Weight Weenies

Anyone have any more info on these shoes. They look really nice

http://bont.com/cycling/

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Nope -never seen them....

Looks really Nice though - But - i think they would be very hot to ride in?

No different then the DMT Flash shoes

Bont has been known for speedskating boots and I used them
a lot.
Speedskating boots are heat treatable - you can shape them w/hair dryer or in the oven.
May be those are too... Would be nice.

They are heat treatable if you look at the website there are instruction for how to do it.

they are nice..but don't look very cycling-ish

I quite like them tbh......... $350 is alot but maybe they`re worth it... i`ve never heard of the brand anyway.

I got to try a pair. They are designed like skate boots, assuming your weight is borne across the length of your foot. There's a bit more rigidity than necessary in the sides of the mid portion of the shoe -- as if it's trying to give you ankle stability. Also, the buckle doesn't really pull your foot back into the heel cup as much as downwards -- works well for ice or inline applications but not as much in cycling.

You might take a look at the Lake CX400 if you like that kind of shoe. It's heat-moldable and very nicely made. Plus it's very light. The tri shoes almost float and really hold your feet well. The road version comes in both a Look and a dedicated Speedplay drilling which is quite neat. You get extremely extremely low foot position on the pedal with the Speedplay as long as Speedplays are your thing. List is like $479 but those who carry them tend to sell them for about $350. They're better made than Rocket 7's and work great if they fit you right. There are different widths available so you can accommodate narrow feet (like mine) or duck feet.

They don't look much for ventilation... That would be my sticking point.


As for other customs, I pretty much love D2...

I'm with Pez and a few others; they do look like they'd be hot. Maybe you would be able to get them to cut a few more vent holes in there? Other than that, they look stunning and rather comfortable.

I agree they may be hot but if you look at teh DMT flash the have almost the same venting

Like SL58 said Bont is (just like Richard Simmons, of those other 'strange' shoes ) very well known for their inline and ice skating boots, so maybe an unknown brand to some here but definitely not a newcomer to the market. They fully changed their lineup over the last year and these cyclingshoes seem to match their inline boots now.

They are completely heat mouldable and a size 7 has 40 ventilation holes without any mesh behind them so the air goes straight into the shoe.
$350,- sounds like a steal compared to their earlier cycling shoes to me to be honest, I think that's about the same as the Shimano heat moldable shoes but then for a completely moldable shoe? As always they are also available in (semi)custom.
For now they are available in red and blue but I was told they will expand the colour range with at least white and black and also other colours very soon. There is also a track shoe coming with laces in about a month.
Standard these come with the 3-hole look/shimano compatible holes but you can also order them with a blank sole and the necessary hardware to drill your own holes into the shoe exactly where you want them. As a speedplay user that sounded quite interesting to me as well. Another thing I found interesting is that the soles have rubber pieces moulded in the heal and the toe to walk on. The carbon over it is very thin and you are supposed to wear it so the rubber comes through. Apparently this is done to save weight and still have the rubber pieces very well secured.

I made an inquiry to Bont and got a very professional and quick response from them about a special order:

If you have specific size issues - like me with two different sized feet - Bont will provide you two different sized shoes at a $20 upcharge.

Yes, you read that right - $20 upcharge. You get pretty close to custom fit for a third the price of the full custom builders out there. In addition, the heat molded fit is alterable multiple times.

I plan to order right away...

Funny that this topic comes up again now, because BONT has recently placed a new commercial on cycling.tv during ToC.

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I have a pair for over a month now. However I can't comment too much on the ventilation yet as we are still having too cold temperatures here. It is at least good enough to be getting some seriously cold feet in the current conditions - no matter if worn with or without overshoes. Whatsoever I like them that much that this doesn't hinder me from choosing them over all my other shoes (7prs - Nike, Northwave, Time, Vittoria). Whatsoever the ventilation indeed seems to be not all too perfect judging from the visual appearance and their placement - also upon trying to put them in front of a source of light to see where the light shines through.
Being new the shoe created some massive pressure points or even cuts in the heel which have not been able to be resolved with heat-molding either. I have been able to get this under control with manual abuse.. Ever since then the shoes are great. The stack height is very low and the sole superhard: you actually rather feel like wearing ski boots than cycling shoes. It kind of feels like standing on a solid plate of steel plus there is no real movement in the upper either - probably interesting for sprinters. Alex from Bont said it would at least take two weeks to get accustomed to this.

I'd so far rate them as followed:
+ weight, stack height, power transfer, enclosure of the feet
- sizing (I am a full 3! sizes smaller than regular), ventilation, aren't really meant to be walked in a "single" meter, heel cup on delivery, sensitive persons might get numb feet due to the non-forgiving hardness
o heat molding to me only works mediocre (maybe they had already been kind of right to begin with though)