I grew up on cages - that was all we had on my brother's 10 speeds growing up. So when I got my first road bike of my own 3 years ago that's what I had. Found out pretty quickly that I wanted something better, but was still a bit leery of clipless, mainly because of knee issues.

What I ended up with were Power Grips, which I love. Very easy for me to get used to, just angle in and straighten, and your feet are in the grip.

They don't give quite as much power perhaps as clipless, but they're miles above cages, and I don't need special shoes, above some athletics with fairly smooth soles. Right now I'm using the Pearl Izumi Syncro Seek II running shoes.

Here's the link to Power Grips http://www.mountainracingproducts.co...rips-products/
My first set were the performance group. The second set I used the strap kit with purple VP MTB pedals. They're about $60-70 on ebay for the set, and $20 or so for the strap kit.

For me, this was a good compromise. I'm planning to pick up another set for the bike I"m putting together.