Before I got clipless pedals, I wondered what the power or speed increase with them. I googled the question, and answers on forums ranged from nothing to 40+% power increase. It had to be more than nothing since professionals use them (and toe clips/ straps before that). So I decided to test the difference myself after purchasing them.
About five weeks ago, I did a mini-time trial of 6.2 miles, which is the distance of my super sprint in two weeks. So today I did the same thing.
The results were interesting : No improvement over the first three miles. Almost exact same time down to the second. However, the next three miles I was able to better maintain a faster speed. By pulling up, I was able to give my quads a chance to clear the lactic acid. So over the next 3.2 miles, I was 0.95 mph faster.
Overall: The first time it took me 23:05 and this time it took 22:20. Looking at it from a power perspective, it was a 10 watt or about 8% increase. At the finish I felt like I could keep going at a faster clip. So I image if I continued to go further, the difference would have continued to increase. If I only had done three miles, I might think that they were worthless ;)
Conclusion: I would say that clipless pedals don't increase your power, but allow you to maintain a more consistent power output over time. Measuring the total impact, depends on how long the ride is.
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