Mpls is a fairly big city -- I'm sure your friends will be able to find a compatible group eventually. Are they getting serious **** from the others, or is it just gentle ribbing, the kind that you should expect from friends? I would expect that being able to keep up holds more currency than having the same exact gear as everyone else.

Thanks! Theoretically the car impact would unclip me, but I don't feel a need to test that empirically.

Gotta love humans: the mother of the driver threatened to go after me for the cost of the 3 inch indentation my hip made in the auto side body panel.

I have crashed at high speeds over a dozen times and never stayed clipped in. I think staying clipped in is the least of your worries in a collision/crash.

Last winter in Florida on a group ride, a guy showed up on a hybrid with platform pedals and street clothes. Everyone else was on race-ready bikes and prepared to ride fast. I think the reason he was dropped almost immediately was due to his bike. No one said anything disparaging, but it's hard to ride a hybrid with platform pedals at 25-28 mph. Point is, clipless pedals were not required, but were part of the equipment every rider (but one) who showed up was using. It's not a matter of conformity, but practicality.

I use clipless pedals on my commuter bike because I like having my feet attached to the pedals. It's safer, more comfortable and more efficient.

I use clipless (SPD) but, after reading a few posts in this thread I decided to put some platforms on my bike yesterday. I took a 15 mile ride, got home and put the clipless pedals back on. After a few years of riding clipless, it felt weird not being able to pull on the pedal as well as push. Every time I slowed down in preparation for a stop, I still flared my heel out like I was getting out of the retainers anyway. A few times, I tried to pull up on a pedal when I was headed uphill or accelerating on a flat. Once I got some pedal bite on the back of my left calf. I was trying to engage my non-existent cleat.

All things considered, for cafe rides, family outings, and shorter rides (1 - 10 miles), and that sort of thing, a platform pedal has advantages. For my commute I'll stick with the clipless.

Yes, SPD-SL, don't know why I wrote SPD II, they look like look pedals which I also had on a used bike I bought, and now that one also have SPD.

The SPD-SL works great, just like you say, pain to get in on the pedal and walk on them, forget it! I think I realy wanted to give them a fair try and kept them on for a year, but after getting the SPD, I haven't look back.

I had Look pedals long ago, a very similar design to SPD-SL, and they started the whole clipless cleat thing. When SPD came out, it was another great step forward. I'll keep SPD-SL for the track, because I want that extra security, but walking on them is treacherous!

I kept mine, one because they felt good and secure riding, like you said, but also because I have good money invested on pedals and shoes. Maybe if I join another group of roadies that I can ride with, I'll putt them on, or maybe not. I do appreciate good secure pedals when your cadence is up there in the 100's.

I also got the double-sided pedals (Shimano A530), but very rarely use the platform side. Once I went clipless I never wanted to ride clipless-less again.

There are definitely fast group rides around that are less serious about that sort of thing. When I was doing more of them a few years ago, one of my favorites was a group that included MTB racers, CXers, criterium racers, along with just every day folks. People would show up on fixies and yeah, if they could keep up, that's all that really mattered. It was supposed to be an "intermediate" ride but given the competitive nature of the people that typically showed up, the pace could be brutal at times (for me).

Freewheel bikes hosts some nice rides and the Twin Cities Bicycling club has a number of them for all types of rider (A to C).

People who would give you a hard time for what you are riding or your choices of gear on a group ride are a$$hats. Period. As a rule I do not spend any of my time riding, eating, drinking, working, whatever with a$$hats. Simply put, Life is too short to include a$$hats.

Oh and to answer to OP's question, SPD all the time on every bike FTW.

Ha, that's what I'm talking about. :-)

It's like debating whether you prefer a car with a plush ride and boring handling, or a car with snappy responsive handling but a harsh ride. It's not a matter of one being clearly superior, it's more a matter of taste and preference.

It is nice to easily keep your feet attached. I feel like pedals with pins + grippy bike shoes would probably do the same thing, but I haven't been able to find grippy bike shoes (with no cleat) so far in a wide size in a style that I find ok which is what I need. My feet don't feel as attached with regular shoes and pedals.

But on the other hand, for commuting to destinations that aren't just work, clipless is a pain in the ass. It's way nicer to have platform pedals, rather than screwing around with carrying a pair of extra shoes and changing shoes when I get there. With platforms you just hop off the bike and that's it - no screwing around with different shoes, how to hold onto your bike shoes, etc. It would be similar if my work didn't have a place for me to keep shoes (my desk at my cube).

Even in regular riding though, my feet aren't as attached, but it's nice to just hop off the bike and already be in the shoes I'm wearing around for other stuff. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

My experience is that the greater proportion of active racing licenses on a group ride, the less anyone gives a thought to what equipment you are riding or whether your kit is matchy. (The obvious exception is aerobars.)

Cat 6 coffee shop rides on the other hand....

Platform. Its only a 2mi ride but I have to cross a very busy road. I also do not like changing shoes at work.

Has anyone tried the Nashbar SoHo Pedals? They are dual clipless/platform and I've been thinking of trying out a pair. Would appreciate any feedback.