Question regarding Clipless pedals

[mcook]

I think it's time to buy the clipless pedals. I've been researching them a bit and wondered if anyone has any opinions on the pedals that are two sided? One side you can clip in, the other side is a regular pedal. I will admit I'm a newbie to clipless pedals! A bit nervous about it but just wondered if this would be a good option. I have a road bike and like to go on longer rides, but also find myself just going on some short rides in town which involves a bit more stopping.

[Koronin]

The two sided one with clipless on one side and regular on the other is the type I use. I'm not fully comfortable clipping in my right foot and always unclip it and use the regular side when I get close to where I need to stop at. Personally I like this option.

[TrekDianna]

I have this option on my road bikes also. I clip in when riding distances, but if I ride to work and want to run out to lunch, I use my regular shoes. Clipping in downtown would be useless. There are stoplights every 150 feet or so.

[Irulan]

For mountain biking, which is the only place I've seen them, it's a horrible idea as which ever side you need is always flipped over on the wrong side. One spends way too much time futzing around with flipping them over to what you want... and those seconds can be important sometimes.

[jobob]

For mountain biking, which is the only place I've seen them, it's a horrible idea

The OP was asking in the context of road biking. I've seen two-sided pedals used a lot in road biking.

[Owlie]

I personally don't like them. Looking down at your pedals at intersections can cost you. However, if you're using them for riding in-town as well as for longer rides, I think that's where they come in handy. Because the clip mechanism is heavier, they usually flip platform side-up, so if you don't want to clip in for whatever reason, you don't have to worry about flipping them over. I'd put them on an errand bike that also gets used for longer fun rides, but not on my road bike.