Louis Garneau LS-100 Shoes

Standing as the second from the top of the line MTB model from Louis Garneau, the LS-100 shoes are loaded with funky features. Most obvious is the BOA dial-style closure system—something a bit different to the common click-lock mechanism that most shoes use. Underneath there’s a removable carbon ‘Power Blade’ that’s designed to add stiffness, but it can also be removed to reveal a series of ventilation ports. To complement the vents, the shoes are supplied with two types of innersole; the red ones are of the regular ergonomic variety offering good support, while the blue ones are filled with holes to assist with airflow. Run the red inner soles for winter riding and the blue for summer, and if it’s really hot remove the carbon plate from the sole—at least that’s how it’s meant to work.

As with most mid-to-upper end Louis Garneau shoes, the sole employs their T-Flex system. This permits flex up at the toe to make walking easier but also aims to provide stiffness through the arch for efficient power transfer. While the $269 retail price certainly makes the LS-100 an upper-end shoe, it’s also jam-packed with features.

We’ve had ours on test for well over six months now—ample time to see how all of these tech-features fare in the dirt. At first the sizing threw us a bit; I’m usually a 42 in virtually any shoe, but in this instance I needed one size bigger to get sufficient wriggle-space for my toes. As with most items of clothing, fit is a critical and very personal matter, so head into your local dealer and try them on before you buy.

The BOA dial closure is said to be lighter than a click-lock closure mechanism. Louis Garneau offers a claimed weight of 640g for a pair of these shoes—90g lighter than the similarly constructed LS-300 click-lock shoe. In reality they aren’t quite as light as claimed (700g in size 42) but they are still 70-100g lighter than most performance oriented MTB shoes.

Dialled in Comfort

More importantly, the BOA system aims to provide an even and pressure-point free fit. The dial reels in a nylon cord that pulls the upper part of the shoe closed, it’s not unlike a high-tech version of regular shoelaces. A lone velcro strap tightens the lower section but we adjusted this once and then left it alone. As with most shoes there was a break-in period, but after this the LS-100 shoes fitted like a glove. The BOA system is quick and easy to tighten, even when riding—you just need to re-educate your brain if you’ve been using a click-lock system for some years. It tightens the whole top portion of the shoe in a very consistent manner and you can make it very snug without discomfort—it seems far kinder on your foot than most click-lock systems.

Incremental clicks in the BOA dial allow you to tighten the system smoothly and gradually but releasing the mechanism is an all or nothing affair—pull the dial out and the cord just unravels. This is fine for taking the shoe off but less than ideal if you only want to loosen the fit a fraction whilst riding. At least the comfortable and pressure-point free fit limits the amount of on-the-trail fiddling that you need to do with the closure mechanism.

Most of our time was spent with the ‘Power Blade’ insert in place but I removed it when summer hit to see how they performed with the added ventilation and the blue inner soles fitted. First up I can say that there was no detectable loss in stiffness once the carbon plate was removed. This is a good thing as the LS-100 soles are not particularly stiff. I was coming from a set of rigid full carbon soled XC race shoes, and to start with the sole flex was very noticeable. The sole on the LS-100 is predominantly nylon and it’s not in the same league stiffness-wise. Over time I grew accustomed to the softer feel. There is sufficient stiffness immediately around the pedal, so you shouldn’t encounter any discomfort resulting from the flex; they just don’t offer the stiff and racy feel that you’ll find in most high-end MTB shoes. With the perforated blue innersoles fitted and the Power Blade removed, I can’t say that I noticed any difference in ventilation. Perhaps my feet aren’t sensitive enough to detect the change but I don’t think that the vents did much.

While the high-tech climate control appears to be ineffective and the soles are far from stiff, I’ve been entirely content wearing these shoes day-in, day-out for the best part of a year. If you expect to feel that every last watt is being driven immediately into the pedal, the LS-100 probably isn’t for you. However the sole flex combined with the compliant uppers and the glove-like fit of the BOA closure makes for an extremely comfortable shoe. Even after a full day on the trail I never had a burning desire to remove these shoes—for me they’d happily take the place of slippers on overnight rides. They are easy to walk in and the racy looking sole has proven surprisingly durable. The minimalist tread doesn’t offer the grip and walkability of more casual designs but they are certainly better than most performance oriented MTB shoes.

Don’t be fooled by the racy looks. The LS-100 is more a shoe for all-day epic rides, overnighters and general trail thrashing. Thanks to the designed-in sole flex and snug BOA closure system, the comfort provided is about as close as you’ll get to SPD compatible slippers!

Monza Imports (03) 8327 8080 / www.louisgarneau.com