I recently bought some Shimano MT7 shoes and they have BOA lace things, used for gravel / commuting not MTB. I do really like how it holds the laces nice and even but after only a week the spinny bit wouldn’t release and my foot was stuck in. I’ve sorted it now with brute force but considering they are still new I’m not sure whether to see about sending them back for a refund and sticking to laces.

Oh, I’ve already ordered some replacement dials from BOA.

Had them on my specilized 2FO shoes for about 2, maybe three years. Been faultless in all the mud/grime, stick with them.

Yes.

Have them on S-Works XC and they’ve been faultless. Also, everything I’ve ever heard about Boa’s warranty and customer service back up has been excellent.

The really good thing about boas is that you can reach down and adjust them through a neoprene overshoe.

Have 4 pairs of spesh shoes, one of the boa dials wen’t, boa replaced it straight away.

Ooh they do a free repair kit!! Nice!

https://www.boafit.com/en-us/support/warranty

Thought about boa laces for a new pair of cycling shoes, but decided on laces in the end… I’ve had velco shoes for ~20 years and I’ve messed about with tension on the road less than a dozen times.

Yes for me. They do eventually wear out, which means lots of accidental releases, but they’re still very good.

Wouldn’t buy cycling shoes with anything else on them now.

I’ve got them on my Specialized 2FO’s. Shoes are about a year old and I find I need to repeatedly tighten them during a ride. Is that normal – I’m pretty sure they’ve always done it though i’m not sure if it’s getting worse?

just had free replacement boa on my commuter boots – they only get used in the worst conditions and never get cleaned. lasted 5 or 6 winters before one of them got stuck.

Boa were super quick to send out a replacement too. Much quicker then i was to go and sort the photos for them!

I’d buy again – no question. Much more reliable then the ratchets on my summer shoes.

Got them on my shoes, they’re really good. No issues with sticking at all and these shoes never get cleaned through all the wintery mank.

I’ve got Boa snowboard boots but only cos you can’t get velcro ones. Velcro is perfect for cycling shoes. No need for anything else. Especially those buckles, they’re crap.

I like them. I think it pays to gently release them by pulling equal amounts of lace from each side, just pulling the shoe open can pull one lace harder and that means the other side is pushed out of the BOA, and leads to twists/knots inside the mechanism.

Not sure if all shoes have the feature, but I didn’t realise my winter boots have a slotted guide so if the BOA jams and doesn’t release enough lace, you can pull the lace out of the guide so you don’t have to force anything.

P.S and as above, free BOA replacements are available 🙂

I’ve got them on my Specialized 2FO’s. Shoes are about a year old and I find I need to repeatedly tighten them during a ride. Is that normal – I’m pretty sure they’ve always done it though i’m not sure if it’s getting worse?

Not normal simons, tighten and forget. https://www.boafit.com/en-us/support/warranty

Got them on commuter shoes (LG Granite). Lace broke after a year and I was initially annoyed but as above the warranty kits are dispatched quickly and its easy to replace parts. Now I don’t mind them, and yup you can tighten them through thin overshoes (handy if said overshoes catches on the release dial when you’re putting them on in a hurry!!)

Couple of pairs of Spesh sworks (XC and road) here, will be replacing them with the same, they’ve been great. No problems with the boa mechanisms at all.