Well I went ahead and ordered those Ergons. We'll see how they go. Plan on ordering a road bike soon and willneed some pedals anyhow. I never even heard of clip or clipless or whatever until a couple years ago. I've always just had bikes with plain pedals. My last mountain bike came with straps over the pedals, but I could never get used to them and most my sneakers wouldnt fit in them right so I took them off. I suppose if I were biking long distances or races I'd like more efficiency but going out for a few miles on the road with my mountain bike efficiency isnt a big concern.
It was said above how there is no advantage to barefoot on a bike. I agree, shoes are tools, and you can drive a nail in better with a hammer than with your bare hand. Only reason I am going bare on the bike is so I can stash it at the end of a long run to bike back. I did that just recently, and carried my huraches with me for the bike. Just one less thing to have to carry, though not that huge of a deal. These are for paved paths, like some of the local rail to trail converts. A true mountain bike trail I'll take at least minishoes.