My cycling career has been almost exclusively with toe clips and straps on conventional pedals. Never thought much of clipless pedals, but a couple of weeks ago I bought a used set of Shimano MTB pedals because they worked well with the toe clips and my old cycling shoes were getting pretty ratty. The seller threw in some old spd pedals and cleats free gratis. Well this weekend I decided to see how the clipless pedals work. My maiden voyage went off without a hitch as far as getting in and out of the pedals. I did notice a few twinges from my knees but not bad and I will see how that plays out over the course of a few rides.

I am not sure what this will do to my reputation as an old school cyclist, but I may go ahead and get some shimano A520 or A600 road pedals that are compatible with the spd cleats and MTB shoes. Here's hoping I don't add my name to the Tombay club anytime soon!

I just bought some A600 pedals. I'm not willing to give up walking ability, and the road version of Shimano's SPD seem like a good compromise.

If you want to walk on a ride with comfort- stay on the MTB spd's

Many of us say it and once you start using Clipless pedals- and remember to report your Tombay Correctly-- It becomes difficult to ride without them. The feet do not stay on platform pedals for the whole of the working stroke of the pedals. May sound daft but once you get used to them- Clipless pedals will add to your cycling expertise.

With platform pedals my feet will wander all over the pedal which becomes a distraction. Earlier this year I reinstalled platforms as a test. Couldn't stand them and quickly went back to A520s.

I'm not going to tell anyone.

Luke come over to the dark side.... (in my best Darth Vader/ James Earl Jones voice)

And here I thought this was going to be another conversion to recumbenthood.

You will be able to return to the light. I road a season clipless, made the conversion on 3 bikes, then went back to straps. Still use the shoes for spin class.

Clipless pedals? The Dark Side? Pfft (or some scoffing sound).

Let us know when you want to get bent and we will complete your Jedi training and together master the Galaxy and put an end to this pointless rebellion.

Make it so you can be in all camps!!

Rock Hopper - platforms
Utility Road Bike - toe clips
Roadbike - clipless

That way, you can argue any point of view and be accurate.

I'll say it again. I feel the safest when I'm clipped in.

Resistance is futile....

Dissing the Force are we ?

Nope... The Prime Directive.

I don't recommend the single-sided SPD pedals. Until they get a *lot* of use on them so they loosen up, they *never* hang the same way twice, so you *always* need to look down at them as you push them around with your toe to clip in. With double-sided pedals, you can always clip in w/o even looking at them. I have a pair of A520's in one of my spare-parts boxes, because they just weren't worth the annoyance.

Thanks for the input and the humor!

Up till now all three of my bikes (two road bikes and an urbanized mountain bike) had toe clips and straps. If I make the change over I will probably put dual sided pedals on the urban bike with platforms & clipless on the other side. I want to be able to ride in street shoes around town.

I can see myself going to clipless on both road bikes.

billydon,
If you see seven-of-nine, send her my way!

You may want to check out the speedplays as they are a great stomp and go pedal. Really great if you are starting out on a hill and don't want to fumble around trying to get clipped in. Just saying.

Since clipless pedals have been in common use since the 80's, they qualify as Old School technology.

Ride or walk; I wear Keen cycling sandals all the time, never fell over while walking.

Wow, for a minute there I thought you were purchasing a Mac or something.

I love my single sided A520's. The let me jump on the bike in regular shoes for a quick trip or put on my mountain bike shoes (which let me walk normally) and ride some long miles. Great compromise.

Spud

Single sided SPD-L's are fine, really. After a short while your foot learns how the pedal will be "hanging" after push-off and will naturally clip in, i.e. no thinking required. A little practice required at first, but really, it is pretty easy.

Rick / OCRR

"Prepare to be Askimmilated" - popeye