>>1183712I'm in the minority but I can't stand clipless or straps. Been biking since I was 4 and learned about clipless at 22. Kinda really late but I'm a relatively oblivious person and going onto 30 I've fully embraced the platform flats meme. Anyways, I didn't notice that much of a difference and didn't like how I can't fidget/reposition my foot on the fly to prevent hotspots on long rides or instinctively kick the ground/bail the bike when I do hairy shit like I can with flats. I also prefer certain sneakers for cycling over cycling specific shoes. Throwing power during the upstroke is bad for the knees too. Power doesn't stop when the crank hits the 6 o'clock position with flats too, you can kinda add power until the 7-8 o'clock position.
I'll say though, only benefit I see really is stability for people with very high cadence. My power/torque curve is relatively low cadence with an avg of 75rpm and peak of 135-140rpm but I've seen cyclist spinning at probably 200rpm and I can't manage that if I tried, I make do with higher development and lower rpm. Sometimes I wish I had the body to spin a devilishly high rpm sometimes since it'll require less torque at the crank to produce the same development due to lower gearing.
Regarding bunny hops and curb jumps, clipless are irrelevant in this argument, maybe even detrimental to learning proper technique. It's more important to learn how to properly make the bike jump using it and your own body's momentum than to pull the bike up using the clipless/straps.
tl;dr yes, I think clipless is a meme but others might not because I subscribe to the platform flat meme
extra bits: bmx flats and good sneakers are also COMFY AF. my road bike looks funny with bmx flats and I get judged all the time for it but they shutup when I keep up with the pack, sometimes even drop the gear queers
