My first winter with SPD
 

Hey guys, this is going to be my first winter with clipless action. Should I have any concerns about my shoes getting frozen into the pedals? I have 9ish miles, and once the snow starts piling up, it'll be road miles.

If you're going to be stepping on any snow and getting ice packed around the cleats, sounds like a problem.
When I bike over snow/ice I'm always nervous about being able to get a foot out; I have clips with no straps, and an old pair of mointain bike shoes where I took off the clips and put back in the plastic insert thingy. I've notice ice builds up quite a bit right on the screw heads, so I assume it would be even worse on cleats.
When it's just really cold, but no snow on the ground (common around here) SPDs work great.

I commute in Montréal, which has fairly similar weather patterns than Rochester, except a few degrees cooler. In 3 or 4 years of winter-commuting with clips, I never had any unclipping issues. Conversely, my problems were the opposite: if I walked too much, ice could build up under the cleats and I would be unable to clip. Not a real issue, though, because there was enough "roughness" to keep my feet over the pedals anyway.

You can get ice built up but it can be knocked off with a small sharp object. Usually unless temps are extreme (-50F) you shouldn't have too much of a problem. I would recommend the platform SPD's which have an outer cage. This will allow different shoes if needed for the coldest days and gives more surface area for the shoe to rest on which helps keep the foot warmer since more blood can circulate.

Though clipping in can be a little difficult if there is ice in the clips. I have never had a problem unclipping.

Generally snow is not as bad as mud in this respect.

+1 - Un-clipping has never been a problem, But clipping in can be if ice and snow get jammed into your cleats when you walk.

I use a platform type SPD pedal, Shimano M545, It's big enough that I can pedal if not clipped in, but even better I can bang my shoe on the side of it to dislodge any ice and snow that may be the in the recess with the cleat. Usually that does the trick. In fact I almost always do it out of habit in the winter just in case.

Ah, thanks everyone.

I run Time ATAC pedals. They are great for shedding mud, and also for shedding snow/ice. I've been running this set-up for the past 3 winters with great success.

... Brad

spritz your winter spd pedals with boeshield on occasion

and it won't be an issue.

same with the bottom of your shoe. you will be able to knock ice off or step through it. boeshield is sticky stuff and sheds ice easy