Originally Posted by
lsberrios1
Maiden voyage today. 50 miles and about 3,500ft of climb. I have to say I like them a lot. The extra room in the toe box is a BIG plus. The stiffness is superb, much stiffer than the S Works. The bigger foot bed made for a better base for my wide feet therefore helping stabilize my stroke. This meant that my knees had to do less effort to stabilize my foot so they hurt less and my Achilles tendon is not sore at all.
Downside - the arch bump is still noticeable. It is a little annoying up to 40 miles, then it becomes painful. I see these shoes being close to perfect for those who have a slight arch or more. 100% purebred flat footed people may have issues.
Overall, for me these shoes are a solid 9/10. Half a point for the bump and half a point for looks and quality finish. Not quite as good looking or nicely made as other high end shoes i've seen.
I'll be keeping them and using them until it's time for a new pair. I am pretty satisfied.
I hear what you are saying about the stiffness compared to Spesh S Works, but the spec on the S Works is a hugely high stiffness number (within their own rating system I suppose). Many still very competent shoes lower in the Spesh line have much lower stiffness ratings. One begins to wonder just how stiff the Bonts could be get that comparative praise. Not doubting you for a minute, but I sure would love to see cutout samples from the S Works and Bont soles tested on an "Instron" testing machine. I think the actual numbers would be very instructive.