I've done twenty miles or so with sneakers and platforms. I've ridden up Mount Diablo that way - including the 18% grade at the top and I routinely stand on my platforms and climb. My times up the mountain are all within a couple minutes of each other. Maybe other people would get different results.

When I first got my Rivendell I figured I'd give Grant's (Rivendell's owner) philosophy a try. He never rides clipped in and has great legs! But my cadence wasn't as smooth when I wasn't clipped in and with friction shifters, smooth is important. I've since gotten a lot smoother so that's not so important anymore. If I'm going to do what I think of as more "aggressive" riding, I'd rather be clipped in. It just feels better to me. But I've always ridden clipped in since we got our first mountain bikes in '88 or '89.

It is important to find a comfortable shoe and that is one reason I prefer clipless. I found that all my shoes would eventually get too much flex in them to be comfortable on a longer ride. I would eventually feel the teeth of the platforms through the sole. So twenty is about my limit.

Veronica