pdedes

did you try heat molding and pushing out the tight bit with a tool?

MrCharlie

Yea, but I think its pretty hard to change length on the shoe. For starters, the hard plastic toe guard seems to prevent it.

bianchi10

Ive been told that regardless of the black toe guard, you can still mold the toe box. Just got back from my first real ride with them and I need to mold the a part of my toe box also. As Pdedes mentioned, the butt end of a screw driver is what I was told to use. I'll do it later today.

I still need to look into insoles. The specialized ones seemed to be too long or high but the Bont ones are useless. Someone cut the shape of the bont insole with scissors and they cut it too narrow, which creates a gap between the insole and the edge of the shoe. My toe falls right into that gap and is annoying.

WHOOOSSHHH...

Seem like a pain in the ass...

bianchi10

Possibly, but it beats having a shoe that you cannot do this to and be totally out of luck.

bianchi10

Just picked up some superfeet. Tried on the ThinSOL footbed but the arch was fairly painful. I know they are heat moldable, but was concerned that they would not be able to be manipulated enough. Maybe I would have been fine, but they superfeet were much more comfortable and $15 cheaper.

Molding now

Rivren5

Bianchi 10

Good information. I have been researching Bonts because of the footbed (like the Birkenstocks of cycling shoes - lol). I am currently in Sidi Genius 5 carbons (I think) in size 43 Mega - I have about an e width shoe. Measured at 42.5 E. Given your experience with the sizing, should I go for a 43? How wide is the wide as compared to the standard? I also want to put custom orthotics that I have so the foodbed issue wont be a problem.

There are NO dealers for miles around so just looking to get what info I can based on your your experience. Thanks!

bianchi10

man, its really tough. As mentioned above with Mrcharlie, a 44.5w gave me nearly a half in of extra length and I felt as if I was swimming in it. The 44w is a good fit, but my small toe was rubbing against the edge(It appears as if I was able to fix that by using the butt end of a screw driver after heating the shoe up). Seems as if a half size is a bigger difference with Bont than it is with Giro or specialized. I tried on Sidi mega's in a 44 and it was better width wise, but very sloppy in the mid to the back of my heel. I dont know if you have any experience with specialized, but I can say that the fit is pretty on par with my specialized S works. I'm a 44 in my Sworks and 44 with the Bonts. If you read my original post here, you will know that I oredered a used pair of 43's because that what the fit wizard on the Bont site suggested. Even with that number, it should have given me an additional 8mm of extra room to play with. That was far from true. that 43 was a standard fit. Hard to say if it would have been an alright fit width wise or not. I was still wondering if I could have pulled off a standard fit in the 44, but the wide seems to be a good fit for me, especially now with the superfeet insoles and hopefully molding that toe box. The Bont insoles really are crap.

Jseis 

Thanks for the discussion. I've been intrigued by Bonts but...they seemed a bit of an ocean away and reviews were all over the boards. I wear a 48 and have yet to find a comfortable distance shoe. My carbon Times and and composite Serfas are fine for a "few" hours but after that say on a century.... Ugh. My Pearl Izumi's MTB's are very comfortable but are noodly on my road pedals. What I really want is a super breathable top with a carbon/heat moldable sole /insole and lots of vents. A fitter I talked to in Seattle with low arch feet finally realized that it was worth three Benjamin's for happy feet (he ended up with heat moldable L.G.s ...don't know if that's the insole or shoe). C'mon man, this isn't rocket science (or is it?).

Rivren5

Bianchi 10 - thanks for the reply.

As an FYI - the Bont Fit Wizard" does not necessarily match up with the Bont fit chart.
So this is something else to consider. I put in my measurements and the got "Contact Bont for shoes" however, looking at the Bont fit chart indicated that a Bont non-custom size would be good - or at least a good starting point. I finally just sent my measurements to Bont along with pics and measurements of my orthotics. I will post the reply in case it is of help to others.

