My new shoes are great... KNOT!

I bought a new pair of running shoes on Saturday. I went to a running store in Pasadena where I've bought my clothes and accessories in the past, and one of the salesguys helped me try on a bunch of shoes. I picked a pair, but when I went up to pay for them Superman rang me up. ("Superman" is my generic term for anyone you run into in these fitness-related areas who are obviously in 10-times better shape than you are and you just hate them.)

Superman put his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest and asked me "can I assist you with anything else, good citizen?" I told him that I wanted a way to keep my shoelaces from getting caught in the gears when I ride my bike, rather than just stuffing them under themselves like I do now. He handed me a small bag of clips and told me to use those. I stared at them, and for the life of me could not figure out how they would work. I told him "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with these." He explained that you slip them over your laces, then you cut your shoelaces, and you're done. I looked at him like he had a hole in his head. "You... cut your shoelaces?" "Yeah, you slip the laces through this hole here and then cut off the excess and it holds your shoe tight." I still wasn't getting it. "But you cut your shoelaces?" Now he was looking at me like I had a hole in MY head.

There is a little spring in the clip that is supposed to keep your shoes tight without even tying the laces. Because you're not making a not, you don't need the excess length. I dunno about that. People have been tying their shoes for hundreds of years and it seems to work just fine; I don't think I need some new-fangled system for keeping my shoes attached to my feet.

The bag was only $3.99 so I took it, but I don't like the idea of cutting your shoelaces. It seems to me that buying shorter laces would do the same trick.