SPDs... Am I really missing out?

NO.
When you go arse over tit the bike comes with you and usually lands on top multiplying any injuries.
Nobody has the presence of mind to unclip as you fall and if you do it's more to do with your leg being wrenched around and any conscious effort

JeRkY":y8jwy1xl said:

If you've not tried them, you wont realise that most of what is written above is nonsense

being able to use your legs on the upstroke of the pedals makes life a lot easier up hill. In the event you end up in trouble you tend to end up unclipped anyway. Walking is very shoe dependent, but there are plenty of shoes that are just as easy and comfortable (and of a similar style) to skate shoes. So much so that I often just wear my SPD shoes to walk around the shops or go to the pub...with no bike involved.

Cost, unless you ride cheap resin flats like those on super market bikes, you are probably already spending as much or more than a set of SPD's can cost. The shoes are an additional expense, I shall grant you that.

I won't lie to you, whilst getting used to them you will have the inevitable SPD related injury. Most often purely an injury to pride that occurs once you start to get confident in unclipping, pull up to a set of lights or a slow stop, then forget to unclip and end up in a heap on the floor looking a tit. But this phase tends to be short lived, nothing teaches better SPD use than embarrassment.

Click to expand...

haha, that last part has actually happened to me, back in 98, I was accustomed to clipping in and out with ease, and never get it much thought, though I did have multiple bikes, and one bike had platforms. So, riding back from a trail, I was drinking with one hand, braking with the other, coming to stop light, in front of bus stop, and momentarily forgot I was clipped in. Came to a complete stop; couldn't grab the bar with both hands to balance myself, and slowly fell over sideways, in front of a line of people waiting for the bus.
I didn't wait for the light to change to green.

clipless is the way to go for any type of performance riding; there's no debate in terms of efficiency. If going with platforms, I know a lot of people look down on using them without clips/straps, but I've always found it safer to go without clips and straps, and have little problem keeping my feet on the pedals when jumping obstacles, bunny hopping, or maneuvering, so long as it is not slick, and if I have to bail- piece of cake.
Bailing with platforms/clips/straps; not cake, and not fun.

So it's clipless or platforms, but rarely platforms with clips/straps, though I risk incurring the wrath of some VRC folks.

As for clipless, my weapons of choice are Time ATACs. Can't stand SPD.

I have Shimano pedals with the spd part on one side and flat on the other side, best of both worlds. If i fancy popping down the shops to grab a pint of milk with flip flops on

Shortly after first trying them i had my first and only fall with them on

Christophe toe clips on the road bike

For me...and I have done the over the bars a few times and no, the bike hasn't come with me, your body just instinctivley clips out....
andyway when I started in 92, spd were pretty new, I rode with regular cage pedals. My buddie rode cage pedals with clips and straps, and I just couldn't do that. i'd ridden BMX for years, so was happy bunny hopping and small jumps etc no worried, but found that while I "race" both XC and DH was better at DH, but from time to time, 1 sometimes 2 feet came off the pedals, not good when bouncing down the trail. So I tried power grips, they worked really well, kept my foot on, but not all strapped in.
My mate soon went SPD as he had loads of money, took me another year, but after that, spd for life, got throught the first few weeks of falling over in traffic or going off the back doing "trials" but since then, I can't go back. I have tried to set up a few bikes over the years with flats, but I just hate it ; I'll just bunny hop up this curb, oh I seem to have just jumped off the bike, oophs.
Even racing DH, never found it a problem to get a foot out and the clip back in, the 636 pedal were extra good for this.

But my GF has jsut gone back to flats as she isn't very confident in, on hills of all things, and she is much happier (nothing like original 80's DX platforms for a flat pedal).

So for me its not about the upstroke or power, its more about staying connected to the bike.

There's always a short, embarrassing acclimatisation period.

I never had any SPD related crashes, I managed to get the hang of clipping in and out. I always found that when I did crash I was never left attached to the bike even though I ran a fairly high cleat retention.

It obviously helps with hopping over stuff, but I found having run flats for so long, when I did try clips again a few years ago bunny hopping felt so wrong.

SPD's and gripshifts are the devils work and will not be found anywhere near my bike's.

poweredbypies":tx5yan94 said:

SPD's and gripshifts are the devils work and will not be found anywhere near my bike's.

Click to expand...

I'll agree with you on grip shi(f)t...hateful stuff. I remember replacing cables being a pain, the Sachs Wavey ones were easier to deal with though.

Found a used set of pedals and shoes local to me which are for sale pretty cheaply so may buy them as a tester.

If i get on well with them I'll get a new set of shoes and all will be sorted!

maybe 1 thing to do, back the tension screws all the way out (but not so far they will fall out...done that) so it is easier to clip out as you learn.