Bont shoes

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ParisCarbon
Posts: 1918
Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 5:39 am
Location: Winnipeg Canada

by ParisCarbon

haha funny, I just my custom Vaypors yesterday as well!! Haven't had a chance to ride them yet , but what a difference shoe that actually fits vs one that doesn't... I have a Double A width foot.... the Bont Narrow would still be to wide!! Im currently riding an old set of Rocket 7s that I have to crank all 3 straps down as hard as I can, and my foot still swims... when I first tried on the Bonts yesterday at my friends place my first reaction was grab the strap and pull it all the way down.... my friend laughed as I did it and reassured me those days were over..simply place the velcro down to hold and thats it now....

I may have to do a few heating sessions still in the upper area on the left foot..

RussellS
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Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:31 am

by RussellS

NWSAlpine wrote:I got my Vaypors today and just got done molding them. They are awesome.

Left shoe is 304g
Right shoe is 309g


A little porky. Especially today when companies are paying more attention to shoe weight on their top shoes and are actually working to reduce it. My Pearl Izumi Octane SL shoes are 457 grams total. Not saying shoe weight means a lot. I have several pair of Carnac shoes that weigh lots, but are super comfortable. Hopefully Bont does not attempt to market the Vaypor shoes as lightweight.

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Tinea Pedis
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by Tinea Pedis

Russell, given his shoes are 30% lighter than yours as well as being quite large in size in struggling to see how that makes them 'porky'...

However you do add

Hopefully Bont does not attempt to market the Vaypor shoes as lightweight.


so they're absolved of any crimes against swine?


I'm lost :noidea:

NWSAlpine
Posts: 296
Joined: Fri May 18, 2012 7:11 pm
Location: FL

by NWSAlpine

Yeah they are 46.5 and wide width. So they have a bit more material to them. They are still significantly lighter and stiffer than my middle of the model line sidis. The Zero is for the weight weenie. They a much lighter than the vaypor.
Last edited by NWSAlpine on Fri Aug 10, 2012 9:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.

NWSAlpine
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by NWSAlpine

rudder wrote:
NWSAlpine wrote:I got my Vaypors today


Are the cleat holes drilled in the same place on the left and right shoes? I remember looking at Bonts last year but some people were having issues with the holes not being in the same place on either shoe.


Yes they were in the same spot. One of the things I checked before throwing them in the oven after reading that on here.

RussellS
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by RussellS

Tinea Pedis wrote:Russell, given his shoes are 30% lighter than yours as well as being quite large in size in struggling to see how that makes them 'porky'...
However you do add
Hopefully Bont does not attempt to market the Vaypor shoes as lightweight.

so they're absolved of any crimes against swine?
I'm lost :noidea:


Apparently addition is unknown in your part of the world. Do you have problems adding 304+309? The original post said the shoes weighed 304 for the left and 309 for the right. That is 613 total. Compared to my 457 total. My shoes weigh 156 grams less. One third of a pound less. My shoes are 25% less in weight compared to his. Or his are 34% more in weight compared to mine. My shoes are 44. His were 46.5. Not a huge difference in size. Hopefully Bont does not try to market the Vaypor shoes as lightweight. They are not real heavy, compared to exceptionally heavy shoes like Sidi. They are middle weight I guess. But when a company puts out a $500+ shoe and its middle weight, its kind of humorous.

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CharlesM
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by CharlesM

Chill out Russ...

He can add (and do a couple other things with a calculator)...

The point wasn't ignoring your weight difs, just that the total weights are still not "porky". As for Sidi being "exceptionally heavy", I would call that a stretch as well. There are an aweful lot of folks in Sidi that dont note their weight at all, much less find the need to take exception...

claus
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by claus

The Zero's are advertised at 170g for size 41. Mine are smaller and heavier: size 40.5, 198g.
That was rather disappointing when I got them.

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Tinea Pedis
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by Tinea Pedis

Thanks Charles.


Sorry Russell, misread that after the first set you gave individually then the next was a whole.

And like Charles said, relax. No need to throw in where I'm from (not sure what brought that one on).


With that, your Pearl's are damn light. I'm impressed. However Vapour's are not a $500 shoe. At least not any store that I've seen them in within Australia...and that's before even looking online (where I know they're about half the price you've mentioned).


