Originally Posted by
chaadster
No, you don’t understand, and you not only don’t understand what I’ve said, you don’t understand what others said, because more than one did *not* say use what works best, they said “100% MTB” for gravel, which does not mean “use what’s best,” it means use MTB pedals no matter what.
I would recommend MTB pedals and shoes for gravel riding for mere mortals. 100%.
Gravel riding often involves unexpected exploration and varied terrain; it only makes sense to use a pedal/shoe system which allows one to cross streams, traverse mudbogs, and push (or carry) the bike through terrain too rough to ride. (And yeah, I've done all of that and more on gravel rides and in races.)
You apparently stick to pretty tame gravel roads which don't ever require you to unclip and walk/wade/scramble, which makes you an outlier in gravel riding in my experience. Most of us do it differently.