Just started using SPD pedals on my bike, partially on the advice of a nice cyclist I met on the way to work (he cycles from Yishun to Siglap to his bicycle shop). I had been thinking of getting the pedals changed anyway, because the old ones' teeth kept biting into my calves leaving a bloody mess.
Mine are entry-level Shimano M520s. I also got a pair of charcoal M038 shoes to use them with.
Cycling is certainly more efficient now because the leg doing the upstroke is lifting the pedal up while the other pushes down. But dang it, I end up using leg muscles that didn't need to do anything in the past.
The other thing that takes getting used to is clipping out before I stop. You have to anticipate the stopping sometimes and get ready to clip out of the pedals, which is hard when you travel on a crazy road like Jalan Eunos with the mad traffic. Traffic lights are the least of your problems there.
And walking with these shoes is also a weird experience. On pavements, you go clop-clop-clop because of that metal under your shoes. I feel like a horse.
Legs. Ache. Ow.
