JayC

About a year ago I posted a picture of the upcoming cycling shoes from Bont. For those of you that don't know who Bont is, they are one of the largest inline skate boot manufacturers in the world. The company is located in Australia and they have been one of the leaders in heat moldable technology for inline boots.

Ive been waiting impatiently for their shoes to hit the market. When I finally got an email from them stating they were available, I fired off an email to their North American rep and got a set on the way. I wanted to post some photos of them as well as my impressions on the shoes.

Here's some photos of the shoes. I ordered mine with the standard Look cleat configuration but you can order them blank and drill them for other cleat configurations. This would be really appealing to Speedplay users as it would let you get rid of the adapter and bolt the cleat right to the shoe and get you a much lower stack height.









For starters, the shoes are incredibly light. Mine are a size 9 which is about the equivalent of a Sidi size 46. My Sidis are 46s and seem to have about the same amount of toe box room. The Bont shoes weigh in at 250 grams each on the nose. My Sidi Ergo2s without cleats are 342 grams so there is about a 100 gram difference.

The shoes have an advertised stack height of 3.2mm which is less than the Sidis. I looked on Sidi's website looking for their stack height and the only thing I could find mentioned a 6mm stack height. I don't know if that is accurate or not for the Ergo2s. Either way, the Bont shoes get your foot really close to the pedal.

The shoes also have anti stretch tape sewn into them to keep the shoes from ever stretching. According to the diagrams I saw, there are two pieces of this tape in the upper part of the shoe. Apparently the stuff is similar to what seat belts are made from so it's pretty beefy from an anti-stretch standpoint. I guess that's a good and bad thing depending on if you need the shoe to stretch out a little. I know there's been some debate about Sidi's stretching and I personally think they do some but others don't.

The inside of the shoes are the same microfiber liner that Bont uses in their inline boots.

One of the first things I noticed when I took the shoes out of the box is that there is no pads for walking. I fired off an email to Alexander Bont about that and he told me that what they have done is embed a rubber pad underneath the final carbon layer when they do the layup on the base. After you walk in the shoes a couple of times on pavement, this layer of carbon wears away and the pads become exposed. I questioned him about the longevity of the pads and he said guys had been using the shoes for over a year in testing with no signs of the pads wearing out or even coming close to needing to be replaced. They're not replaceable, BTW but longevity doesnt seem to be an issue.

The last thing I wanted to touch on is the heat moldability. That is, by far, the most amazing aspect of these shoes. When I took these shoes out of the box, I couldn't even get my feet in them. I was really disappointed because I had sent Bont measurements of my feet for them to choose the last they were going to use to make them. I thought "No way they missed it by this far" so I decided I'd do a heat molding cycle on them and see if that made any difference. Heat molding is easy and mostly idiot proof. Heat the oven to 185 degrees, remove the insole from the shoe, stick the shoe in the oven. Wait 20 minutes, remove shoe. What I did was put on my thickest cycling socks (Woolie Bullies) and jam my foot into the shoe straight out of the oven. It was warm but not hot enough to burn me. I could feel the resin of the shoe stretch out when I put my foot in the shoe and I tightened the straps and buckle down and I could feel the shoe pull back to the shape of my foot. I stood up, waited a few minutes for the shoe to cool off and took it off. The shoes fit great after that. It was a painless procedure.

From a riding perspective, there isn't much to say. They're really stiff and give good support. The ventilation is better than I thought it was going to be but there are plenty of air holes (About 55) in the upper section of the shoe.

The shoes retail for $350.00 a pair. They can be had in full customs for another $150 where you do molding socks and send them in and they make casts from the socks and build your shoes around that. They also can make them off of tracings of your feet and I think that's an extra $50.00 but Im not 100% sure about that. They're available in red, blue, pink and yellow and black and white are forthcoming.

Anyways, if anyone is interested in the shoes, drop me a PM and Ill give you an overview on how to figure out what size you need. It's not quite as easy as buying a pair of regular shoes because Bont doesnt use a standard sizing scheme like all the other companies do.

v1k1ng1001

Damn, that's expensive but they look nice. When are you going to test them?

