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BOA delivers top-tier fit and control in widening off-road shoe offerings

BOA Technology has been innovating cycling footwear for 16 years. Now, it's presence in off-road riding is stronger than ever.
Boa Dials on a mountain bike shoe.
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Streamlined shapes, maximum weight savings, and peak efficiency have long been the gold standard for road cycling footwear. The same goes for the increasingly competitive and professionalized world of gravel, where the same principles of lightness and aerodynamics reign supreme, albeit with a bit more protection.

A mountain biker wearing shoes with BOA dials.
BOA Technology is taking its micro-adjustable BOA Fit System off road more than ever. The brand partners with numerous leading brands to create performance fit solutions purpose built for tough off-road conditions; (Photo/BOA)

Countless professional athletes of these disciplines rely on the BOA Fit System when selecting footwear for the Olympic Games, DH World Cups, FKTs, and more, many of whom cross over from road into gravel or mountain biking.

Kasia Niewiadoma prepares for the start of a road race.
Kasia Niewiadoma has become a dominant force in road and gravel racing; (Photo/BOA)

Few people on this planet understand the rigors of mixing it up in different disciplines more than Kasia Niewiadoma. The Canyon/SRAM racing powerhouse has a resume stacked with 18 professional wins, including this year’s La Flèche Wallonne and Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift. She also currently holds the title of UCI Gravel World Champion. She achieved all of these significant triumphs using the BOA Fit System.

Though she holds the title of the world’s best gravel cyclist, Niewiadoma considers herself a “die-hard roadie.”

“I definitely gain or get more pleasure with racing on the road. I find finals very interesting, and I can fully zone in and enjoy the whole process and the suffering part,” she said. “Gravel racing is also very interesting and stimulating in the way that you have to use your technical skills more often.”

Niewiadoma said she doesn’t necessarily look forward to the hard, steady paces associated with gravel races as much as the more explosive style of racing involving tactics that she prefers on the road.

Kasia Niewiadoma in the Yellow Jersey of the Tour De France Femme Avec Zwift.
Kasia Niewiadoma won the 2024 Tour de France Femme Avec Zwift while holding the title of UCI Gravel World Champion; (Photo/BOA)

“From the races I did, I definitely felt that (gravel) is super hard because you have a hard pace from the start, but it’s like this for the whole five-hour race, or six-hour race. So it’s a different sort of suffering, and in some ways (kind of) lonely racing,” She said. “I think I will forever choose road over gravel.”

But still, as more roadies move into gravel, or even mountain biking, BOA has gone with them, offering a reliable fit and feel required to maintain the performance and comfort they need to compete at the highest level, no matter what bike or terrain they are on.

Kasia Niewiadoma in an aero tuck while descending with her team on a road.
Kasia Niewiadoma says feeling comfortable on the bike is one of the most critical components of racing, whether on road or gravel; (Photo/BOA)

“I don’t really mind making those switches between road or gravel, mostly because the position on my gravel and the road bike is quite similar, and I don’t feel like I compromise anything. Throughout the season and even in the winter time preparing for the main season, I spend quite a lot of time on my gravel bike, or sometimes on my mountain bike, so I think I’m just used to changing surfaces. And I think that ultimately it all comes down to how comfortable you feel on the bike.” – Katarzyna ‘Kasia’ Niewiadoma.

Understanding BOA Technology

BOA Technology entered the cycling market 16 years ago. Its patented, award-winning BOA Fit System consists of micro-adjustable dials, strong, lightweight laces, and low-friction guides, replacing traditional laces in a sport that demands lightness, simplicity, toughness, and comfort in every piece of kit.

Aside from the nagging issues that can come from traditional laces, the BOA Fit System allows its designers to reimagine the upper configuration in ways not possible with traditional laces. BOA says research conducted in its BOA Performance Fit Lab has shown many significant benefits of its PerformFit Wrap, where panels activated by the BOA Fit System wrap from medial to lateral for cyclists. These documented scientific benefits include up to a 9% increase in power output, 11% increase in peak power output during sprints, and 10% improvement in pressure distribution that benefits riders in sprints or long-distance riding.

Off-road shoes tend to be heavier than any other type of cycling shoe, as they require padding to absorb extreme punishment. Off-road riders also don’t generally have as much time, if any, to adjust their shoes while they charge down a mountain white-knuckling the bars, or cutting across a section of chunky gravel. But even the off-road world has snuggled up to BOA tech more and more as its benefits continue to become clearer, and models adapt to meet the demands of gravel, trail, and downhill riders.

