Anyones experiences with shoelaces you don't have to tie? (Page 2)

I don't like Yankz much either. I felt like they were never adjusted right.

I keep my shoes tied and just slip them on. Been doing this forever, race or not. Pull up the tongue, stick foot in, and go.

Another vote for XTENEX. The Yankz gave me tight spots that I couldn't resolve, but the XTENEX laces let you set each eyelet separately and they stay at the same tension. Love 'em.

Ever since I found Xtenex, I've not gone back. I have them on all of my running shoes. They're easy to put on the shoes, easy to adjust for tension, and really easy to use. I've not quite had the "just slip them on" experience, but all I have to do is keep the tongue out of the way and go.

I just held the ends over a lighter for a second and then rubbed them in my fingers. This closed off the end so they wouldnt fray. I have a set of black ones that I have used in 3 different pairs of shoes.

Another vote here for Nathan Lock Laces.

I've heard that you lose 40% of your power by cycling in tennis shoes. They are too spongy so you don't transfer your power into the crank. I've put this to the test riding w/ my usual training partners. When I wore tennis shoes (I thought it would be convenient to just run off the bike) I couldn't keep up w/ them when I am usually way in front of them.

I had hard plastic sole cycling shoes, which were ok. But once I switched to carbon sole cycling shoes, boom even more faster.

I bought Pearl Izumi Iso Transition shoes to run in for races only. They have no tongue and have built in elastic laces. Didn't give me blisters right out of the box 5-6 miles with wet feet. Have draining holes in sole. Super light, enough support. I tried Yankz but hated them. Love the Pearl Izumi and they are cheap, only $80 on amazon.com Not to mention cool colors.

I thought I posted to this already but looking at the thread it never took. Another vote for xtenex laces. Took 2 runs to get them right and have been great since. I don't think I'll cut the ends off as it would be difficult re-lacing them in another set of shoes.

Another vote for Xtenex!  It will take a little adjusting to get it feeling right however being able to adjust all points and not just the overall tension is a nice feature of them.

This ^^^^ is exactly what I do, AND I just use the same laces shoe change after shoe change. I use Sofsole Performance Laces, lace em up, run and adjust them, tie a knot in each end at the last lace hole, cut off the excess and run the shoes till they are shot. I take the excess I cut off the laces and make race belt number holders out them using the fancy little locks that I DID NOT use on the shoes.
Hope this helps

I'll go against the pack here and say I absolutely HATED the elastic laces and made the mistake of putting them on my sneakers 2 weeks before my first Oly and my feet were F'd up BIG time during the run. I didn't tighten the laces at all, as in they weren't really stretched any, but they still felt snug, not uncomfortably so while wearing them around or going on a 5mi or shorter run. During the race though I got to mile 4 and it felt like my right foot had a steak knife stuck in it. It hurt so bad and slowed me down greatly and went away almost immediately after I took my shoe off. I couldn't figure out what it was so I tried new insoles and that didn't fix it. I thought maybe it was my new shoes but they were about a month old and were the same model shoe I've worn for years. Ended up taking out the new insoles and putting the regular laces back in and immediately the shoes were fine. I was shocked at how such a little thing impacted me so badly.

I'm not a new runner either as I have 10+ HM, 2 full marathons and 4 triathlons under my belt.

I'll just take the 10 seconds to tie my shoes. I can actually leave them just loose enough to slip on my feet without tying really.

I like yankz and have a pair at least 6 years old. I just put a little tape over the end when I transfer them to new sneaks. I also just tie a knot in the stretchy stuff and skip the little plastic triangle.

I really liked my yankz when I was pregnant with twins and my feet seemed so far away!

Yankz. I figured out that I actually wanted them situated looser than I imagined and it turned out well. Haven't adjusted them in 3 seasons of racing (this will make the 4th, but I should have new flats now... oops).

Lace up and go. Don't worry about 10-15 seconds on shoe laces!

Thanks for all the feedback. My biggest problem right now is that I don't actually have biking shoes so when I come out of T1 from a swim and put on my shoes, I am pretty much set the rest of the race. I am also doing a duathlon this coming weekend and I will have no change of shoes. I have been considering putting on my tennis shoes for the bike portion though. I know it will slow me down in T1/T2, but I feel like I don't get the push as well in my running shoes on the bike.

Xtenex.

I went a bit out of my way to get some before a tri last year. I researched the various options and they made the most sense. Bought bright green ones to complement my hot pink shoes. Love 'em.

I've never bothered to cut off the excess. The tied part sometimes comes undone and flops around, and I've had them almost a year, so perhaps I can trim them with some confidence now...

xtenex on my skechers. lock laces on my hokas and speed laces on my kswiss.

i get complements from the neighborhood folks on my orange xtenex laces and i love those laces the most.

One tip I use for reusing Yankz laces (or similar laces) with frayed ends, or keeping your frayed ends neat and tidy. When you put your Yankz in your shoes for the first time, cut off the excess lace, then using a match (or two or three so you don't burn your fingers), burn the frayed ends so the plastic melts and forms a sealed end. Works for me and allows me to reuse my Yankz laces in other shoes.

OP answer: I use Yankz laces. Takes one run to dial in the correct tension for me, and they work really well. I'm not fast in transitions, but I often have shaky hands after the bike (all that adrenaline), so have a really hard time tying laces, hence these Yankz laces are wonderful for me. A couple of quick tugs and I'm ready to go.

I just got Xtenex laces. First time running in them today, but I think I'll like them better than the Yankz i had in the past. The Yankz always felt tight.

The Xtenex I got are the X200 width, next time I'll probably get the next size up (X300) as the knots now seem a little small and could possible move when stretching the shoes on. I didn't realize they even had different widths when I ordered.

Yankz.
Flame and tape when frayed.

Yankz! Better than sliced bread once you adjust the comfort/fit/tightness for your shoes.

I have tried a generic pair 2 years ago, yanks last year and Nathan Lock Laces this year. I have to say the quality of the Nathan ones are far superior to the generic ones, about the same as the Yanks but I like the locking mechanism better than yanks.

So +1 for Nathan Lock Laces from me. Also I do end up replacing them every year. Something about the Texas Heat destroys the elastic after a year.

 

edit for spelling.

Edited by jetsers 2013-06-06 1:17 PM

Whatever happened to Velcro running shoes?