Bont shoes

[gumgardner]

Has anyone drilled their cleats directly into the carbon soles? Do they stay without having a sleeve to screw into?

[LouisN]

quick question for anyone who has re-baked shoes.
did you take the cleats off. I have shimano cleats put on by a pro fitter and i know i can mark them and take them off but i'd rather not. I'm lazy. So, i know i have to take the insoles out but do i have to take the Shimano cleats off too.

thanks

Yes, just like the Bont rep suggests. Since you're putting your weight on the shoe, it must rest straight on the floor. You should not be moving, walking either when the shoes are warm.

Update on mine.


I put my Spech BG red footbeds in the shoes (low arch). A lot more comfortable. I cut them to shape (front), and they fit pretty well.
I ordered Sole Thinsport footbeds too. Maybe I won't have to use them....(damn, just sprained my ankle yesterday, will probably be on "vacation" for a few weeks...)
Update: Broken ankle ...6 weeks off anything...
Louis

[brownish]

Anyone ever see any pros with Bont overshoes or seen them available for purchase? Bont socks?

[runningDoc]

In a very round about way I ended up buying a fellow weightweenies' Bont-A-Ones.

here's another heads up about bont sizing:

follow the Bont sizing guides (using the millimeter length of your foot). I measured exactly 263mm which is exactly the size 42/8US according to Bont. Bont also suggests sizing up if to next size if you measure to the size so I went with the 42.5/8.5US.

I use bebop pedals that use a standard SPD bolt format. I emailed them to ask for instructions on drilling in the new cleats. They basically said: just tape over where you're going to drill to avoid carbon splintering and use the existing T-nuts.

In order to remove the t-nuts I just screwed in a long screw into a t-nut then tapped the t-nut out using a hammer lightly.

I also used a 7/32 drill bit to drill the new holes. Also I had to use a Bolt cutter and cut one of the T-bolt to get the T-bolts to fit side by side


The previous owner actually had his speedplay cleat adaptor still stuck on to the shoe because of the loose t-bolt still attached to a screw. It was easy to get off though using vice grip pliers to hold the t-bolt while I screwed the allen bolt off.

I did encounter a problem with the T-bolts that eventually loosened (because they couldn't clamp down inside the shoe's footbed). It was scary because loose cleats means its hard to clip out.

I was thinking about a ton of solutions (from welding the two t-bolts together to create a bracket) and then came up with this super simple solution:

if the t-bolts are loose on your bont shoes just use a small thin piece of rubber and sandwich it in between the cleat and carbon sole. The rubber is the common thing found inside of reflector brackets to prevent slippage. Just poke tiny holes into the rubber and then thread it through and screw it into the t-bolts. If the t-bolts still move then use vice grip pliers until it bites into the shoe bed.





the rubber provides counter tension to make the t-bolt bite down and keep tight. It now clamps down tightly and doesn't move at all.

of course these shoes are weight weenie compliant:


the shoes actually feel like dutch clogs.... but really are super stiff and thin and all the power goes straight into the pedals.

[runningDoc]

^oh I forgot to thank fellow weight weenies LouisN and Johnny Rad for helping me out with numerous questions as to Bont shoe fit/feel/ect. Also because one was the actual previous owner of these shoes!

I liked these shoes so much I've ordered another pair Bont CTT-3 to have as extras.

[gumgardner]

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[maxima]

Just got my Bont vaypor premium, after moulding a few times it fit well except for the buckle doesn't work well with my high arche foot. The middle uppers will be loose while the part of strap towards my leg is overly tight!! Causing poor blood circulation. Went to the cobbler to relaid the strap but the cobbler refuse as work damaging my shoe.

Wonder any one with a high arch foot using vaypor n having same issue? Or is it a QUALITY ISSUE??

Will try to post a picture later

[andy2]

Same issue. High arches, superfeet black insoles, numb feet needly toes, etc.
Got a longer strap an a higher quality buckle from an online inline shop. Price was less than €10! Problem solved.

[maxima]

I have the same issue with my Bont vaypor premium! I wonder it's a quality issue with the stitching of the velcro? Alignment is way off! The ratchet just doesn't work, it press so hard on the top of my foot and the middle part is loose!!! After riding for a while he middle portion of shoe starts to loosen and my top part of foot was so sore!!! Moulding doesn't help as the alignment OF RATCHET N VELCRO is OUT rest of shoe is ok, but the velco and ratchet is SHIT.

I've given up on Bont.

I have the A3, 2010 A2, and CTT1 at my house, and they all suck in their own way.

The A3's top velcro strap is pointless. It's doesn't give good compression, and it's inoperable with one hand, which means adjustments are impossible once you're on the bike.

The A2 is better is this regard, but the other things wrong with Bont are still there. The toe box just isn't right. It looks anatomically correct, but my 2009 Sworks is much better. Also, the carbon shell is unforgiving. I heated at 160F, nothing. Then 170F. Then 185F. Still nothing. The arch hasn't budged and toes are still not comfortable.

The CTT1's buckle system is awful. The more I tighten, the more the ratchet presses down on the top of my foot. The 2010 A2/A1 system seems way better. If it's any indication of the Vaypor, no thanks.