BOA platforms

BOA’s wrapped upper configurations, activated by the brand’s latest L-Series dials and purpose-fit for low-cut and light-weight footwear, continue to refine fit and performance on a whole new lineup of shoes.

The L6 dial platform combines a lightweight design with a priority on durability. Like all modern BOA platforms, L6 features a breakaway design where the dial releases from the bayonet on extreme impact and pops back in without catastrophic damage. L6 also offers exceptional resistance to impact on the trail, dirt, and mud, with some brands opting for integrated shields so riders can have complete confidence on trails.

BOA dials on a mpuntain bike shoe.
BOA dials are easy to operate, light, and tough; (Photo/BOA)

The Li2 platform, which is BOA’s most advanced, provides a low-profile design with multidirectional adjustment capability and a fast total release tailored to riders who need extremely fine-tuned control that is effortless to use and unwaveringly reliable. With the Li2 platform, riders can continuously adjust their shoes to the conditions they are in, maintaining an even fit and maximizing efficiency and comfort in a way that could not be done with traditional laces or even hook and loop.

The BOA Fit System is adaptable, allowing brands to integrate it within models to meet varied demands, for instance leveraging Classic Fit, Targeted Zonal Fit, or BOA PerformFit Wrap.

The Targeted Zonal Fit, which riders can find on the Fox Union BOA shoe, incorporates two independent zones of micro-adjustable closure to more precisely match unique foot shapes. This fit can reduce pressure points and allow for quick adjustments as feet swell.

BOA PerformFit Wrap appears on shoes like the Ride Concepts Tallac Mid BOA and the Canyon TEMPR CFR Off-Road. It improves fit, stability, and efficiency with a wrap around the middle of the foot that locks in the heel and offers more freedom of movement in the forefoot.

A series of new partnerships with Ride Concepts, Fox, and Canyon has taken the BOA brand further into the MTB category with a host of new BOA-driven shoes built for the most demanding off-road conditions and could buck the trend of lace-ups in the downhill and adventure riding world altogether.

Ride Concepts Tallac Mid BOA

The Ride Concepts Tallac Mid BOA is one of the toughest shoes to feature BOA tech. Made for serious downhill riding, the shoe comes in clip or flat options, and features BOA’s state-of-the-art PerformFit Wrap.

Ride Concepts Tallac Mid BOA shoe.
The Ride Concepts Tallac Mid BOA shoe is built for downhill riders, offering protection and precise fit control with BOA PerformFit Wrap technology; (Photo/BOA)

Ride Concepts says the shoe offers integrated D3O pads for protection over the top of the foot, a 3D molded collar that protects ankles from side impacts, and a grippy hexagonal outsole for grip while off the bike.

The shoe uses a single Li2 dial that can tighten or loosen with ease so riders don’t have to waste time fiddling with laces between runs.

The BOA PerformFit Wrap system improves power transfer and efficiency, so every pedal stroke will send more power directly through the drivetrain, rather than getting lost in slop.

The Ride Concepts Tallac Mid BOA sells for an MSRP of $230 in the clip option, and $220 for the flat option.

Fox Union BOA

The Fox Union BOA sits at the top end of the Fox Union range specifically because of its partnership with BOA. The Union BOA is a dedicated trail shoe that comes in flat, or two-bolt pedal compatible models. The shoes come with a padded tongue, and lightweight mesh material for increased ventilation and breathability to make the shoe more comfortable.

Fox Union BOA mountain bike shoe. Side view
The Fox Union BOA mountain bike shoe features two BOA Li2 dials and extra padding to protect from impacts on the trail; (Photo/BOA)

The BOA system includes two Li2 dials for a targeted zonal fit. The lower dial controls the lower and forefront portion of the shoe, while the upper dial controls the collar to get a snug fit.

With these dual, multidirectional dials, riders have the control to make even tiny micro adjustments at multiple points on the shoe instantly. The Fox Union BOA comes in seven colors and sells for an MSRP of $249.95.

