Originally Posted by
brawlo
Float. I had this discussion with my bike fitter who is very very good with all this stuff when I turned up for my custom frame fit with fixed cleats. Basically he said you don't use fixed unless you have your position totally and utterly dialed in. Otherwise fixed will cause you more problems physically than they're worth. I guess sprinters aren't really on the bike long enough to see too much damage from their use. I did notice some minor knee discomfort disappear once I went to float vs fixed on my road shoes after that discussion
i by and large agree. my entry in this conversation is this: it depends on how much of The Princess And The Pea you are. I know that if I used no-float cleats, I'd constantly be tinkering with my cleat position and it would make me unhappy. Whereas with cleats with float, it's a lot easier to get it in the ballpark.
I don't move my feet when I'm clipped in - I don't really take advantage of the float. It's not like it leaves you feeling all loosey-goosey. But if gives you some wiggle room to find that perfect foot/knee/hip position in your stroke.