I had a big gap, but I went to flats when I started riding again, because my leg’s not really up for twisting any more. Took me a good while to get into it, and honestly i think spds might be better. But not enough to be important for anyone but racers, everyone else should use what they like.
The interesting thing is, if you’ve got good technique on SPDs you’ll adapt easily to flats. The reason a lot of SPD riders struggle to adapt is that they have bad technique. You hear people say “I can’t bunnyhop on flats” but they actually mean “I can’t bunnyhop” frinstance. Or “I can’t jump on flats” which means “I jump badly but my SPDs let me get away with it” Lots of folks rely on their spds just to stay on the bike and that’s fine- but it means you’re always at odds with the bike, it’s much better to work with it and move with it. You can do it on SPDs no bother but you have the option not to; whereas flats will just **** you up if you don’t.
So even if you give flats a try- a proper try, to really learn them and get used to them- and it doesn’t take, you’re likely to take benefits back to spds. And vice versa.
Decent pedals and shoes and you wont need to worry about shins
LIES. Maybe not while riding, but crashing will still get you, and then there’s the “I’ll just push this across the garage and ****ING OW”. And don’t ask me why I have pedal scars on my head, right?