Bont shoes

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Ronin416
Posts: 398
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2012 5:46 pm

by Ronin416

woodyvalentine wrote:I tested several insoles with no luck. Finally pulled the trigger with specialized retul custom insoles. They work. They are firm and thin so they can pass over the Bont built in arch. Add a touch of volume compared to stock Bont insoles which was needed in my case. But did not make them feel smaller. Overall best shoes and insoles I've tried in years. I'd say they are 90% good. Insoles we're molded slightly different left vs right. So I may go for a re mold on them. The heel hold on the Bonts also aren't that great. Can't really get enough molding out of the heels. Have to really crank the boas down to get any heel hold. I wish Bont would use a heel like the sworks ares. Where it's kind of thicker and cushier. Bont should really also partner with some brand or make their own heat moldable insoles. Seems like a no brainer to expand the business.
Woody,

Try squeezing the heal with your foot out of the shoe during the molding process. This will allow you to more aggressively shape the heel. So much so, if you squeeze both sizes the back will bow out. But press it back in with your thumb.

It should start to look like this… if not you’re not there yet.

Image


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GrandTourtoise
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:19 am

by GrandTourtoise

I just wanted to say that I ordered some Bont Riot+ Road Shoes in size 50 Wide (normal shoes are 48). Trying them on felt perfect and so do the first 30mins of cycling but then I get serious hot foot. I also experienced pain in one of my toes on my right foot. After looking closer at the shoe there is a slight fold in the material on the inside of the shoe which is pushing against my toe. Anyway, long story short, I contacted Bont with a photo and description and they are sending me a new pair asap without the need to return my current shoes. I was worried they'd dispute it or that it would be a long winded return process but it couldn't have been easier. Definitely can't fault them for customer service in my experience.

Now to find some insoles that will solve hot spots...

by Weenie


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matheussiq8
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2021 6:41 pm

by matheussiq8

Does anyone use overshoes on their double-wide bonts? Going for a winter cycling trip up some mountains and trying to figure out online (no stores nearby) which overshoes would fit into a double-wide 46 vaypor s .

raffyyy
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2020 2:58 am

by raffyyy

matheussiq8 wrote:
Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:24 am
Does anyone use overshoes on their double-wide bonts? Going for a winter cycling trip up some mountains and trying to figure out online (no stores nearby) which overshoes would fit into a double-wide 46 vaypor s .
I have bont zero+ double wides in size 45 and can use nopinz shoe covers no problem.

milanv
Posts: 611
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 9:03 am

by milanv

They have new own insoles from this summer, produced in partnership with Australia's leading cycling orthotics experts, Cobra9.
https://shop.bontcycling.com/innersoles-riot-series/
https://shop.bontcycling.com/innersoles-vaypor/

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kdawg
Posts: 194
Joined: Wed Nov 20, 2013 9:10 pm

by kdawg

matheussiq8 wrote:
Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:24 am
Does anyone use overshoes on their double-wide bonts? Going for a winter cycling trip up some mountains and trying to figure out online (no stores nearby) which overshoes would fit into a double-wide 46 vaypor s .
I have double wides and don't have any problem - unless it's a particularly non-stretchy overshoe there should be enough give in the width.
I'm left handed, if that matters.

alanyu
Posts: 1506
Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2019 1:10 pm

by alanyu

Let me put my extremely bad experience of buying Bont shoes through their own website.

I have bought Helix and Vaypor+K before from different sellers, and was satisfied with the shoes, whose toebox is suitable for me. Since I moved to a different country, and here is no Bont retailer, so I ordered a pair of Vaypor directly from Bont. However, it's the worst shopping experience for me so far.

First of all, the QC is bad. The leather is so hard that cut into my ankle, which I didn't experience on Helix and Vaypor+K, so I decided to heat mold it. However, after heat molding @ 70C/20min following Bont instruction (the thermal meter showed 65~69C around the shoe), I found a huge void around one T-nut inside the left shoe. There was nothing splitting down, so the void came with the shoe out of the factory. I wanted to exchange it, so I tried to contact the customer service via "speech bubble" on the Bont website, reporting this issue. Note that I reported it on the 10th or 11th day after I recieved the shoes.

