I ended up getting a EU 43 as they aren't labeled with US size, but correlates to a US 9 on Shimanos size charts, and I normally wear a US 9.
They feel more like a hiking shoe than a athletic shoe, a little stiff, but not in a negative way.

Stiff is good. From a guy with not-stiff-enough SPD shoes you definitely want stiff.

I hadn't ever fallen over with SPD until this winter. Pretty sure I would have fallen over anyway because of the snowdrifts I hit. Does this meet the requirements of the law?

If the cleat was deeper recessed It wouldn't reach the pedal mech to attach shoe to pedal .

Shimano designs and others Must Follow to try for a Market Share.

My MTB shoes are very comfortable for walking and have great traction for stops. They provide a stiff sole for riding.
I don't even notice them when driving or running errands on the way home from rides. Touring with significant time off-bike to visit local attractions, shopping, and meal stops.
I wear them on my new hardwood, tile, and carpet flooring. They do make a little crunchy noise on brushed concrete sidewalks and roads.

My double-sided SPD MTB pedals are simple to clip in/out. No need to flip the pedals to get the correct side.

I love being clipped in when pulling up on pedals or standing to climb. I've fallen off slick rattrap pedals too many times.
My bad knee also likes the fixed position of the clip/cleat.
On campus pedals (platform side) I never could get my foot in the "right" position and it was harder to clip in on the SPD side.

Ok, so what happens when somebody walks with their cleated shoes on a soft dirty ground and the cleats get all caked up with mud, dirt, snow. Will you still be able to clip in without any problems or do you have to take your shoes off and clean all the gunk out of your cleats ??

Reading poorly formed opinions stated as fact is tiring.

I wear my cannondale hiking spd shoes every day all day unless I know I will be redoing treadmills, then I wear my MBT running shoes. Only concrete exposes the sound. Been doing that for years and years. Before that was straps(almost 2 yrs) and bare beartraps before that. I have a nasty 4 inch scar on my shin from those. Never had a strap problem or much of any spd problems but I use the same pedal config for all of my bikes to minimize issues.

Here are some regular old platform pedals on a 3-speed with fenders and chainguard. Not original, but older than the bike.

Usually a couple of kicks against something solid will get it out. Dog poop is the worst, as you can imagine. Then you need a stick of some sort.

As long as it's wet I haven't had any problems in 15 yrs of xc racing. I run 454 pedals with a platform around the dual sided spd though so it has a backup plan.

I really like speedplay pedals, but this issue is why I'm usually on spd. SPD will clear just about anything, although snow can take some effort to clear if it's right around freezing. I hear that Crank Brothers excel at this, but I have no experience.

Type "cyclocross" in youtube and watch carefully to see how CX racers deal with the horrors of walking/running on soft dirty ground, mud and even snow while wearing cleats.

Or better yet, head over to the MTB forum and ask them how they deal with this dreadful issue when they're out riding trails.

For anyone with basic bike handling skills the risk of having a clipless moment is akin to the risk of riding without training wheels. I've never come close to having a clipless moment and I never will.

My hero

Congrats on never having a clipless moment, and the fact that you've never had one probably means you don't understand what it entails. Its not due to a lack of bike handling skills, but rather due to adaptive memory. For someone who has been riding all their lives with platform, the whole act of swinging your heel outward to remove your foot from the pedal is very foreign: usually you lift up and then put your foot down. Its very instinctive when you're used to riding platforms and when you delay till the last second to put your foot down your immediate reaction is to lift up, only to be reminded that you're using clipless and end up tumbling. Once you become accustomed to using clipless then pivoting your heel outward becomes instinctive.

Tight clip straps and the first generation Look pedals caught me off guard a couple of times, but I agree, SPDs with reasonably light tension don't really require any more effort to unclip than the desire to put ones foot down. Maybe there's some cheap pedals out there that work poorly?
I actually still have the first generation Look pedals, but the shoes are long gone, and I have no desire to use them anyway.

Its kinda interesting, the obviously blind enthusiasm some have for their personal preferences, and the need for it to be beyond reproach. Equally interesting are those who refuse to see any virtue in options they don't like, even to the point declaring it dangerous.
My favorite, the oh so compelling and entertaining statements impugning the intelligence of those who dare to see both sides.

There certainly has been a hullabaloo around here the past few weeks over pedals. How many threads has there been now? All with LOTS of posts.

Must still be too cold outside for some to actually go out and pedal a bike.

=

+1

No way,
Its perfect spring like weather here, low 60's, bikes everywhere. Did 66 miles yesterday.........or should I say "a century" as I'm using foot retention again and can be pretentious , and 44 miles today. I'm having fun with my new toy.

I must admit the "hullabaloo" around here is what got me off the fence, and try SPD for myself. That can't be a bad thing, can it?

It's too cold only for those who use clipless pedals, it's cyclists who use clipless that are the ones always whining and complaining about being unable to keep their feet warm.

Xpedo RForce titanium clipless pedals(SPD compatible):
5 Fahrenheit/-15 Celsius by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

Wearing Lake MXZ302:
DSCN0337 by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

Clipless riders can't ride in the winter; another myth busted

I plan to start a thread on my new triple sided pedal design. Platform on the first side, toe clips on the second, and SPDs on the third.

OMG! The drawbacks and dangers of each system all rolled into one. I hope you have a good insurance plan!

Well, for those that are uncomfortable with the idea of a triple sided pedal, I'm also toying with a "clipless toe clip" system.

Basically it's a toe clip mounted to the pedal via SPD cleat. I'm sure the brilliance of this idea will be apparent after a little thought. You can use regular shoes and you can cinch those shoes down as tight as you like. To get out in an emergency, just twist your foot and the whole shebang comes loose.

If anyone steals that idea, I will be pissed.