Bontrager Ballista Shoe

[Monkeyfudger]

The new Aero one, my inner geek is craving it...anyone had one in hand yet? The want is there but I can’t help but think they’d be a downgrade overall from Empire SLX’s? (Having never owned a Bontrager product this might be just silly talk?)

[VTR1000SP2]

I’ve had 2 pairs of Bontrager shoes and they fit differently to any Giro I’ve worn so it may be a no-go simply due to fit.


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[Monkeyfudger]

Ah, that might be ‘em out already then, I feel like the Giro’s are the first shoe that really fit me

[wheelbuilder]

The bontrager road shoes have a super big/wide toe box. Marketed towards the middle America foot. Made in China, but the soles are decent. Definitely go to a Trek shop and try some on. They are pretty huge.

[glam2deaf]

Yeah if you fit Giro really well you'll probably find the Bontragers really (too?) wide. Incredibly comfortable if you can fit them. They seem to be a similar to Shimano E fit if that helps as a reference?

[Stormtrooper]

I just picked up a pair last night. They run narrow and i had to go half a size up. Very light shoes in the hand although I don't have a scale. Not the stiffest sole but should be good enough.

[TobinHatesYou]

Must be a different last than the XXX if you had to size up. The Bontrager XXX and Suplest Edge 3 are the only two shoes I’ve tried where I had to size down from 44.5/45 to 44.

[Stormtrooper]

The XXX had a Clarino material and had a wider toe box. I had the XXX in 42 and they were too big so Bontrager did something with the design on the ballista. The aero aspect might be why. I like the smooth front surface of the shoes with no velcro or even boa on the sides.

Bontrager should be coming out with a new XXX soon. I noticed that alot of the sizes are out of stock.

Kiel Reijnen has been wearing the new XXX. You can find pictures of them if you look hard enough.

[Monkeyfudger]

Cheers all, I’m going to try and get to a shop and see what the fit is like!

[jeepntrek]

both my bontrager foray mtb shoes and my bontrager velocis road shoes ran small in comparison to average athletic shoes, both requiring me to go a half size bigger and order the wide version of both. i would never describe bontragers as “roomy”

[Stormtrooper]

So after riding with these shoes for a couple of rides, I decided to return them for a couple of reasons:
1. Not enough ventilation: My feet got hot after only 10 minutes in these shoes.
2. Fit: Could never get my feet to settle in. The boa on the back would not get tight enough.

This might be a good shoe for cooler weather but I wouldn't recommend them.

Also, I ended up getting a good deal on some Bontrager XXX instead and what a difference!