Thanks to Thomas Gerlach for posting about this and sharing his testing numbers. I've been using this for a few years and have extensively tested them. They are fast and super comfortable.

looks great indeed! Can you tell me how you laced them? And what kind of laced you used?

I found some similar ‘ builds’ on the internet but I couldn’t find exactly how they laced them and what kind of laced they used. At the moment I used some quick elastic laces like you can use in running shoes.

They are rubber laces from a company called Goodbye Tie. I absolutely love them. Easy to get on in transition, comfortable and fast!

I'm trying it this year with a pair of ACCs.

I bought a pair of flat elastic laces off amazon. Seem to be ok but less stretch than the ones we all normally use for our run shoes. Flying mounts still present a bit of an issue as the shoe is already narrow so not much hole to aim your foot for, and no heel tab to grip. Slipping them on in T1 however is a breeze and very quick. I've missed every other hole and not done the last top ones. It's not as stable as locking in with proper laces or double boas, but don't really notice tbh as I'm never going to be sprinting in them. I might reconfigure with the last top holes to see if this improves the lock down a bit more. I'm not sure if the slight foot movement might be contributing to the occasional bout of extensor tendonitis I get running.

I used flat elastic laces and have had this set up for the past 3 years or so. Works great!

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Are you ready to do an Ultraman? | How I calculate Ironman race fueling | Strength Training for Athletes |

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/..._SLX_Laces_P6008013/

The original thread with a ton of information is here.

I also use the xpand laces that Rob mentioned above. Have been using them since 2017. They do stretch out over time but they are cheap and can be easily replaced. I ran Giro Empire SLX shoes for years and just got a pair of the S-work road 7 lace up shoes that worked well in st George. As much as it pains me to cut the tongue out of $350 shoes, I haven't been able to not cut the tongue and still do a flying mount in T1. With the tongue left in, its extremely difficult to get into the shoes while riding. If you don't flying mounts, then you can probably leave the tongue in.

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blog

Hello Jissa and All,

These modifications make a nice aero shoe you can run on for short distances .. using Speedplay pedals

The zipper top for easy and quick entry and exit from shoe with nice fit.

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

Hello Jissa and All,

Another view of pedal retracted into shoe for superior aerodynamics.

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

Hello Jissa and All,

Front view of View-Speed mod to shoe .... Very aero with Speedplay pedal retracting into the shoe like an aircraft wheel retracting into the aircraft for superior aerodynamics.

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

Hello Jissa and All,

Pedal side view ....

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

Holy cow that looks fast! How did you make the underside of the shoe so smooth? Thanks for posting your pictures! Helps a lot :)

Now this is a home hack I can get behind.

@nealhe, did you glue these zips in, or sew them? Any issues with rubbing in bare feet?

I also have a pair of the Giro Empires that I set up with elastic laces, however they are on their 5th year now, and need replacement pretty soon.

I picked up a cheap pair of pretty similar shoes from Wiggle - DHB Dorica Carbon. I am using them as my regular road shoes, but am planning to get a second pair to set up with elastic laces for the tri bike.

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

A few comments from a long time Giro laceup user:

-The ACC and SLX aren't the same aerodynamically. It's probably minor, but on me at least the SLX laces up significantly tighter than the cheaper/stiffer material used in the upper of the ACC model. I have not had time to test this.

-I won our local du and tried the elastic laces in the SLX. I'm a time trial person, not multisport person. I left the tongue in and didn't have issues. It was an uphill transition exit meaning the whole put shoes on riding the bike was BS. In fact, I feel the comfort improvement of shoes on in T1 versus fumbling with it on the bike was worth it either way.

-The whole Speedplay pedal thing IMO for a lot of people boils down to stack height and bike fit from that more than aero itself of the pedal system. Not everyone pedals flat footed in tri or TT. A whole lot of people, myself included, have a healthy amount of ankling where that part of the shoe is only ever presented to the wind for maybe a microsecond each revolution.

-It's still a great aero setup, but it can be questionable if using shoe covers or if you're not "bound" by track racing rules that used to prohibit shoe covers. Maybe they still prohibit shoe covers in track racing, don't know. But that was a key factor in a rise of the Giro SLX or laceups. Both a very firm connection with the foot for pursuit starts AND the aero aspect. If you can run a shoe cover for a TT, the shoe here likely becomes a non factor. For tri where time putting on a shoe cover is bad, then yeah it could help to use an SLX.

-IMO, the off road laceup race shoe version the Giro VR90........is garbage. I paid a lot of money liking laceup shoes to get some to race cross. The uppers have literally started falling off after a couple seasons. I really wish they sold a VR90 that had the SLX upper instead of the VR90 upper. I will likely buy a tech lace or boa cross racing shoe for this year being fed up with how nasty/ugly these have become. Also, I realize a cross shoe has a sole, but the VR90 is very heavy IMO.

Hello oakie,

Sewed ... I wear socks ...

I was concerned at first about a snug fit ... but works great ..

As we know now ... pulling up on pedal is not so important except in sprinting and perhaps a bit on steep climbs ..

In any event I lucked out and fits just like my laceups ....

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

I have done it. I use Xpand laces from amazon. Work great. Using them for 3 years now, and will again in my race on Saturday. Don't lace every hole, skip every other, see how it feels, and adjust from there.