JayC

For a handmade shoe thats made on a last that matches your feet measurements, I dont think it's really all that bad. I think their price on full customs is cheaper than most everyone else as well. I know Simmons customs (Another inline guy) are over twice that.

Those pictures are "out of the box." I've had them a couple of weeks now, just got around to posting about them.

cuattop

I wouldn't be caught dead in those shoes but that is just me.

mrbubbles

I've used Bont Sharkies for short track speedskating. Very good boots, heat moldable simply by using a hair dryer was enough heat it up and mold to my feet.

I wouldn't give these shoes a second thought.

JayC

I guess since I come from an inline background that my opinion is a little skewed on the appearance of the shoes. I personally like them. I liked the prototypes better personally but these match up with the 2007 Vaypors.

Theyre really not as shiny as they look in the pictures. I think the camera flash had a lot to do with that.

Old prototype picture

Dubbayoo

I debated custom shoes very seriously. At first I looked at D2's because I wanted road shoes. I ended up balking at the price and went with some Specialized off Ebay for 1/4th the price. I debated some Rocket 7's for track but I wasn't sold on the satisfaction guarantee or lack thereof. I ended up going with Lakes there and I love those.

JayC

The heat moldability of these shoes should be the big selling point. Its amazing technology. The stuff becomes amazingly pliable when you heat it in the oven. Its the closest thing to customs you can get without actually getting customs.

I see some other companies going with the heat moldable technology.. Shimano had it this past year and LG has it for one of their 2008 shoes but Bont has been doing heat moldable resins for a long time so it's going to take the other guys some time to catch up. Bont makes their own resin in house.

Apparently the white and black versions will be available within the next 2 weeks. They just added the pink and yellow.

Mike V

Are you going to put something on the soles to protect them when you walk?

MV

LIUser22

i'd be down with those, you can't put a price on comfort.

Soil_Sampler

https://p196.ezboard.com/fbontskatesf...art=41&stop=60

https://www.bont.com/cycling/making-the-shoe/making.htm

Dick Rhee

Nice find/buy!

The tops remind me of DMT's but the sole and anti stretch tape is very similar to what Rocket7 has done with their shoes (I have a pair and I've got to say that they are tops). I believe the guy from Rocket7 also has a speed skate background, so I guess the similarities in functional make a lot of sense.

shakeNbake

Hmm, that part kinda irks me. Sounds like a really bad idea.

JayC

That was my thoughts as well but after talking to Alex, he assured me it's not going to be an issue.

JayC

Just found out the entire Great Britan Cycle team as well as the Australian capital territory team are going to be wearing these shoes.

Dubbayoo

One downside to custom shoes is they tend to have very little padding anywhere since they're molded to your feet. I was not about to drop $500+ on Rocket 7's and be SOL if they don't get the fit right. They have a pretty weak return policy for custom shoes.

In the end Specialized and Lakes with Specialized insert came close enough to not justify spending 4x the money.

JayC

Well, dude.. you are 40 minutes from one of the best molding guys in the US from a custom skate/shoe standpoint who 100% stands behind his process. If you arent happy, they'll remake the shoes or whatever. Bont's NA rep lives in Huntington Beach and has forgotten more about molding feet than most people will ever know.

Dubbayoo

I'd like to forget as much as humanly possible about molding feet.

damocles1

A size 9 isn't close to a size 46, even in skinny Italian shoes, like Sidi. I wear a 11.5/12 and wear a 46.5 Sidi...

shakeNbake

$350 for a pair of custom shoes is not that bad. I just wish I have that budget.

The only custom made product that I own is a pair of shin guards for soccer.

JayC

Exactly.. Bont's sizing is odd.. thats why I said to PM me if you wanted to order some so I could explain how to figure out what size you wear.

JayC

Believe it or not, its big business.. all the companies that do custom orthotics, etc.

CastIron

Smurf fruitboots for cyclists?

HillMut

I like the price, the heat molding, the reputation... but I can't see myself wearing those.
Glad you are happy w/ the purchase though, that is a good amount of dough for a pair of shoes.

JayC

My other shoes are Sidi Ergo2s so these were actually cheaper.

Maybe the white and black versions will be more appealing to people. Looks like they got released early according to the Bont forum.