I rode a non-Shimano pair of SPD type pedals to begin with. They were functional, but I found that I was always tinkering with the tension adjustment. Then I bought a pair of Crank Brothers Quattros. Night and Day difference. Easy in and out and NO adjustment! They worked very consistently. I would still be riding them but they discontinued the Quattro line. Since then I have been riding on BeBops and really like them. They are relatively light with an easy in and out and NO adjustment. The other thing that is important to me is that the Quattros and the BeBops release in either direction. I have arthritic ankles and it is much easier for me to rotate my heels inward. Some pedals, like Speedplays for example, only release outwards. I used Specialized road shoes with a Crank Brothers 3 to 2 adaptor and then a BeBop adaptor. However, now I have put the BeBops on Shimano M087 mountain shoes. After a little whittling on the sole for clearance, they work fine.

I have Egg Beaters with almost 4,000 miles on them with absolutely no issues and my are lower end model. And I've seen many others post about these being great pedals.

I'd recommend these to anyone without hesitation.

And yes, the 4-sided entry is way too convenient. :D

I own and use both SPD's and Look Keo Classics. SPD's provide easier entry, I can clip into mine without even looking at them. I use them for my commuter. The recessed cleat also makes walking around much more comfortable than the Looks. The Looks, however provide more solid and powerful engagement with the drivetrain. They are harder to get into, though, because you have to be more accurate when stepping in the cleat, and you can only clip into one side of the pedal. Walking around with Keo cleats makes you look like a clown, because the cleat sticks out from the bottom of the shoe.

As far as the learning curve, the Keo's aren't that hard to get used to. I started out using the Keo's and never had a serious accident. Although there were a few scary moments where I couldn't manage to get clipped in at a stop light. In that situation I just didn't bother clipping in and gently pedaled through the intersection. The SPD's will definitely be easier to learn.

Bottom line if you want the best performance go with the Look Keo's, but if you want a more convenient pedal that's easier use get the SPD's. Clipless is great!

Amen. I've owned 5 pairs crank brothers pedals, from various parts of the eggbeatter hierarchy, all bought new....4 of them have broken or have had problems in one way or another...exploded bearings, bent axles, broken cages, you name it. The only pair that has survived is a pair of Quattros, but those have been discontinued.

I've had countless pairs of Shimano SPDs, SPD clones, Look Keos, and Look Keo clones and none of them have ever had any problems.

I had a pair of cheap eggbeaters fall apart during road use. I had another pair of Quattros (not a low end pedal) bread during road use. Another pair of Eggbeaters caused me to crash from a sudden release on the road, not because it was broken, but as I found out later from Crank Brothers, that the pedal had a manufacturing defect.

I use these pedals on my road bike along with these sandals http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=235111 and I love them both. I even use them in Winter down to the 20s with some neoprene socks as they are very adjustable.

Another vote for going the full turkey to SPD-SL. This was my first clipless setup and it didn't take long to get used to even for city riding. Yeah sometimes in the rain at a stoplight i start like a tortoise (bumps in the road, etc can make clipping in on command a challenge) but that's riding fixed, so my guess is it becomes dead easy on a freewheel bike.

My 2 cents
 

Just an old guy getting in to the sport. If you have bad knees, get something with some considerable float. I started with SPD and they almost crippled me. Switched to Speedplay Frogs(also an MTB recessed system) and my knees have een much more tolerant. A little more $, but well worth it.

Shimano A520 - SPD
Look Light Release - Road