Quote Originally Posted by emily_in_nc View Post
Lisa,

Your picture is fabulous! You sure look great on your lovely new bike! However, I do think you have some misapprehensions about clipless pedals and the shoes that go with them.

I'm a purely recreational cyclist these days, enjoying short trail/fire road rides on my mountain bike for fitness and fun, not speed or distance (been there, done that back in my roadie days), and I love, love, love my Speedplay Frogs! They are incredibly easy to clip into and out of, and the shoes I have are VERY, VERY comfy. Mountain bike shoes come in all types, from a Cannondale pair I have that look remarkably like your hiking boots, to sleek models that look like road shoes (I have a pair of those too), or the cool Keen Commuter sandals my riding buddy has and loves with her Eggbeater pedals. I got both of my pairs on sale, so they were not very pricey ($39 and $65) and have held up well. My shoes aren't so tight that I can't wear a variety of socks, from thin summer socks to thicker wool winter socks, and having the recessed cleats, walkability is not an issue as it is with road shoes/clips. Sure, I probably wouldn't want to walk in wet mud with cleats, but I don't really ride in it either!

The cleats definitely give me more power and speed on the hills, and they are so easy to clip into and out of that doing so at stops is just no big deal at all, no bigger than it would be to get into and out of Powergrips, I'd imagine.

I definitely believe in live and let live, so I respect your choice of Powergrips over clipless. It's definitely the more frugal choice. I just wanted to point out that some of your ideas about clipless pedals and cleated shoes are not necessarily accurate. I've heard a lot of complaints here about various pedal systems (and I've had my own issues in the past with Speedplay Zeros and Eggbeaters Candies), but I've yet to meet anyone who's tried them who doesn't like/love Speedplay Frogs.
Hey I hear what you are saying Emily. I know there are lots of combos of clipless pedals and shoes that people find to be comfy and easy to use. I have indeed heard that Frogs are much easier than many other types, and that mtn bike clipless shoes are comfier too.
For me, it's been a personal decision. I work at home and I'm often hopping on and off my bike at any given time of day to do errands, shop, perhaps spontaneously combining errands with a 20 mile road ride, meet someone for lunch on my bike, go to the PO, dentist, etc. I always ride directly from home, I don't drive to a destination in order to ride like many bikers have to do- so the idea of having to change my shoes or boots when I want to jump on my bike (and then possibly having to haul the change of shoes around on my bike too) is a real turn off for me- especially when it's dreadfully cold out. I see many of my friends spend an awful lot of time on their various clipless 'issues' and changing shoes constantly. More power to them!
For me all that seems needlessly fussy and just doesn't fit into my particular lifestyle. I am totally happy and comfortable wearing my favorite everyday shoes and boots on my bike. In fact, on most days literally half of what I wear for the day is already bike-ready...wool leggings, merino turtlenecks and Ibex Shaks....most times all I need to do is pull some padded shorts on right over my wool leggings and throw on a hi-vis vest to be instantly ready for a ride. I like it that way, I just don't feel I want to add changing into special biking shoes to the preparations of getting on my bike. I know you must understand.
Sometimes I feel I should never contribute to clipless discussions, since it always winds up with people assuring me I would embrace them joyfully if I'd only try them. (not meaning you here)
My name is Lisa and I rejoice in being clipless free!