When I was using laces, yes, I would need to untie at least the knot, spread the top of the shoe, to slip my foot out, then to refit, loosen the laces all the way down to the toe, slip my foot in, and then retighten the laces from the toe up to the tongue, IF, I wanted to get them on right. Sure I could have used them as loafers, but stretching everything only made fit worse. But I don't use my lace ups anymore, because I don't have them, but if I did, I probably do the same routine before/after every ride. And finding proper replacement laces is difficult too. I ended up using skate laces after the originals wore through. I'm not knocking laced shoes, but after using both types, velcro is easier/faster. Maybe my foot shape is different from yours. I have a wide foot.