Good post from a man that knows and that is you. We each tend to view from our own particular lens. Of course you see a lot of average weekend guys come into your shop and I see them out on the road with their poor pedal strokes. A bit of chicken and egg at play. What comes first?...a good pedal stroke or a good cleat alignment with tight float adjustment. Of course there is an intersection of each. But for a guy with a less than pristine pedal stroke which makes up the vast majority of the cycling public, tight float will not be good for their knees. This is for the simple fact that a knee that moves laterally throughout the stroke will rotate the foot and this will side load the knee. This is why I espouse more float for the average rider. Not for you of course. Btw, my stroke I would say is good...perhaps very good for an amateur. But when I get out of the saddle, I prefer more float because by feet rotate more toe out. So for even a guy like me who doesn't have your racing pedigree but is an experienced cyclist, for me at least, I like the 'concept' of more float because I don't want any lateral loading of my knees. But yes, the iceskating reference of speedplay pedals opened up for float is an acquired taste which over time disappears.