I really think the difference is the preference,

I don think you really need to spend a whole lot to get good quality pedals. The Shimano 105 and Ultrega pedals are an excellent value for the money. $300 pedals are a waste of money.

I bought a pair of Shimano SPD-SL cheapies, like $60, and after 2 seasons upgraded to the Dura Ace pedals because the tension springs felt like they were wearing and the bearings were not as smooth. I put the old ones on my commuter and they still work fine, but I would have to say that the ride quality, durability and ease of unclipping is far superior in the Dura Ace pedals.

I have several thousand miles on my cheap-a** Look Keo Classics & they've been fantastic.

Everybody likes their middle of the road or cheapie pedals... until they try something really nice. It's like being very happy with your 105 shifters until you spend some time riding DA. Then you're spoiled and you have to get a night job waiting tables at Chilli's.

I dunno, I won a pair of Look Carbo Pro clipless pedals at a triathlon in 1993 value then was $210 CDN. I have never used anything else and have had no problemswith them. Replaced the cleats twice in the last 15 years is all.

PoC

More of a general principle, but my experience has been thus:
-I thought that my $50 bike shorts were fine until I bought a pair of $150 bibs. Now I'm spoiled.
-I thought my stock saddle was fine until I actually spent some money and got a Fizik airone tri... the stock saddle that was fine 48 hrs earlier got tossed.
-I was comfortable running in cotton socks until I tried synthetic and now I can't go back to dorky looking tube socks with the red stripes on top.
-I thought my $50 helmet was as comfortable as helmets get... until I bought one that actually fit my head for $120. Now I'm picky.

So... if all someone has ever riden is a lower end piece of equipment and they believe it's fine... it probably is. But most of us lack the experience to make comparisons between products becuase we've only ever owned one type of a thing. I've only ever used one pair of bike shoes, one tri suit, one wetsuit. So for me to say that the shoes, tri suit, or wetsuit that I use is fine is an observation with limited untility for someone trying to make a comparison between products.

As for pedals specifically I never serviced my older Speedplay Xseries because they didn't have a grease port. My new ones (also Speedplay xseries) do have a port, and I grease them regularly, and they feel great. No squeaking, no rubbing. I never noticed the little things that now irk me about the cheaper pedals until I started riding nicer ones (and taking care of them).

Now if you really want the nerdy part... It's called being home blind. It's when someone else notices that funny smell in your car that you never knew about. Or someone says something about your brown pillow... that you thought was white. It was white when you bought it but over the years it got nasty, slowly, and you didn't notice because you had nothing to compare it to.

Better?

Good point. strictly on time savings? The amount of weight you save on super light pedals is nearly irrelevant (or super light anything really).

Holy crap, could it be that my knee high tube socks with the blue and gold stripes and "Spirit of '76" red, white and blue sweat band are dorky!

Sad times!