Now it came the second, worst customer service. The Bont service team repled to me by email, and asked for some details. Then, I replied the information by email. However, they didn't answer my email. I had to again use "speech bubble", telling them the information they asked, AND that the Bont team didn't/couldn't see my replying email. However, the customer service claimed that he had replied to my email, and asked for more photos to judge whether it can be replaced. Of course, I sent eight photos to him by email, and wrote that they should reply to me in 24 hrs. (so I can know that they read my email), but guess what happened? NO REPLY AT ALL even after two days. Thus, I wrote on "speech bubble" and sent them the required photos, telling them to put my email address into white list as they couldn't see my replying email, and asked if the shoes can be replaced under warranty. However, they decided to keep silience. NO ANY REPLY SINCE THEN.

I will never buy Bont products anymore.
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GaBa
Posts: 322
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 6:01 pm

by GaBa

I can second your experience buying directly from Bont. Ordered Riot+ in white and purchase / payment went through. After that they contact me to tell me that model in that color and size is not available. Say what? Then I decided to get another color and they also happened to have sales, which I missed by a couple of hours probably (obviously it was related to AUS time zone and I am in Europe, since sales ended in the mid of the day). They were very unresponsive, was waiting for their answers from first purchase mora than couple of days, also wrote a complaint to their general mail.

What I give to them is they did offer me a discount in the end so I went with their shoes in the end. Those were for my wife. For myself I ordered Bont MTB shoes through reins.cc and that was completely different experience, very helpful personel (talked on the phone regarding which size to get) and product was sent quickly.

I like their shoes so far (toe box in snug compared to Lakes' I use on road, which I like) so I would still buy them and I am considering getting one pair for road as well. But will definitely use reins.cc and not their own website.

cberg
Posts: 320
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2021 11:30 am

by cberg

So my on Vaypor S shoes with the holographic finish, the holo material started coming apart on the outside of the seams and cracked in several places. I messaged Bont about it and they are covering it under warranty, (un)fortunatly the holo version is no longer being made so I have to settle with white ones instead :)

MichaelB
Posts: 993
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:31 am

by MichaelB

cberg wrote:
Wed Nov 30, 2022 2:07 pm
So my on Vaypor S shoes with the holographic finish, the holo material started coming apart on the outside of the seams and cracked in several places. I messaged Bont about it and they are covering it under warranty, (un)fortunatly the holo version is no longer being made so I have to settle with white ones instead :)
Interesting to know !

I just bought a pair of holo Riot+ (bargain price), so will keep an eye on it.

How long before you had an issue ?

spud
Posts: 1266
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 5:52 am

by spud

Bummer about the holo material. I remember Sidi used this on some shoes 10-15 years ago and they too delaminated pretty rapidly. Hope you get at least a couple years out of them.

eins4eins
Posts: 700
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 11:49 am

by eins4eins

I asked about Vaypor G with full holo upper and Bont said, they wouldn't recommend that as the material is too fragile.

Did anybody order shoes during the black friday sales? I'm sure the product description said that standard and wide versions of the vaypor s li2 are in stock when ordering, but now it says 8-10 weeks. Price was good but i ordered mainly because it said stock's available.

GaBa
Posts: 322
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2014 6:01 pm

by GaBa

Despite saying I will not use their site for purchasing I did exactly that since deal on Vaypor S's was really good and I planned on getting them sonner than later anyways. In the beginning some sizes were in stock but some already on 8-10 weeks. Was not paying attention when ordering, my status says shipping soon.

cberg
Posts: 320
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2021 11:30 am

by cberg

MichaelB wrote:
Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:37 am
cberg wrote:
Wed Nov 30, 2022 2:07 pm
So my on Vaypor S shoes with the holographic finish, the holo material started coming apart on the outside of the seams and cracked in several places. I messaged Bont about it and they are covering it under warranty, (un)fortunatly the holo version is no longer being made so I have to settle with white ones instead :)
Interesting to know !

I just bought a pair of holo Riot+ (bargain price), so will keep an eye on it.

How long before you had an issue ?
About a year (or 650 hours) of riding. I think it mostly appears where the material is stretched when I put on the shoes.
I trust that the "regular" material wont have this problem, and I will keep the holos for indoor use, since its still a great shoe.

Also, be prepared for comments on the shoes :mrgreen:

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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MichaelB
Posts: 993
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:31 am

by MichaelB

cberg wrote:
Thu Dec 01, 2022 5:37 pm
...

Also, be prepared for comments on the shoes :mrgreen:
Cheers

I have already received some !!

They actually match the decals on my Cinelli Vigorelli disc roadie :D

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