been having lots of issues with my hips/legs/knees and wondering if maybe my cleats are misaligned. I spoke to someone who had their road bike cleat position adjusted in a shop by sitting on a turbo with lasers and mirrors to asses position. Anyone done this on a mtb? Is it even viable?

I have dodgy knees. Compared to (Shimano) road SPDs, mountain bike SPDs have a lot more float. It’s pretty hard to set them up badly to be honest, so not sure of the value of a shop adjustment.

I ride with my heels kicked in, so angle mine slightly towards my big toe, but with the amount of float available it’s a pretty crude adjustment.

I did find Egg Beaters offered so much uncontrolled float, it actually made my knees worse. It’s also worth checking your saddle position (and height). You should be able to drop a plumb line from your kneecap to the ball of your foot. Knee too far forwards or backwards will put extra strain on parts of your body.

Cheers, I wondered that. I’m going to start off getting some of those specialized shims to align my foot angle and see if that helps before getting a cleat assessment.

Check your saddle height first, especially if your hips are hurting. you maybe over stretching or are too scrunched up.

as mtbtom says, mtb spds have loads of float, so as long as the ball of your foot is in front of the pedal axle you should be pretty good with the pedals

I’ve had pretty bad knees for years, things that made riding more comfortable for me were a more midfoot cleat position (I used the info from Steve Hogg to set me up), G8 insoles and more recently a switch to 170mm cranks has made a noticeable difference.

Mines very much been trial and error and I’ve got to a pretty good and comfortable position at the end of it. A professional assessment might get you there quicker.