My expierience for SS and not FG (Though I did run FG for 1 season and it was not to my liking).... SPD's (and the variants of the SPD cleat made by Ritchey, Welgo,etc) don't have a ton of clamping force. I semi-regularly un-clip from stop-lights when applying full downward and lifting force. Its always my lifting foot that unclips uninentionally, never the downward foot.

Just want to make the distinction, SPD-SL (LOOK style cleats) never happens.

Not sure what kind of forces are invovled in skipping/skidding, but be aware of SPD's limitations.

Rear racks definitely come into their own once you start carrying a change of shoes around. Come to think of it, they come into their own once you start carrying anything at all. This is why braze-ons should not be removed as if they were unsightly boils (but wouldn't it be nice if they grew back again?) And, personally, when I go to my girlfriend's place I take my shoes off.

I ride my bicycle everywhere on a daily basis -- that is why I ride clipless these days.

I have different bikes for different applications. If I'm commuting around town I'm on a SS with platforms, if I'm heading out for a ride I'm on my FG with SPD's. Next upgrade for me is some new shoes and this years 105 pedals.

Just a heads up, probikekit.com has 2008 105 SPD-SL pedals for $56 shipped. Most online shops want ~$90-100 for 105. For some reason Ultegra pedals price has jumped from ~$65 from mid fall to $115 now.

If it were me, I would pick up the 105's now. I just picked up a set.

this years has a major improvement and those are last years model. They used to have the plate in the middle of the pedal made from plastic and they cracked so this year they made them aluminum. Thanks for the heads up tho!

50 bucks for a piece of aluminum, crazy but probably worth it

You are talking about the 2007. The ones for sale have the stainless plate which are the same as the 2009.

They are selling these for $56. Great price IMHO

i should have replied ...i am riding spd ,and man i would not want it any other way!!!!!

Yeah I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go back to clipless this summer and just wear sandals when I'm not riding.

I rock Crank Brothers Candy SLs. I like them a lot. Just make sure you replace the cleats before the get too worn out. I like clips and straps too, but the power transfer of clipless is hard to beat.

I asked this same question a few weeks ago and I was glad to get the advice to stick with clipless (I have run clipless on all my bikes for the last 4 years or so).

You can get SPD's that don't look out of place on a road bike (I'm happy with my PD-A520's), and wear MTB shoes with a recessed cleat that are fine for a few miles of walking around downtown.

Clipless + fixed is a match made in heaven - you have this visceral direct sense of connection to the bike and the road, plus it's very nice to be able to enage different muscles when doing a long climb without the option of gearing down or coasting to rest for a second.

Does anyone have an opinion on these? They look like they may be a winner for me.

I switched to clipless this weekend and thus far I'm in love. I can see wanting to use clips and straps for someone who skids alot and is worried about rolling their ankle and popping out of their pedal, but otherwise for actual riding clipless is wildly superior.

That said, alot of people find skidding with clipless to be no problem at all, and with practice I would think you can do it without ever popping out unintentionally.

Wow. Pretty.

I got these from a new bike shop here in town
https://kozy.com/itemdetails.cfm?LibId=21944
and I have to say these are comfy as just shoes alone, once I put my spd cleats on them they don't even make noise when I walk with them. They have very grippy soles since they're considered a bit of a cycling/hiking shoe but I'm digging them especially since I got them for $35

^^ Specialized makes some damn good shoes.

Yep, I'm selling my 2wk old pedal setup for my 6+yr old SPD pedals.

I think that bike shoes that try to not look like bike shoes look really dorky. At least bike shoes make you look like you're a bad-ass, fast-going dude even when you aren't on the bike. Sidi Dominators are the greatest. I wear them all day, every day, except when I walk to work.

I'm not crazy about the hiking boot looking shoes simply because I'm not crazy about hiking boots. If you're really self conscious though there are shoes like Nike SPD dunks...

I liked the look of bike shoes, particularly Sidis so I picked up a set of Bullets. It's all personal taste but I consider them a whole ton cooler looking than some of the other shoes on the market. To each their own though, ride whatever makes you happy