Telly

Here's a very informative site on shoe-lacing!

Might sound kind of lame, but I was amazed at how many lacing techniques exist... even for cyclists!

https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/index.htm

CommuteCommando

When I was in the service we were taught a specific way to lace our shoes in basic training. At inspections we would get dinged for not having our shoes laced properly. The purpose of this was to train kids fresh from leaving home how to follow instructions. This was applied to how uniforms were folded and placed in lockers too.

FenderTL5

I don't know how many lace techniques there are or which one is best.
All I know, is that if I tie my shoe, then tuck the loops under a lace then they don't get caught on the pedals or anything else.

Telly

There's a specific lacing technique on the site for cycling/hiking where the laces protrude away from the bike. Haven't tried that out, but I did try a different pattern which has greatly helped reduce the pain just below the shin.

Geez... now that I think of it, I have too much free time on my hands!

bigbenaugust 

When Mrs. A and were dating, she re-taught me to tie my shoes so they never came undone. She had learned it from one of her patients who had been in the Navy.

She may have been trying to see how well I follow directions, too.

WonderMonkey

I have different ways I ties my shoes/boots when hiking to address if my feet are slipping or if I'm getting a blister or discomfort in a certain area.

jrickards

The notes for that lacing technique say that by putting the loops for the knots on one side keeps the loops away from the chain ring, chain and from snagging undergrowth but if you put the loops away from the chainring, aren't you putting into the undergrowth?

My new shoes are rather tight right now, maybe I should relace them in a different pattern, rather than the shoe display pattern I bought them with.

KonAaron Snake 

I don't ride with laces...ever...too many problems over the years. If it doesn't have velcro, it doesn't get used with a bike.

Telly

Ahh if only Stan Smith's ever came out with velcro! they'd probably look awful, but they would be the best commuting footwear out there.

RidingMatthew

i use velcro or ratchet shoes on my bikes. unless i am riding with my Chaco sandals.

Rick@OCRR

Same here, velcro on all my cycling shoes. Lacing hasn't been an issue since my Detto Pietro shoes back in the '70's.

Rick / OCRR

fietsbob

My favorite Shoes for touring, Pedals w Toe Clips, there is a Flap over the laces
so they dont snag on the clip on the way in..

locolobo13 

Never imagined someone would be that interested in shoe lacing before. Quite the site.

For riding I also slip the loose loops under one of the laces to prevent it from getting caught in the gears. Walking, hiking etc, I try to be looser with the toe box and tighter in the heels. But that's just the way my feet fit my shoes. After a mile or 2 the laces seem to reaverage the tension and I do it again.

Sometimes with some pairs of shoes I've had to take a phillips screwdriver and poke a small hole from the inside where my little toe is to relieve pressure. Believe it or not that works. But cuts down on shoe life.

Squeeze

Adidas Stan Smith tennis shoes? Are they still made? I'm sure google could tell me if I looked, but I haven't. I wore them in high school and college (1980s) and they were INDESTRUCTIBLE. I probably only owned two pairs, but they lasted for YEARS each.

I'd like to say I'd buy another pair but they're probably not made nearly as well as they were 30 years ago.

Telly

Well Squeeze, we're in luck!
"On May 31, 2013, Adidas officially announced that the adidas stan smith will be back in stores during 2014"

I've been wearing them since the late 70's throughout my high-school and college years, and when they came back in style in the early 2000's I bought two pairs (lost one), and have been using the second pair for commuting and cycle touring for the past three years.

If the 2014 models are the same quality as the last ones I bought, then I expect them to last for many years to come.

They are truly INDESTRUCTIBLE!

Squeeze

Thanks, Telly. I will keep my eye open for them. Those were great shoes.

Edited to add: they have their own Wikipedia page. Very cool.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas_Stan_Smith

noglider 

I stumbled on that site when I was looking for aglets. I didn't know the word yet, but I learned it there. And I learned I can make a decent one out of heat shrink tubing, so why should I buy them?

ThermionicScott 

That guy is like the Sheldon Brown of shoe-tying.

Despite tying my shoes correctly (square-knot vs granny-knot), the nylon laces on one pair of New Balances just will not stay tight. Double-knotting just staves it off for a little longer. I'll have to try out "Ian's Secure Knot"...

dynaryder

LOL. Good to know I'm not the only one who's enough of a knot geek to know that site. I've been using this knot ever since I saw it there. Super fast to tie and untie. I just twist the ends into a roll and tuck them under one of the laces,and I've never had an issue with my shoes untying or the laces getting caught in anything.

Sooo...anyone else own a copy of The Ashley Book of Knots?

chaadster

Gatorfreak

Thank you, OP, for something new. I might try that hiking/biking lacing on my SPD shoes.

tcs

My wife is a pre-K teacher. She says that these days it's only once in a blue moon that any elementary school student wears any kind of lace&tie shoes. It's quite a blessing to her to not have to re-tie a dozen little shoes every day, and I suppose tying a shoe lace is easy enough to learn when today's kids get their first pair of lace up shoes in high school or college.

wilfried

I learned that I've been tying granny knots all these years! And his Ian secure knot seems a lot better than the double knot I've been doing. So hey, a couple of useful things learned. There are worse ways to waste time on the Internet.