I have a CAAD9 and I'm looking to upgrade from the platform pedals to toe clip or strap pedals. Does anyone have recommendations on the best ones I can get for close to $20 price-wise? And is 9/16" the standard thread diameter?

I'd like to stay away from having to get clip-in pedals and shoes, because I want to be able to get off the bike and walk around. Thanks in advance!

MKS has a couple options for pedals, and toe clips, toe straps you are about 30 years too late for better ones...

but you can still find some leather ones..

Mostly the nylon webbing is the ones out there.. I stiffen them up with Plastidip, the tool handle stuff.
to be all weather.. EZ care..





.....

So just checking: you don't plan to wear slot cleats on your shoes? You just intend to slide sneakers or similar flat soled shoes into the pedal/strap opening and tighten it down with nothing clamping onto the rear edge of the pedal.

My advice is to just look on Nashbar for their right-priced pedal offering making sure that there are toe clip mounting threaded holes on the front of the pedals.

Here is a good example: Nashbar Scratch Pedals

And 25% off the price today. The holes aren't threaded but you can attach the toe clips with nuts and bolts instead of just machine screws.

Clipless pedals are the way to go. As well you can get mountain bike shoes that have a recessed cleat for walking around.
If you definitely don't want clipless there are pedals that have pins or grips that grip your shoes like these: https://jet.com/product/detail/0b0c6...f-0f2c8fffe16e

Have you considered MTB clipless, like SPD? They use a small cleat that can be positioned recessed in a walking sole. I've worn my SPD shoes all day at work before and it was just fine.

I did this for years as a young man. Sneakers and toe clips. If you always use the same sneakers, the rat-trap pedals will wear grooves in the sole, plus the soles are soft enough even before that happens so that it's almost impossible to pull the shoe out. I always buckled the left shoe in, but only pulled up on the strap for the right shoe so I could get out quickly. That said, for sure clipless is safer but I do understand the OP's desire.

You want a pair of rat traps with strap slots in the inner and outer plates, similar to these:

It's odd how few have proper slots now. The straps have to be leather.

Classic quill pedals had that shape to mesh with slotted cleats. Since high-performance applications have basically totally moved to clipness, there's near-zero demand for cleats with toe clips. Since there's no cleats, there's no reason to design the pedals to mesh with them.

Lots of old quill pedals are still out there in great shape, though.

Clipless touring shoes with SPD cleats are totally walkable. The cleats are recessed and don't touch the ground.

It's the only shoe I took on vacation. Walked through the airport, walked around volcanoes, walked in restaurants.

No problem. Giro makes a pair for $70.

I meant slots for the straps to go through. What's the point of rat traps with no clips and straps? I commuted to school and work for years with this setup. Rode the hills of Ithaca very nicely.

MTB shoes would have been weird. Not what I'd want to wear if I were on my feet all day, every day.

Downside of that setup is that one's tennis-shoed feet get tired of the straps after a century of so. And they're really cold in winter and rain, partly because the straps cut the circulation off a little, partly because the metal just sucks the heat out of one's feet. There is some small performance loss with flexy shoes, but hey folks, it's very small compared to plain flats.

For a few years now, I've used plastic BMX pedals with Pure Fix foot straps on my fixed gear road bike. Pros: cheap, reasonably durable (I get 4-5K miles out of a pair of pedals, longer out of the straps, even with a lot of mashing), does little damage to shoes. Cons: less foot retention than rat traps or clipless; more difficult, IMO, to get into than clipless.

Once you go clipless, you'll never look back. I'm strongly considering putting clipless pedals on my fixed gear the next time I take it on a road ride.

I used to have these on my commuter, very comfy and easy in and out. https://www.rei.com/product/788129/p...port-pedal-kit

9/16" refers to the size of the pedal wrench needed.

The two standards are 9/16th, and 15mm.

9/16th is typical on beach cruisers, etc.

Almost all road bikes, including your CAAD 9 use 15mm pedals.