I've only been back on a bike for a few months now but I've decided that I'd like to move up to clipless pedals. My most frequent rides are just to work, giant eagle, etc so I like the idea of being able to ride either with or without bike shoes.
I've been doing my research and I'm between the Shimano M324 and the A530. Many of the complaints about the M324's are the weight so I did some more searching and found that they made the A530 as a lighter road option. I have a few too many cuts/scrapes/scars from the cages on my current pedals so I'm also drawn to the A530's due to their cageless design.
In my searches, the A530's are the more expensive option, but I have found online sellers offering them for about what I was willing to pay for the M324's. I ride a Trek 7.3 FX hybrid and my longest rides tend to be when I head down to the Furnace/South SIde trials for the day (for now at least).
What do you guys think? Anyone have any advice?
I've got the 324s on my commuter, and the 530s on my brevet bike. Like 'em both fine, but the 530s feel more comfortable to me if I'm not riding clipped in.
Bottom line? I'd go for the 530s by choice, but, if a deal on 324s jumped out, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another pair.
Caveat: I'm a recumbent guy, so all of my parts advice should be rotated by 90 degrees 
if you're just riding for fun and commuting and for errands and what not, what do you care about weight? in my experience, weight is what racers should care about when they weigh 150 lbs. and need a bike that doesn't break and is similarly light.
keep in mind that i say this as someone who is probably about 215 right now: my bike is probably about 25 lbs. and i don't care a lick to make it lighter. there's just no need. i can lose any amount of weight that i'd like my bike to lose much more easily and cheaply.
and now for the advice portion: don't pay attention to the weight. if you want something that functions both as a flat and as a clipless, weight is a non-issue. go for what works for you. based on your description of your riding habits, my guess would be that the cheaper option is probably the better one, but it might be less durable, or less comfortable or have some other deal-breaker associated with it. chances are, though, you won't use it in a way that'll force you to notice.
my second caveat: i love grant petersen and his biking philosophy ( http://www.rivbike.com/article/misc/tips_for_happy_riding ).
Thanks guys! I actually ended up purchasing the 530's because I ended up finding a deal for them online for $5 more than the lowest price I saw on the 324's so I figured my leg might appreciate the extra investment.
@.Var Definitely a good link, I like his attitude on things. And yeah, re-reading I suppose I made it sound like weight was more of an issue than it really was. I honestly don't care much about weight myself but I just wanted to make sure. I definitely liked the lack of a cage on the 530 better.
