Shoe closure systems

George · Post by **George** » 27 Jan 2015 14:23

In the last couple of years, various shoe manufacturers, e.g. Spiuk and Diadora, have introduced shoes with a closure system that involves a sort of 'wire lace' that you tighten with a little dial, instead of the ratchet-and-lever arrangements that have dominated for the last 15-20 years. I have no experience of the new-style closure systems and would like to hear what users think of them. They give the shoes a less cluttered look and I guess they make it a bit easier to pull on overshoes. But more importantly:
- Do they work?
- Are they easy to tighten and loosen (even when knackered/sweaty/stiff-fingered)?
- Are the wire laces liable to break or cut through the 'eyes' after a period of use, and what do you do if they do?

Cheers!

carl · Post by **carl** » 27 Jan 2015 18:25

I had some lake shoes with this set on. I thought they were better than rachets as it pulls the whole shoe tight and not just the top. I've never really heard of them breaking either. U can tighten them easier than a ratchet as the tension u can do gradual. That is only my view.

John · Post by **John** » 27 Jan 2015 19:27

Specialized had that a while ago, a friend of mine has a pair. They give you a lot of flexibility in tightness across the whole shoe, compared to a ratchet system. Aesthetically I'm not a fan.

Hels147 · Post by **Hels147** » 27 Jan 2015 22:34

My spesh shoes have a ratchet wire thingy closer on. They're a life saver for me as I have wide feet and a high arch and the Velcro straps on other shoes don't actually close across my foot. They're really easy to use and adjust, I've even managed to adjust them mid ride without falling off( for once)!

George · Post by **George** » 28 Jan 2015 10:04

Thanks for the feedback.

petemarshall · Post by **petemarshall** » 28 Jan 2015 14:25

My Sidi Dragons had these. They were mtb shoes rather than road. Worked well. But I do prefer the velcro straps on my road Sidis.
The rotation device didn't replace the top strap just the lower ones and was useful when your feet start to swell on a long ride as you could make small adjustments even with overshoes on.

laurence_cooley · Post by **laurence_cooley** » 28 Jan 2015 18:59

As it happens, this month's ProCycling arrived today, and it's the 200th edition so they've done a look back to 1999, when the magazine launched. The "wish list" feature is about the world's best kit from 1999, and there's a pair of Sidis included, with dial-adjust tensioners, so they're not that new! They do have a ratchet as well though, like the ones Pete describes.

George · Post by **George** » 28 Jan 2015 21:00

laurence_cooley wrote:As it happens, this month's ProCycling arrived today, and it's the 200th edition so they've done a look back to 1999, when the magazine launched. The "wish list" feature is about the world's best kit from 1999, and there's a pair of Sidis included, with dial-adjust tensioners, so they're not that new! They do have a ratchet as well though, like the ones Pete describes.

Interesting. I've only been noticing them in the last couple of years. Even allowing for the fact that I've reached the life phase where five or six years pass sufficiently quickly that they only seem like a couple, I'm surprised to see that these shoes have been around so long. I suppose I only look at shoes on websites when I'm thinking about buying, but 99 easily predates my last shoe purchase, and I thought I was usually reasonably alert to what other people are using. So either I'm kidding myself, or it's relatively recently that they've started to catch on to a significant extent.

Anyway, thanks for all the feedback, everybody. I think I may give it a whirl.