I get sent a shocking number of cycling shoes. Next to tires, I’ve probably sampled more different shoes in my career as a cycling tech journalist than any other single item of gear.
Shoes are tricky to review because everyone has unique feet, and every rider has different interpretations of what constitutes stiffness, comfort, breathability, etc.
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Even so, I believe there’s a common design feature in many shoes that, with shocking regularity, is uncomfortable, painful, and almost universally awful.
I call it the egg slicer. It is when a shoe with a Boa closure features bare wires running from the dial on the outside of the shoe, over the top of the foot, to a wire guide on the inside of the shoe.
Matt Phillips
An example of the egg-slicer design.
(Note: I’m only singling out Boa because it is the most widely used closure, but this problem is not unique to shoes with their system. Any dial-and-wire (AKA “reel knob”) closure from ATOP, X-Dial (Northwave), Tecno (Sidi), or any other brand may have the same issue.)
As you tighten a shoe with the egg slicer design, the wire applies very focused pressure on the top of the foot. Perhaps I have sensitive bones, but I’ve noticed that almost every time I get shoes with the egg slicer design tight enough, the wires cause uncomfortable and usually painful hot spots on the top of my foot near the ankle—specifically on the talus, navicular, and cuneiform bones.
Matt Phillips
Closure wires will quickly cause tongues to break down and wear in grooves.
Many shoes with the egg slicer design feature padded tongues—some thicker than others—as a way to reduce and spread out the pressure. The issue is if it works, it only works when the shoe is brand new. Very quickly, the pressure from the wires wears grooves in the tongue, the padding deteriorates, and then you feel the knife-edge-like pressure from the wires.
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The egg slicer design is lightweight, easy to manufacture, and straightforward, which is why it is so widely used. And it is effective in that it tightens the shoe around the foot; however, it’s the most painful and aggravating way to do so.
Matt Phillips
Employing the Boa system to tighten a strap or an overlapped tongue is always a better and more comfortable solution.
A more comfortable design, employing the Boa system, involves using the dial and wire to tighten an overlapping tongue or a strap that wraps over the top of the foot. There are numerous examples of these closure designs from a diverse range of brands. Notably, Shimano uses it on all its Boa-equipped shoes, and Fizik uses the Boa strap design for most of its shoes.
And even brands that use the egg slicer design across most of their shoe collection usually have one or two shoes in their collection with a better strap design. The Ares 2 from Specialized and the RSL Knit from Trek, for example.
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Or, you can avoid any chance of the egg slicer by wearing shoes with hook and loop (also known as Velcro) straps like those used in Fizik’s Powerstrap collection, old-school laces like those on the Giro Empire SLX II, or “speed” lace shoes like Tadej Pogačar’s signature DMT.
Someday, I hope all the cycling shoes that arrive at my doorstep are free of the egg slicer. Until then, I’ll continue to choose and recommend shoes with far superior and more comfortable closures.