Also even with the Vapour not being the top of the Bont WW tree, I still dropped 110g from each shoe (or 220g total, didn't even need to take off my shoes to add that one up :wink: ) going from my Genius 6.6 to my Vapour. Sure Sidi will never win any 'light weight shoe' awards, but still dropped that much surprised me.

I noticed the weight (and stiffness difference) immediately. Sidi's haven't come out of the cupboard since April.

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SolidSnake03
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Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:09 pm

by SolidSnake03

I know this isn't weight related but I'm considering picking up a pair of Bont's and was wondering if anyone could testify to their sizing. I tried their online wizard however the results are not even close to what I have worn in the past. According to their online tool after measuring my feet I should be wearing a 41 however, that doesn't even seem close to right.

I currently wear 42.5 in Giro Factor's and have worn 42 Specialized S-Works and Pro Road's and 42 Mega Sidi's.

Are Bont's really that much larger that I would go all the way down to a 41?

Also, I use eSoles size 42 and those fit my feet just about perfect, maybe a tiny bit long but they seem to but the arch in just the right spot
Looks like I made a new 90 Proof friend

NWSAlpine
Posts: 296
Joined: Fri May 18, 2012 7:11 pm
Location: FL

by NWSAlpine

The new Bont sizing is much closer to all the other manufacturers. Some seem to go a half size smaller to sidi etc. I measured and measured to be sure and used the online fit guide. The size was exactly right. It suggested 46.5 wide and that's what fit. I was within 4mm length and could have went a half size up but I like the fit.

Also as mentioned the Vaypors stock are only $399 but I got mine on ebay for $250. Got lucky that they had exactly my size in the shoe I wanted.

ParisCarbon
Posts: 1918
Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 5:39 am
Location: Winnipeg Canada

by ParisCarbon

Well got to ride my new Bont customs Vaypors tonite... all I can say is unbelieveable..

I have about a double A width foot... the standard North American foot is probably a D to E width... so I have never had a set of cycling shoes which have properly fot me in 22 years of racing until now..

I've always had to literally crank straps and ratchets all the way down, and my foot would still work its way loose.. this was on Sidi narrows, and even a Rocket 7 A width , the straps were still cranked to the ends...

Unfortuneately my power meter is down at SRM for a new battery, but my avg speed was 2km faster tonite over a 2 hour ride I typically do... shoes, or just a good day.. probably a bit of both... but it didn't feel like I even had a shoe on my foot.... there was a minor misfit when I first tried the shoe on, all I did was take a heat gun to it quick, and rub the area and it smoothed right to my foot....

The only bad thing now is I must ride with the absolute THINNEST cycling sock I can find... my regular SRM Sockguy socks are actually to thick for the shoe... luckily I had a pair of Santini hanging around which are paper thin...

runningDoc
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Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 4:55 am

by runningDoc

RussellS wrote:
Tinea Pedis wrote:They are middle weight I guess. But when a company puts out a $500+ shoe and its middle weight, its kind of humorous.


Here' are My Bont-A-Ones size 42.5 Wide with bebop cleats installed:

Image

Without cleats:

Image

the thing with the bonts is that its akin to wearing dutch clogs - where your foot sits in a carbon fiber or fiberglass tub. There is no flex whats so ever and the sole goes up around the footbed. Then the leather is actually very thick in the uppers. Its amazing they get airflow in there (but not as much as other brands)

the shoes can be expensive, but if you live in the US you can find them for rock bottom pricing at sites like geartrade. Lots of people ended up trying them out and then returning the shoes slightly used. I got mine for only $65 - in fact they belonged to a Weigh Weenie Forum member who actually posted pics these shoes a couple months before. There'll be brand new versions of the older models for around $100...

danbjpa
Posts: 359
Joined: Sun Aug 08, 2010 5:12 am
Location: Brasil

by danbjpa

Hi!

After reading through this topic, I'm curious to test them. I missed buying recently Vaypor for a value of $ 175 (new!). I do not want to pay so much for shoes that do not know if they will serve - I have normal feet, which fit well in my Sidi Ergo but feel a slight discomfort in the toes after a few km (nothing unbearable). The Bont are much wider than the Sidi?
Now I just have found the Bont A1 (in this price range - $ 150). I wonder if the A1 would be a good acquisition. (?)
Since it is out of stock, what would be the current equivalent to it? :noidea:

(Sorry for my 'googlE'nglish)

kulivontot
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Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 7:28 pm

by kulivontot

A1 is basically last version of the vaypor. They're similar in weight and construction.

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