Elastic Laces Vs Standard Laces – Which Are Faster For Triathletes?

If you're looking to shave time off your triathlon, then transitions are a great way of doing this.. Anything you can do to shorten that part of the race is worth a shot. And that's where these things come in elastic laces.. It'S not because triathletes don't know how to tie their own shoe laces, although that may be an issue for some who knows. These are actually for performance.. It'S an opportunity to save time going from the bike to the run and personally, I've never done a triathlon without them. Although I do know a lot of athletes that don't use them. So there's clearly some personal preferences at play. There's some pros and cons.. So today I'm gon na be running through some of those., I'm going to be putting them through a bit of adversities so that I can help you make your own mind: up. (, upbeat music, ), Okay. So when we're talking about elastic laces, we're often referring to these just a stretchy piece of elastic that we use to replace the standard laces on our running shoes.. But there are obviously a number of alternatives and I've had a little rummage through some of my old kit and pulled out these., So I've got a set of Flatlines. Now. These are really similar to your swimming goggles straps and they work in a very similar way to the elastic laces., And then we've got something a little bit. Different. We've got the Greepers. Now these are actually very similar to your standard fabric laces. But then they have. This very clever, locking mechanism. Now a really interesting option and we'll cover a little bit more on those later. But for now, let's take a closer look at the elastic laces. (, energetic, music ) Right. The idea behind these elastic laces is so that you can slip your feet into your shoes in one swift motion. Obviously, saving the time of having to tie your shoe laces as you normally would., And not to forget, of course, having to slip your feet out of your shoes if you're doing something like a duathlon and running first.. So what happens is the elastics stretch as you put your feet into your shoes and prevent you from misshaping your shoe and then actually equally has enough tension to hold your foot well and securely within the shoe. Right. I'Ve spoken enough about these laces now.. Let'S see what their difference is through a timed: transition. (, upbeat, music, ) Right, I'm gon na do a mock T2. So imagine I've got my bike. Shoes off already.. All I need to do is put my running shoes on and away I go.. So for this. I'M gon na start the clock here at this point. I'm gon na run towards my run: shoes. I'm gon na whack those on and then I'm gon na. Stop the clock. When I pass this point, here. I'm gon na start with with the standard laces and I'm actually gon na - do three runs on each., So I'm gon na do without socks, and I'm gon na do a run with the socks and I'm also gon na. Do a run where I put my socks on within the transition, but I can explain why later. For now, let's get ready for run number one., Let's go. (, energetic music ). Sixteen seconds ( puffs ) Run two with the socks. Three two one skipped. (, energetic music, ), (, puffs ) Fourteen seconds., Two seconds; quicker., Okay, the third run with the standard laces, and I put my socks ready in my shoes so that I put my socks On and then my shoes and away, I go. Three: two one. (, energetic music ), Twenty-eight seconds. Quite a bit, slower.. Okay. So that's the standard laces done and I went 16 seconds on the first run without socks 14 seconds with the socks.. So two seconds quicker and I think that's because basically feet are a little bit clammy when they haven't got the socks them so that just caused a little bit of friction as you're putting the shoe on.. Obviously I would normally recommend putting talcum powder in the shoe. If you are going barefoot. And then obviously I did the final run, where I timed putting the socks on as well., Mainly because if you are going to be putting socks on in your triathlon, you need to account for that time. And that came out almost double The time 28 seconds 14 seconds slower than my quickest run, which isn't a masses of time, although it's double the time, but we'll weigh out the pros and cons but to that later on. But for now let's take these standard laces out and put the elastics on.. Okay, so I've got my elastic laces on and it's worth noting that elastic laces often come with these little locking mechanisms.. Now I personally never bothered with them. I've come from an ITU racing background where every second counts, so I normally just tie them to a good tension. So I can get my foot in easily and also they're tight enough, that they hold the foot securely and well., But the locking mechanisms are really good for you, tightening them or loosening them on the move. So that is personal.. It'S entirely up to you. But for now, let's just test these elastic laces on the three runs. ( upbeat: music, ), Three, two one. ( running music ), Three, two one. ( running music, ); Okay, so that's the runs done with the elastic laces. Times are in.. I went seven seconds with the first run, with socks., So half the time of my quickest run with the standard laces so considerably quicker., Then I went a second quicker again with six seconds with the socks and then obviously I timed myself putting the socks on and Then shoes - and I went 19 seconds on that run, which is quicker than the previous time with standard laces. But I have to say I could have done that quicker.. I did mess it up a little bit., But clearly elastic laces are much quicker and yeah. I mean that's all very well saving a few seconds through transition, but what's it like when you're out running on the road or through the trails And unfortunately that's where things get a little bit fuzzy for elastic laces, because I'd love to be able to show you A time difference between the two but that'd be near impossible and there's so many variable factors at play., But there's clearly so many pros and cons to both. (, rockabilly, music ), As I've shown already quite simply elastic laces are quicker through transition. Pro.. Some argue that elastic laces allow too much movement for the foot within the shoe and therefore affecting the athlete's communication between their foot and the sole of the shoe and then their running, performance. Con., But standard laces can feel a little constricting at times, particularly as a Race goes on and your feet heat and swell, whereas elastic laces allow a little more flexibility for the shoe to expand and relieve any unnecessary pressure. Pro. With the increased movement whilst using the elastic laces, there is the risk of developing blisters. Con.. Now it's not uncommon to get cold hands during a triathlon. Certainly, if you're racing in the UK, like us. And given that you're not doing much with your hands on the bike, it can be quite a bit asked to try and get them to tie some laces up as you go onto the run.. But that's where elastic laces come in. Pro., But the give that elastic laces allow could affect an athlete's biomechanics and if used over time for all their training, it could cause injury. Con.. Well then there is the distance in terrain to consider. So if you are running off road, you might want your foot to be a little more secure within the shoe, particularly if you're running over uneven surfaces.. As for distance as the distance increases, the transition becomes a far smaller percentage of your overall race time., So that need for a quick transition becomes far less important, but maybe the comfort becomes a little more important., As I've mentioned already. I came from an ITU racing background where very second counts. And I stepped up to Half Ironman as a pro, so that quick transition was still big of value in importance for me, whereas for Heather she came to triathlon at half or middle distance then stepped up To full distance., So she really prefers using standard laces., And if we take a look at the pros, there is a mix within them, though a lot of them are still using elastic laces.. But there is this reduction in importance for a quick T2, which is where I think Greepers comes in and are a really interesting option.. So it's still that standard laces good support, but with a quick fastening mechanism.. So it really does come down to personal preference.. What works for you, your different racing styles, distances the terrains, you're racing on, and really what you're happiest using. And, as always, we love to hear what you're doing currently or what your thoughts are on. It.. So do drop them in the comments section below. And if you'd like to click on the globe and subscribe to GTN. And if you'd like to see another versus socks versus no socks. Just click up there. And if you'd like to see our top triathlon hacks to go faster, just click here,