This.

Also, you can leave you shoes clipped in then just start pedaling on the tops of your shoes going out of T1. That's more or less what I do. None of the flying squirrel superman stuff.

Both take practice though.

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Strava

Best options in my worthless opinion:

a) Get some tri shoes and leave them clipped to your bike. Learn to mount (flying or otherwise) then get your feet in while riding, and learn to flying dismount - the latter is not that hard: pull velcro, slide feet out, stand on top of shoe, repeat with other foot, step over bike while rolling down, step off bike and run barefoot.

b) Get double sided SPD pedals and touring shoes. You can run in these, you can mount the bike quickly (rubber sole is grippy unlike plastic soled road shoes, so just put left foot on left pedal and step over, before clipping in), you can flying dismount as above (a little trickier without heel loops) or you could run in them at dismount.

I started with b) (with the now obsolete Shimano RT32; look at RT5) and am now doing a).

lol, I'm trying to imagine someone on a their regular training ride taking their foot out of their shoe at the traffic light. OP just needs more practice. Maybe look at reducing the tension on the pedal to make it a little easier.

My interpretation was that it's a problem during races. A second or two of fumbling to clip in on a training ride isn't worth worrying about, I wouldn't think about taking your foot out every stop, though it would be good to do at the start and end of the ride. Just spend an hour in a quiet carpark doing transition practice.

Though if it's still too frustrating, stick with the double sided SPD option. If you don't want a different set of pedals for racing, you could get some tri shoes that can use a SPD cleat.

Speedplays. I started on clipless first with the MTB using SPD. I tried Look/Shimano road pedals and never liked the interface. I've been using Speedplays now for over 10 years. Yes, they do have their downsides, but the new aero/walkable cleats are great. Very easy to run in without sliding around like the older ones. I also like being able to instantly engage at lights, etc. and get moving.

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"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

The only significant difference between the SPD and SPD-SL systems is baseline of the float/release tensions. SPD pedals are designed to allow for significant mud clearance and this means more float and lighter spring tension on the release. The SPD-SL system is designed with much less sloppiness in the system so you can have 0 degree float cleats and extremely high release tensions.

The real question is therefore how do you like your cleats to feel? At the high performance end of the spectrum road riders often prefer the feel of a tight connection to the bike hence the focus on SPD-SL for the road. SPD pedal can feel quite loose and require a much more movement to release. Having said its common to see club riders using SPD-SL cleats with a high degree of float and with the spring tension on most pedals way down so they don't feel any different from SPD cleats. In those instances its really a shoe preference that drives SPD vs SPD-SL.

Overall the on bike performance differences between the SPD-SL and SPD systems are negligible so use what feels comfortable to you.

I do really like the feel of the SL cleats. I've never decreased the tension on them since I bought them new a couple years back. Your point about the SPDs being looser or having more "float" actually seems like it might be an issue for me.

Also, regarding keeping shoes clipped in for a race, I've seen that go wrong for people so many times that I'm hesitant to try it. A few races ago at Naperville, IL one guy at dismount arrived with 1 shoe (with the other nowhere in sight). Then of course you have the failing rubber bands (or maybe they weren't using them) which have people dragging their poor shoes across the pavement only to spend that precious time at the mount line fumbling with shoes flipping around the axis of their pedals. When it works, it's so smooth and fast. When it doesn't, it's a nightmare.

I don't believe you're correct about the float.

A quick check of the M8000 SPDs shows a 6 degree float. iirc, The SPD-SLs are 0, 2, or 6 degrees, depending on the cleat.

Yes that is what I meant but I may have stayed it poorly.

I have never seen an SPD cleat with 2 degrees or less of float while these options are readily available in the road spd-sl cleats. So if you want a strong connection with the pedal you need the wide bodied road cleats.

Just dedicate 5 minutes before and after each ride practicing. In 5 minutes, you can probably clip in and out 30 times. That's probably more than you do all month if you only ride once a week.

I once did a duathlon and decided to wear socks for the runs. Using SPDs and putting them on in transition didn’t really slow me down. It was a fair run to the mount line and I was running out a bit quicker than if barefoot. I also had an easy mount and could get going quickly, which I think is what you’re looking for.

There seem to be a fair number of more road oriented shoes these days. Don’t use road shoes with SPD holes though, it doesn’t work well (not stable).

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Developing aero, fit and other fun stuff at Red is Faster

There is even an Offroad Triathlon shoe with hidden SPDs from Gaerne: http://www.gaerne.com/...31/g-kona-mtb/white/ Might not be looking very pro, but gives you all options.

As others have said you won't lose much or anything in power with either pedal. For flying mounts you'll need tri shoes and sl cleats.
I did my first two years on mtb pedals and touring shoes. I did lose a shoe coming into t2 one time but that's the only downside.