Bont shoes

[MattSoutherden]

Have to say I'm disappointed in my new Vaypor+ shoes.

Both BOA's near the toes are defective. Neither will stay tight under pressure, and the left one won't even stay latched at all. Also, they are advertised at 225 grams for a size 42, but my 44.5 narrows came in at 287L and 284R.

Sent an email to Bont, and no response whatsoever after 3 days.

Interesting to know. Doesn't sound good re. the boas.

I wouldn't hold your breath for a reply from Bont. I emailed them 4 years ago and am still awaiting a reply.

[aaric]

I'm not holding my breath - I'm planning on addressing it through my credit card company.

[gummee]

I've read somewhere that Sidi straps work for the Vaypors.

Double check that tho

M

[lewdvig]

I got responses to my questions from Bont pretty quick.

I have Vaypor XC shoes. They have been great so far - no more foot pain.

I am a 44 in NW but needed a 45 in Bont. My feet are WIDE (109-110mm) and fit nicely in the 45.

I've got a couple pairs of road shoes coming after sended a pair of sz44 back to Excel.

Excel has Bont shoes from $75-150 in lots of sizes.

[traveller78]

Hi, anyone try baking in higher temperatures other than the recommended temp of 70deg C? My oven's minimum temp is 100deg C. Is it okie to use 100deg C to bake using a shorter time i.e 5mins?

[113245]

I baked mine at about 100c for 20-30 minutes and they were fine. My shoes seemed to be having trouble molding at a lower temperature so I cranked up the temperature until they softened.

[traveller78]

I baked mine at about 100c for 20-30 minutes and they were fine. My shoes seemed to be having trouble molding at a lower temperature so I cranked up the temperature until they softened.

Hi, thanks for the reply. After reading the past posts, I've learnt alot more on the shoe. I have morton's toe. My 2nd toe is longer than my first toe. I've already bought 0.5 size bigger than my usual shoe size. I'll try to push the toe box to see if it can accommodate the 2nd toe. If can't I'll need to look for other options...

[113245]

I have morton's toe as well. I would reeaaalllly recommend not buying the shoe based on your old shoe size, bont sizing can be wildly different from your current shoe size. Measure your foot like they describe on the Bont website and you should be fine. That's what I did, ended up with a well-fitting shoe but decided that I liked it even tighter so went down half a size from what they suggested. My perfect size is probably somewhere between those two though.

[maxxevv]

Just took delivery of my Vaypor's over the weekend.

They weighed in at 255 and 256g for size 44 in normal width, microfibre uppers.

They sure felt weird out of the box being tight in many wrong places.

Bit the bullet and tried heat molding the right foot first. And hey .... the results were fabulous! Fits really good after that.

Now, there were fears of over heating the shoes in the oven as the tiny toaster oven I had in the kitchen didn't even have temperature settings!
So basically used the hairdryer in mid-setting, and heated the shoe up by directing the hot air into the hollow of the shoe. Took something like 10 minutes, leaving the shoe and hairdryer lying on the floor. And it was 'warm enough' as you can detect pliability in the side skirting of the shoe.

Wore a pair of thicker than normal socks to simulate foot expansion while riding and basically fitted up and started to get the shoe to yield in those hotspots.

All said and done, it took me about 3 cycles ( about 1 full hour) of repeated prodding and heating to get that comfy fit I wanted from 1 shoe. But its really well worth the time once its done. The second shoe took considerably less time, maybe 35~40 minutes total to get sorted out.

Only grouse with the shoes really were that various details on the shoe don't look the best of build quality for shoes of such price bracket compared to say Shimano or Sidi. But only time will tell if they are durable.

Bottom line: The time spent on heat molding the fit is well worth it. Just don't rush it.

[stax]

Any news about the new bont riot shoes availability?¿?¿

Riot and BOA closure Vaypors now at Sigma Sport. Sorry, I can't post a link from my phone as i am technologically inept.

[MarkGiardini]

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/a ... white.html

[ToeOverlap]

Has anyone tried using a heat gun rather than a hair dryer to spot soften the carbon 'tub'? (The kind Sears, etc, sells that DIY types use to soften paint, and so forth. They make a variable one that should have accurate temperature control). I just hate to spend more money on this effort if it's never going to work for me.

I've got a pair of the Vaypors that I cannot get the sides of the sole where it forms the tub to push out enough. I'm doing the fitting with built out socks (pads of paper towels taped in the spots I need pushed out) but cannot quite get there. I am sticking with the suggested temps as close as I can.

I think the shoe fits me well (I'm a 44 Shimano, 44.5 Sidi, ordered a 10.5 Bont) but the tubs just hit me in spots at the outside of the foot and a little at the big toe.

I'm not giving up yet, but after about ten molding sessions ... I want to wear the dang shoes!! -- but they just aren't rideable -- yet.

Any tips appreciated.

[MarkGiardini]

Just be very careful with a heat gun mate - they make a hairdryer seem as tame as a cigarette lighter, and the amount of times I've seen people melt things with one is impossible to recount!

I found that in the end what worked for me was low temp in the oven, but more a longer period of time, giving the resin time to soften gradually, as opposed to trying to melt it in 10 minutes.

The first two or three times I tried heat molding as per Bont's website I couldn't get them to shape to my feet, but after I lowered the temp and put them in longer, they worked a treat.

[maxxevv]

A hairdryer will work well enough. No need for heat guns.

That's how I heat molded the entire shoe(s) since the mini toaster oven in my kitchen didn't even have a temperature setting.

You'll need to be pretty patient though.

I basically set my hairdryer to medium setting and set it to blow into the cavity of the shoe by resting them on the floor and let the heat build up for 5 or more minutes. Check if the carbon has softened that little bit every other minute thereafter. Then alternate by heating from the outside area too till some compliance in the shoe shell area is detected.

If you're getting hotspots, use the blunt end of a household tool such as a small screwdriver or any hand tool with a hard, bulbous rear end and push out those hot spots. Basically something with a diameter of about half an inch would work great.

It took me a total of 3 to 4 molding sessions to get everything sorted out this way but its been well worth the effort in my opinion.

[claus]

Has anyone tried using a heat gun rather than a hair dryer to spot soften the carbon 'tub'?

Yes, I did that with my Bont shoes. I bought a heat gun with various settings some of which are low enough to match the suggested temperature for molding. Worked for me -- just be careful not to overheat the shoe.