aka Tom Reingold
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,503
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
Mentioned: 511 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7348 Post(s)
I really love my SPD cleats. I don't like to ride without them.
I got my wife to try them. She forgot to clip out and fell and cracked her elbow. Never again, but she still likes the shoes.
I'm 58 years old, and I started wearing toe clips at age 14, so I've been using foot retention for a long time. The actual energy gains are somewhere between slight and nil. It's about feeling secure. It gives you some versatility for what muscles to use when, but it's possible to do very well without cleats.
I say don't bother.
I know some people who have used foot retention a long time and have switched to those big pedals with little spikes. They love them. So I say cleats are not necessary for most of us. I just happen to like them, and I'll stick with them.