb when they do, I just shake my
head. If somebody doesn't know how to trackstand then they should unclip and put their foot on the ground and wait, don't wobble and ride around in circles because it just looks dumb and idiotic.

Oh whatever. Let people ride the way they want to, as long as it doesn't impinge on someone else's riding.