Canyon CFR footwear

Gravel and light off-road riding can still take a heavy toll. Shoes can’t just be ultra-light and stiff with no protection. Rocks fly up into feet all the time on gravel, and whether in rocks or mud, every gravel rider is sure to find themselves walking at some point. Canyon’s all-new Tempr CFR Off-Road shoes leverage the most optimal integration of BOA and pack it into a footwear package that is born to blaze a trail across gravel race courses like Unbound Gravel, or on any other adventure.

Canyon CFR TEMPR Off-Road shoe product image
Canyon CFR TEMPR Off-Road shoe features two BOA Li2 dials and PerformFit Wrap upper configuration; (Photo/BOA)

The Canyon Tempr CFR Off-road shoe features the BOA PerformFit Wrap to evenly encircle a rider’s foot, locking the heel in place to prevent unwanted movement while under power. It also lessens or eliminates pressure points over the arch of the foot that can be debilitating on long or demanding rides.

The shoes have been on the podium of elite-level UCI gravel, cyclocross, XCO, and XCC races this year, which shows how versatile they can be in vastly different conditions.

The shoe uses two anodized aluminum BOA Li2 dials with multidirectional adjustment, along with a Vibram Megagrip outsole for traction while off the bike.

They weigh in at 290 grams and come in white or grey with black tread, or black with gum tread for an MSRP of about $360.

Final thoughts

The BOA Fit System offers a fit, functionality, and performance boost that pays dividends to riders over traditional laces.

With micro-adjustments, quick-release capability, and a tough, lightweight package, shoes featuring BOA promise to thrive even in the most rugged and demanding conditions.

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11 Comments
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syborg
syborg
9 days ago

BOA is too easy to over-tighten. My feet take a long time to recover from over-tightened BOA. BOA is unnecessary on shoes designed forflat pedals.

Alan
Alan
9 days ago
Reply to  syborg

One of the real advantages I have found with Boa dials is the ability to back them off if I manage to do them up a little tight – are you a victim of user-error?

Last edited 9 days ago by Alan
Fitness
Fitness
9 days ago
Reply to  syborg

That is a you problem, not other people’s problem with boa

Chris White
Chris White
8 days ago
Reply to  syborg

I’ve been using Boa for 12 years, and never had a problem with overtightening. If I do overtighten them, or if my feet swell during a ride, they are easy to loosen. I would list that as one of their advantages over other systems, not as a disadvantage. My only problem with Boa is the opposite – some models tend to loosen by themselves during a ride when they get old/well-used; fortunately, new dials are not difficult to obtain and normally fix that problem.

Last edited 8 days ago by Chris White
Rob
Rob
6 days ago
Reply to  Chris White

Some of the cheaper boa dials only tighten, and you have to undo them to loosen. The higher end dials tighten and loosen depending on the direction they turn

Exodux
Exodux
9 days ago

My favorite shoes both on and off road are Sidi. I just wish Sidi would give up on their proprietary “Techno buckle” and make the switch to Boa’s. The Techno buckles work okay, but the cable/ string, lace are weak. I’ve had to replace the buckle several times and at $40 a pop, its ridiculous. I’m in the process of converting a pair of my Sidi’s to Boa.

UglyYeti
UglyYeti
6 days ago
Reply to  Exodux

Look up Atwood Rope 1.18mm cord on Amazon – It’s micro paracord. I’ve used this to replace the frayed cables in 3 pair of Sidi shoes so far. 15 bucks for 125 feet.

Exodux
Exodux
4 days ago
Reply to  UglyYeti

How do you replace just the cord in a
techno buckle? I have a few laying around and looked into doing just that, but it didn’t seem possible since you cannot(from what I’ve seen) take the buckle apart

UglyYeti
UglyYeti
3 days ago
Reply to  Exodux

Unwind the Sidi buckle spool, push one of the cords out the bottom, clip the very end off, pay attention to the routing and pull the cord out. Measure the length of the cord. Make a tight knot in one end of the new cord and mark the length from the knot with a sharpie. Feed the unknotted end from the inside of the spool – I use a small stiff piece of wire to feed it. Feed the cut end back through and tie a knot at the mark you made for the length then pull the cord tight the tighten the knots in the spool. It took me a while to figure it out the first time. After that it goes pretty quick.

seraph
seraph
9 days ago

Boa flat pedal shoes are the bee’s knees. I wish more companies would make casual shoes with Boa.

Grillis
Grillis
6 days ago

Yep, I missed the “Sponsored Post” part at the top. This long winded take of Niewiadoma’s season, as if the shoes were some critical aspect to it.

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