My Sidi Megas - Genius Carbon (lower end shoes) just got sloppy after a while I have to ratchet them all the way down and now they are a bit too big.

pdedes

the key with bont is to get the heat molding correct. because most of the shoe is a carbon bathtub that your feet are in, it's possible to mold them so well that your feet will be comfortable and not slide around without doing up the straps/wire. and that they are super stiff doesn't mean they aren't comfortable for all day riding.

bianchi10

@pdedes now that I put in aftermarket insoles (superfeet), do you think that takes away from the benefit of molding the sole? Not sure.of the actual food bed is moldable or if it is just the sides of the "tub". Was just wondering if covering up a moldable shoe with a non moldable insole takes away from what the benefit of the ending process.

pdedes

really depends on how stiff the insole is. I've used the yoursoles on other non heat moldable shoes as they are quite stiff. They're in my ski boots as well. But on the second go round with heat molding, I really focused on getting the footbed as well as the sides correct and am only using the original cheapo Bont insole. If I couldn't get the sole right, I would have heat molded a pair of yoursoles for the shoes. You lose some of the low stack height advantage and some of the shoe volume if you use anything other than the stock insole. I was happy to get a really good arch and heel cup. I honestly could put down power in these shoes without ever doing them up.

bianchi10

Thanks for the input. I would have liked to stuck with the Bont insole but it was cut incorrectly. Kinda disappointing to see when you drop $400+ on a pair of "custom" shoes. Maybe I'll contact them and have them send me some uncut stock insoles. For now the superfeet insoles feel pretty good. I've baked and molded the shoe 5 times and and feel like I'm getting it pretty close to how you describe. The superfeet insoles allowed my foot to remain in nearly the same height in the toe which was nice. I tried on the SOL insoles and it raised my toes in the toe box area which I would have had to do a bit more molding with. Will continue to work with them. So far, I'm pretty happy with them.

bianchi10

Update:

I would recommend you try an insole like superfeet or SOL insoles. I bought the superfeet and they were comfy sitting on my couch. I thought it would work great until I went on my ride last weekend. Even though the superfeet didn't added a lot of volume height, it was enough to push my feet too close to the edge of the toe box. I'm in conversation with Bont right now to have them send me new Bont insoles. The ones they supplied me with were cut incorrectly. They are about 1/4 inch too narrow, which leaves a small gap or gutter. My small toe falls right in it and is uncomfortable. Looks like the 44.5 is too long/big for me and the 44 fits me just right as long as I use the very thin Bont insole.

That being said, I bet if you got a pair of aftermarket insoles, it would help fill the missing volume you are experiencing and would fit better. Makes me.wonder how the 44.5w would have fit me with the superfeet or SOL insoles.

Here is an image of my insole that is cut so narrow. Not something I would expect from a $400+ custom shoe, but as long as it gets sorted out I will be ok with it.

bianchi10

UPDATE:

Ok, so now that I have about 100 miles on these, I have some things to update. My feelings about the shoes are great. My feelings about the company and having to deal with issues/customer service based out of Australia is not so great.

The insoles were a big issue for me. The insole was cut incorrectly. Almost like it was made for a standard or narrow even. They were too narrow which caused my small toe to fall in this "gutter". This was incredibly annoying to feel and also very uncomfortable.


The LBS I was ordering these through had communicated my issue with Bont and they agreed to send me another set of Insoles. PLEASE keep in mind that these shoes are a 44 WIDE. My LBS calls me and says my Insoles had come in, so I truck down there. I open the bag, only to find out that they shipped a size 50 standard!!!??? WTF!?!? What was even worse was the guy at this bike shop, snuffed it off like it was no big deal and they should work just fine. I got home and just as I thought, the arch was about 1 1/2 further on these insoles! Called him up and told him this wasn't going to fly. He said he would work on getting me the correct insoles.

About a week later he calls me up and said he had them on order AND because he knew I was interested in a white pair, he would do me a favor and sell them to me at his cost for the troubles. I didnt plan on buying another set for a while, but figured it was a deal I couldn't pass on. I ordered the white set and they came in with an extra set of insoles for my yellows. As i looked them over I noticed that neither the white set of insoles OR the yellow set of insoles had holes in them to allow the ventilation in the soles to work! Also, the white set came with the older Atop retention system compared to my BOA retention system on the custom yellow pair. To be honest, I prefer the Atop system. If I could make any suggestion to Bont, it would be to make their retention system like S works. To tighten the BOA and the Atop, you twist the knob. what if you go too tight though?? The S works, you just back off the knob and it loosens however much you want it too. The Atop and BOA on the Bonts completely lets go and you have to start over. Makes it a pain in the butt to dial in just where you like them.