Bont really can't say that I didn't give them a shot. I have tried three models, and emailed them about my concerns. I spent about 30mins on the phone with Nestor Rodriguez, their USA director (I believe). Props to him for giving me a call, but it came about a week or more after my email. I don't think he handled my problem well at all. He kept telling me all the reasons Bont were awesome and I was wrong, instead of just accepting I didn't like the shoe. When I complained about the velcro system, he said two contradictory things. The first was to give it pro credibility: "well, Rashaan Bahati rides those straps." Good for Bahati, but that's not a reason for me to like a shoe I bought and am really unhappy with. The second was that they were "entry level." Listen, I know within a range of shoes some might not perform as well as others, but when you've made a cycling shoe that cannot be operated while clipped into pedals, whether on the road or trainer, without two hands, then you've got a full on design flaw. There's a reason the CTT3 has a ratchet and the A3 doesn't (because their velcro system sucks), and his claim of cost concerns doesn't stand up against the $10 difference between those two shoes.

Another example is when I said I like my shoes really tight, he told me to stop doing that because he himself wears them loose, again, I don't care what other people are doing. And he started telling me to go out and buy aftermarket insoles before asking whether I had tried any (I had bought two, and tried multiple others in the store), etc. No listening skills. It's like Bont thinks it knows better than it's customers about what they should want. I'm all for innovation and winning people over with new designs, but they've got some work to do and I think they could show a little more humility.

In summary, I think the molding is a gimmick, the last is no good, and the overall design is unrefined. For every pro they'll point to who's riding Bont, there's 10 others on so-called soft shoes like Sworks, Sidi, and Mavic who are winning major races without the need for a bathtub and endless molding.

Just my $.02. If you love 'em, God bless ya. But I'm back to my beat up old Specialized's with the upper pulling away from the chipped-away carbon sole that I was setting personal power records on back in November and December.

[maxima]

Andy, how u stitch the new strap? Went to a few cobbler and they refuse The job....Bont need to go hire some Sidi workers for their factory!!! The alignment of straps and ratchet is all wrong. Btw, just check with my friends who order the same shoe with me. , 5 out 5 have the same issue!!!! Damn!!!!

Same issue. High arches, superfeet black insoles, numb feet needly toes, etc.
Got a longer strap an a higher quality buckle from an online inline shop. Price was less than €10! Problem solved.

[andy2]

I have a1s and the plastic strap just slides out if you 'reverse' it. Same strap on the whypoors is it not?

[Johnny Rad]

You're molding the shoes on your feet with the strap ratcheted into place, right?

I'm sure you are, but just want to make sure.

The strap and ratchet looked completely out of alignment on my Bonts. Upon heating them and molding them on my feet with the strap ratcheted into place, the positioning of the ratchet "corrected" itself. All is well with the alignment now.

Also, I know that Bont offers a longer strap. Not sure that'll help you, but...

Good luck.

[CrimsonKarter21]

Got my Vaypor's in March, heat moulded them about 6-8 times and they just didn't feel as plush and comfortable as my 2008 S-Works. I got them for free through my team's sponsorship and played around with the idea of jsut getting another pair of S-Works and wearing shoe covers all year. Anyways, i decided to try them out a little longer and eventually raced in them for the first time. After the first race they started getting progressively more comfortable and now they fit great.
Our Bont guy on the team has said similar things- they take a little while to get totally used to. Once you're used to them they feel great and have excellent power transfer.

[runningDoc]

Got my Vaypor's in March, heat moulded them about 6-8 times and they just didn't feel as plush and comfortable as my 2008 S-Works. I got them for free through my team's sponsorship and played around with the idea of jsut getting another pair of S-Works and wearing shoe covers all year. Anyways, i decided to try them out a little longer and eventually raced in them for the first time. After the first race they started getting progressively more comfortable and now they fit great.
Our Bont guy on the team has said similar things- they take a little while to get totally used to. Once you're used to them they feel great and have excellent power transfer.

^ i agree that you need to actually use the shoes on a bike to eventually get them to fit right after doing the heat moulding. After 2 weeks the shoes which seemed very tight actually got a lot looser even in the toe box and length.

I received my CTT3's last week. Compared to my 3X more expensive Bont-A-ones the finishing and quality of the CTT3 is actually better.

There is probably no difference between the different levels of their shoes in quality, only the type of sole and last used.

But the weight difference is actually substantial. I guess the CTT must be made with a lower grade carbon fiber/fiberglass compared to the moncoque carbon of the top tier A-ones/CTT-1 ect.






comparison weights of shoes naked without cleats both 42.5size:



over 100gram difference between shoes. Supposedly the stack height is higher on the CTT3/A-3/A-2 compared to the CTT-1/A-1 shoes too. I can't tell because I have only tried them on and didn't try putting/mounting cleats.

I'm probably going to sell my CTT3 because I really like the A-1. 100g is a lot especially with shoes.

[gumgardner]

is the molding process only to widen and conform the shoe's sole or will it also 'tighten' the shoe. Mine don't fee all that tight anymore. Ive molded it a few times with thicker socks and thick i made it too loose. can i re-mold it back to a tighter fit? it's not too bad, but itd be better if it were a touch tighter.