Ian's Shoelace Site - Hiking / Biking Lacing

An inside-out version of Straight (Bar) Lacing, which distributes pressure evenly plus keeps the knots & ends to the side. For hiking / bushwalking, position the knots on the inside, away from snagging undergrowth. For biking / cycling, position them on the outside, away from chains & cranks.

David O. sent me this pic of his hiking boots with Hiking / Biking Lacing.

More Lacing Photos

Lacing Technique:
1. The lace is run straight across the bottom (grey section) and emerges through both bottom eyelets.

2. One end of the lace (yellow end) runs straight up the right side, is fed into and runs straight across the second set of eyelets.

3. Both ends now run straight up the left side, each skipping one eyelet before feeding in two eyelets higher up.

4. Continue running both ends across the shoe, then straight up two eyelets at a time.

5. At the top of the shoe, the laces end up on the same side and the shoelace knot is tied at that point.

Features:

Evens out pressure

Reduces snagging

Messy look

Comparative Length = 81%

Laced area uses less (about −19%)

Shorter laces needed (about −9%)

Lengthens lace ends (about +17%)

More details

NOTE:
This lacing is best suited to shoes with even numbers of eyelet pairs (eg. 6 pairs = 12 eyelets). The first picture at left shows one workaround to this limitation for use on shoes with odd numbers of eyelet pairs (eg. 7 pairs = 14 eyelets). See my Straight (Bar) Lacing page for some other workarounds.

Using This Lacing for Hiking / Bushwalking:
Lace one shoe as above and the other shoe in reverse, with both knots positioned towards the inside (between the ankles). This places the loops and loose ends further away from the outer sides of the shoes, making them less likely to become snagged in undergrowth whilst hiking / bushwalking.

Using This Lacing for Biking / Cycling:
Lace one shoe as above and the other shoe in reverse, with both knots positioned towards the outside. This places the loops and loose ends further away from the bicycle chain, cranks and other moving parts.

Which End to Start With?
The lacing starts across the bottom of the shoe (grey section), then one end runs vertically to the next higher eyelet. The question is: Which end?

2, 6, 10, 14 etc. eyelet pairs	4, 8, 12, 16 etc. eyelet pairs
Start with the end that is diagonally opposite to where you want the knot to be. In this example with 6 pairs of eyelets, start at bottom-right to finish at top-left.	Start with the end that is on the same side as where you want the knot to be. In this example with 8 pairs of eyelets, start at bottom-left to finish at top-left.

Variations:
Hiking / Biking Lacing picture 3

For a neater look, the lacing can be done the same way as Straight (Bar) Lacing (instead of inside-out), with the horizontal sections on top and the vertical sections underneath, and with the only concept taken from Hiking / Biking Lacing being to finish off with the knots to the sides.

This picture, sent to me by Shawn D, shows some shoes laced this way, with the knots and loose ends positioned to the outside for cycling.

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