Moving on though:


Got them home and baked them right away. While I was waiting the 20 minutes for them to heat up, I took the First set of insoles that came with my yellow pair, which had the holes for ventilation and used them as a template to drill holes into both new sets of insoles. They turned out perfectly. These insoles were VERY different in thickness and density. I put them in to mold the shoes and they felt so much nicer.

I took them on my first ride today with the new white shoes/new insoles and I can honestly say that I have never had a pair of cycling shoes that were so freaking comfortable. OMG, I'm so happy I bought these. Excited to ride with my yellow pair and new insoles tomorrow to see if they are just as comfortable.

So, to conclude. I'm now very VERY happy with the purchase. Having second thoughts about the service I will get if something happens from Bont though.

KantoBoy

I'm resurrecting this thread as I have a question:

1. What did you like about the A-Top over BOA?

2. So you're telling me if I turn the dial too tight I'd have to re-loosen the entire thing over again?
*this confuses me as I read on one review that the newer ATop dials are 1 way to tighten,1 way to loosen. No more finicky loosen all the way to re-tighten again.

I'm looking at these shoes as my 2nd pair of Bonts but question #2 is the deal maker/breaker.

bianchi10

I'll try to answer all your questions for ya.

1. If you do over tighten, you do have to pull the dual up which loosens the cable. BUT it doesn't just go completely loose, it backs it off just a hair and then you push back down on the dial and readjust. Usually if I over tighten, I can pull up to loosen, then push back down and make 1 or 2 rotations to find the spot. It's not as big of a deal as I thiught it would be. Don't let that be the reason you don't get the shoes. They are still an amazing pair of shoe and it doesn't stick out in my head as a negative thing I tell people about when describing the shoe. It's not a deal breaker at all.

They may be using a different or updated dial now though. My buddy got bont zero + and they allow him to dial back without having to lift the dial.

There is really no difference between the Boa and the A-Top. When I switch between my shoes, I don't have to look at what I'm doing.

I did just order my 3rd pair of Bonts (Gamma blue zero plus)

KenshiBiker

On my late-2013 Vapor + (with A-Tops), it's one way to tighten, one way to loosen. No pulling up. I have no idea what the current Bonts use.

KantoBoy

Anyway you can post a video on how you do adjustments?

I had a pair of Lake 237 and hated the fact I needed to unravel everything to get a perfect fit - something I CANNOT imagine doing in a race where every second counts. I sent it back because of that (alongside with the slippery heel cup).

I emailed an online retailer and said I'm getting the "older" version of the ATop. Sigh.

bianchi10

@KantoBoy I will try to do a video today or tomorrow for you. I do it on the fly while riding all the time. not a big deal.

KantoBoy

Obrigado

KantoBoy

Ok so today I tried on the Shimano R321 which I'm interested with as well. I got to try it on my size but the thing is that the middle strap I could barely strap on.

I really need to stick with Bonts but I really gotta make sure what I'm getting into here.

If anyone can help with the video I'd appreciate it so I can finalize my order.

Thanks everyone.

bianchi10

@KantoBoy Its not as big of a deal as I think you are making it out to be, but I understand wanting to have peace of mind.


Yellow Boa: Pulling the dial out and pushing it back in loosens it as if you were backing it off 1 rotation. Push back in and dial down less if it was too tight. Spread your toes to really loosen the retention system if you want them wide open. (Same as with the Atop)

White Atop: Rotate back to release the retention system. Rotate forward to engage it and it will tighten down. Releasing the retention system is the same as the Boa. Its just enough to loosen it one rotation. Rotate forward again to engage it and just dont go as far.


https://vid164.photobucket.com/albums...182048_001.mp4
https://vid164.photobucket.com/albums...425_182207.mp4

KantoBoy

Bit the bullet. This would be my 2nd Bonts.

Hoping I get the new dials OR at least the ATop ones. The first video with the BOA dials are what turned me off on the Lake 237s. Too cumbersome in the middle of a race if you ask me.

thanks a bunch @bianchi10