Flat Pedals vs Clipless

[Paulatic]

Do the flat/pinned pedals wreck your shoes?

No

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[PH]

Do the flat/pinned pedals wreck your shoes?

They can do, it depends on the shoes and possibly the rider. I wrecked a nice pair of Clarkes loafers, have taken some chunks out of my safety shoes, yet my relatively smooth looking Pearl Izumi X-Alp have both the best grip and are most immune from damage. These are the only three shoes I've used with this sort of pedal, so not a comprehensive review.

I do appreciate the better control/power.

A fairly recent study of pro cyclists, showed that the power advantage had been overestimated, I haven't seen the full findings, just a couple of summaries. I have noticed a growing trend for endurance racers to use flats.

[Cyckelgalen]

I like MTB flat pinned pedals for touring. They don't wreck reasonably hard shoe soles but they can easily wreck your shins.

[Stevek76]

I find the burst power of clipless is significantly better (including vs pinned flats + soft soles) because of both being able to pull up and also being able to output power at a level beyond where I may not be able to reliably keep feet on the pedals.

Endurance efficiency/power is a different matter of course.

Do the flat/pinned pedals wreck your shoes?

No

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Not sure that's quite a flat 'no' really. It depends on what someone considers 'wreck' as! I use V8 copies on my utility bike and I can certainly see the damage to the soles of some of my shoes where the pins dig in as a tell tale ring (ish) of marks/cuts. I don't mind it, ultimately the pins are only 2-3mm in length so if the sole is that far away from leaking then it's a set of shoes that are close to done anyway. I'd far rather have the much better grip in wet weather that the pins provide than that of plastic/rubber pedals.

And the pins don't inflict the same wounds on legs that cheap/sharp cage pedals seem to manage.

[mattsccm]

Largely irrelevant as we all have our opinions and rarely accept anything else
I fail to see any issues with clipless. Must admit to being a later swapper to them from toeclips but in 25 +years gone I have never failed to unclip in a dismount. But then toe clips caused no issues for the 20 years previous to that.
Flats are fine for the pub bike when non cycling clothing is worn and the aftermath of a decent pub session might spoil my above record! The pub bike is also the junk bike that doesn't need a lock.
When I go for a ride I pedal not walk or wear very rigid MTB shoes which are fine for shorter walks. Nipping up Ben Nevis was fine.

[gregoryoftours]

Do the flat/pinned pedals wreck your shoes?

They certainly can. I've gone through a few pairs of cheap sandals that pins chewed holes through, turning my soles into sponges when walking on wet ground. And eventually my 5/10s got really mangled too. I do spend a lot of time standing on the pedals and it's hilly around here so that doesn't help.

It depends a lot upon the pin height and profile, plus how hard your soles are/tread pattern etc.

Still, flats all the way for me, I cycle so often that I just can't be arsted to think about swapping bikes/pedals/shoes depending on what sort of riding I want to do. Maybe if I went on lots more long dedicated road rides I'd use clipless a bit more. MTB I've never got used to spuds and the thought of not being able to disengage instantly scares me, although it doesn't seem to be an issue for many MTBers.

[bazzo]

Just to throw water on to the burning chip pan which is flats v clipless.

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[Paulatic]

I think that’s water under the bridge

[cycle tramp]

I use flats - I walk up the steeper hills, so whilst I can understand the logic that clipless pedals allow for a greater transfer of human energy, given the speeds that I travel, it sort of becomes irrelevant.
The other nice thing about flats is they normally have a thick chunky alloy body, just the sort of thing you can screw an M6 grease port into - allowing you to keep the bearings lubricated without having to take the pedals apart every six months.

[ChrisP100]

SPD's all the way for me. My shoes have a recessed cleat so I can comfortably walk a short distance.

I just like being connected to the bike and I don't have to worry about my feet jumping around when i hit the rough stuff.. Clipping in and out is practically second nature although I had one spill the first ride out.

[Jupestar]

I've moved predominately to large flats, with pins. The stop start nature of my MTBing nowadays (2 children) makes it much easier, and just being able to jump on an off my commuter/day bike in any shoes is a huge benefit. Even when i'm out on the MTB on my own I no longer change the pedals, little benefit to me.

I still have clipless, on my road bike and my turbo. can't see that changing although the mileage is dropping nowasdays.

[Ontherivet77]

I wonder what is more common, bashing your shins with flats or falling sideways in clipless.
For me I've not bashed my shins since I was a child riding sports bikes, despite commuting on flats in all types of shoes and weather for many years.
I've gone over twice in clipless, once in the garden testing the release mechanism and once at traffic lights where I managed to avoid hitting the deck by grabbing the handle of a car passenger door and scaring the life out of a poor woman driver.

[Paulatic]

I’ve never bashed a shin since a child either. I assume those who keep trotting it out as a 'thing' do actually do it and it’s not an urban myth.

[DevonDamo]

I’ve never bashed a shin since a child either. I assume those who keep trotting it out as a 'thing' do actually do it and it’s not an urban myth.

Yep, 'getting shinned' is a real thing as the cuts on my right shin currently testify. However, I don't believe it's a risk when you're riding normally - you're only going to come off your pedals like that when you're doing something particularly dynamic, and even then it usually only happens when you're learning (E.g. trying to learn high bunny hops is what's bitten me a couple of times recently.) It's really not as bad as its made out to be though - I could wear shin pads whilst I'm practicing tricks, but the consequences of getting shinned just aren't bad enough for me to bother.

Debating whether clipless or flats/pins are better is a bit futile though - a bit like trying to decide whether Wellies or ice skates are the best footwear.

[Paulatic]

a bit like trying to decide whether Wellies or ice skates are the best footwear.

Wellies all day long, never had a job for ice skates.