lace-up bike shoes?

[eddief]

Besides looking retro and being less clicky than BOAs, if you've tried lace-up road or off-road shoes, what's good or not so good about them?

[Oo0cH]

Big fan of my Giro VR90s going on strong since 2016. Solid build, Easton carbon sole is amazingly stiff. Only "downside" is that you can't really adjust the tension in say, the front (toes) or mid of your foot if you're used to that. Never been a problem for me though, tighten them up and go. Thinking of buying a pair of empires to try the road version.

[uber]

I’ve owned Giro Empires. If needed you can adjust how tight you want to wear the shoes with more precision. I like the look. The argument against is that you can’t make small adjustments during a ride but I never found that to be an issue. It’s mostly a style choice for me as I don’t find the laces to an advantage or disadvantage.

[fredd]

IME:

Pros: more comfy than boa, marginally lighter, look nicer
Cons: can't adjust while moving, a takes a little longer to pull on, can be a bit of a pain in shoes with stiffer uppers (Lake MX1)

[catchourbreath]

I've used lace up mtb and road shoes. Plus is dialing the fit, especially if you mess with lacing patterns to alleviate tight spots or cinch down more in others. Downsides are no on the fly Adjustments and in racing scenarios I've found them to sometimes be a chore if you're clambering to get on course especially to preride or running late!

[cgolvin]

I have a pair of Giro Empire and Rapha Pro Team, like them both very much. All the pros and cons have already been mentioned above. FWIW, I think in the 6+ years I have had them I have stopped to adjust the tension mid ride two times.

And the point about lacing pattern is a good one, I have changed the pattern a couple of times on the Rapha shoes to help with adjusting the fit. To me the biggest downside is that they take slightly longer to put on than strap & buckle or BOA shoes, but come on, it's a trivial amount of time.

[hstack]

I've also been very pleased with my Giro Empires for road and my Giro Mantas for mountain. Like others noted, you can't adjust easily while riding and that's the only reason I've been considering trying out some boas, but I still think laces look cooler and are great overall.

[redir]

Next shoes I get will be lace up. I miss them and the plastic sliders always break or velcro wears out on my other shoes. I very rarely adjust on the fly and if I do it's because it slipped or was not done right in the first place.

[AndersCAAD]

I had two pairs of lace-up shoes and didn't like them. I had a pair of Giro Empires and Empire VR70 Knits (for gravel/cx). The laces didn't work for me. I really wanted to like them, as they looked slick, and I believed in the concept of laces over boas. Ultimately I found that the inability to modify the fit during my ride was something that was a deal breaker.

[johnniecakes]

I have Giro Empires and like them.

[Turkle]

I like laces because they automatically adjust to the shape of my foot in a way that Boas never do. Cinch them up tight at the beginning of a ride and they gradually just conform to the foot.

I bought my first lace-up shoes a while ago and I'll keep buying them for as long as they're available!

[JMT3]

I too have several pairs of Giro Empire AC's. Love the fit and laces just make the all day comfort adjustment easy. I do have shoes that are not laces. My favorites are the ones I own with laces!

[Howzit]

Love my lace ups. Can't adjust on the fly, but no issues and very supportive and comfortable.

[Davist]

I like them. My issue with the boas is that you NEED to adjust mid ride (to me they seem to loosen up) the laces (double knotted) stay put.. my $0.02 of course

[Seramount]

on my second pair of Giro Empires, so I obviously like them.

the first few times I used them, thought the laces were a tiny bit fiddly. but, that quickly faded and I don't think about them at all.

when one of the laces broke (after many thousands of miles) and became a tad shorter, I just relaced it and found it easier to deal with than stuffing the extra length under the little elastic strap.

my only real objection with the Empires is that when the heel pads wear out the replacements are silly expensive ($25). as a cheap hack, I just glued a rubber garden hose gasket on the left side shoe which almost never gets unclipped.