My Boa’s are just the cheapest where you simply pull them up to release. I never had a problem with them even when my fingers were extra weak and numb during chemo (couldn’t open a lot of things or dropped them then) but I use aero shoe covers so they are relatively clean
My shoes which are more exposed to the conditions use the SIDI system where you squeeze two metal clamps to release them. I’ve never had a problem with them either but again at any sign of damp/muck I cover them up.
At the risk of possibly stating the obvious, have you called Boa and explained the problem? I have always found their customer service to be very helpful.
Eventually your BOAs will loosen by themselves and you’ll need to spend a small fortune to replace them.
I don’t like the lift up to loosen BOAs. There’s no way to just loosen them 1 or 2 clicks like older BOAs. Maybe higher end shoes get the bi-directional BOAs?
On my old shoes the BOAs were sometimes stiff to pull out to loosen.
I know it sounds counter intuitive but I found that if I combined the pull out with a twist (as if tightening) it helped.
Maybe the tension within the BOA (pulling the ratchet back against the click stop) can make them difficult to release?
Obviously be careful not to just tighten them even more than they are already!
I picked up Shimano S-Phyre road shoes this past summer (the RC901 as it was before they announced the new model otherwise I would’ve waited for those and for the RC901 to go on clearance sales). They are bi-directional with the BOA dials so I can tighten/loosen them without having to release them.
I also have difficultly pulling at the top dials to fully release the tension on these shoes. It is just at an odd angle when they are on my feet. Previous BOA dials I’ve used (that only allow tightening) were super easy to pop them up to fully release tension (these are on Lake and Bont shoes). For some reason the Shimano dials are just in an odd angle such that when I wear them it’s not natural to pull on the top dials exactly straight up with my fingers. Feels like if you don’t pull exactly straight up (aka normal to the BOA dial plane) it won’t pop up easily. With the shoes off I can easily pop those dials up.
Interesting. I have the same shoes and I’ve never noticed this problem because I wear my shoes pretty loose. I just cranked them down hard and WOW it’s a huge difference. By un-tightening them a few clicks it got super easy again.
Interesting. So BOA warranties the dials on any brand shoe? I have Specialized S-Works shoes with S2 dials and they wear out after a couple of years and then will slip.
One of my BOAs on my Shimano MTB shoes broke off due to impact. I went to their website to order a replacement. To my surprise they give you free replacements. You just have to snap a picture and answer a couple of questions so they know which BOA you have.
They actually sent me two BOAs (for left and right). The pack includes a little Torx key as well to get the dial off the shoe. International shipping via FedEx (3-4 days) was free. They would also offer a next day delivery for a fee (I think it was 30USD).
Besides loving the BOA system before, this is a point why I will always make sure in the future to use products with BOA (my helmet already has a BOA for example).
Happy weekend all. I wanted to provide an update on the BOA saga…
Turns out I was simply using the wrong grip to try and unclip them. I don’t remember if I just changed one day or I’ve been doing it wrong all along.
I was trying to pop them off like you would hold a beer bottle cap (I wasn’t twisting). Thanks to @mcneese.chad’s comment about how he releases them, I tried griping them like opening a beer can and they release easily.