Originally Posted by
grantelmwood
If most people don't even pull up, what is the point of having them?
No point, unless you're racing or riding under conditions (e.g., high-speed off-road single-track and descents) where you'd rather not have to devote effort or brain power to keep your feet from flying off the pedals.
That said, when I rode one of my bikes without clipless pedals for the first time in months, I kept almost kicking myself in the butt when jumping out of the saddle to climb a hill at speed. Clearly, climbing at speed with clipless pedals, I'd unconsciously gotten in the habit of pulling up at the bottom of the stroke.