I, too, am a bona fide cyclist who doesn't do clipless at all anymore. I have these on my roadie. They help keep my feet from moving around on the pedals but they're super easy to get a foot down. The pin height is adjustable. My pins are set much lower than what we would typically find on a mountain bike pedal. I also use Five Ten shoes for good contact with the pedals. I agree with Indy that the Five Tens aren't particularly stiff. I also agree that you don't have to use ANY special pedal to be bona fide cyclist