Wide shoes? Unimpressed with Bont Riots...
alihisgreat
Posts: 3,872
I'm in the market for some wide shoes, I was impressed with the Bont Vaypor+ in size 45 when I tried them on earlier in the week so ordered some Bont Riots in 45 from Wiggle...
...only to find that they size up very much like a conventional cycling shoe and are narrower and lower volume than the Vaypor + I tried on. Great!
I can't find the Riots in a wide fit anywhere, so what are my other options? Ideally I don't want to have to spent £200 on some Vaypor+
How do Shimano and Giro wide fit shoes compare to Bont?
...only to find that they size up very much like a conventional cycling shoe and are narrower and lower volume than the Vaypor + I tried on. Great!
I can't find the Riots in a wide fit anywhere, so what are my other options? Ideally I don't want to have to spent £200 on some Vaypor+
How do Shimano and Giro wide fit shoes compare to Bont?
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Have a look at the Fizik range: I got a pair of R3 and they are the widest cycling shoes I ever had (8,5 or 42,5).
PlanetX had them very cheap a long time ago but not sure if they still have any left.
On thing to note that they (mine is about 2 years old)have high arches which needs a bit of time to get used to.
Shimano tend to be narrow, I got an Sworks (2013) which is great but not wide: not sure if they do a wide fit though.0 -
I'm in the market for some wide shoes, I was impressed with the Bont Vaypor+ in size 45 when I tried them on earlier in the week so ordered some Bont Riots in 45 from Wiggle...
...only to find that they size up very much like a conventional cycling shoe and are narrower and lower volume than the Vaypor + I tried on. Great!
I can't find the Riots in a wide fit anywhere, so what are my other options? Ideally I don't want to have to spent £200 on some Vaypor+
How do Shimano and Giro wide fit shoes compare to Bont?
Lake CX237 Wide. Made for fat footed people. Good price, nice leather.0 -
Bont don't make wide fit on anything below vaypor level. I had wide fit Lakes before getting bonus and they are wider than some brands but no where near as wide as wide fit boots.0
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Agreed with that, my R3's are the only cycling shoes I've had that fit me properly due to not having to go up a half size or full size to get right width. Try them on first though if you can as lots of people don't like the fit or the high arches.Have a look at the Fizik range: I got a pair of R3 and they are the widest cycling shoes I ever had (8,5 or 42,5).0 -
Erm, with respect ALI, if Bont wide fit shoes feel good then get them
Northwave or Lake are alternatives and Mavic also do a wide fit. But really you need to suck it up, not get the discount and try them on. I feel your pain I have wide feet too and struggle with shoes. I rode in shoes 2 sizes too big becasue I was too tight to buy them full price then spent even more on new pedals which allowed me the put he cleat back far enough and then on a bike fit asking why my ankles always hurt...
The problem was the flipping shoesWe're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
Aaargh, Narrow cycling shoes. Everyone on here seems to have wide feet but no one makes anything at a decent price. Don't bother with Shimano wide they are not wide enough. TBH I have just bought the Vaypor plus in wide and I am still not sure they are wide enough for me. I have moulded them and may even need to give it another go. Or try Lake, or give up cycling.
The other problem with Wide cycling shoes is that most LBS do not stock them which means ordering online. Which is also a pain. For example the Bonts in wide are scarce in certain sizes which means that it is difficult to buy 2 in different sizes and send 1 back. It is driving me bonkers at the moment.0 -
Erm, with respect ALI, if Bont wide fit shoes feel good then get them
Northwave or Lake are alternatives and Mavic also do a wide fit. But really you need to suck it up, not get the discount and try them on. I feel your pain I have wide feet too and struggle with shoes. I rode in shoes 2 sizes too big becasue I was too tight to buy them full price then spent even more on new pedals which allowed me the put he cleat back far enough and then on a bike fit asking why my ankles always hurt...
The problem was the flipping shoes
I've got Giro Factors in 46 that I've had for two years (and of course, I bought them at a discount!). I suppose I also sized up one size to get the width - although even then it was pretty marginal and took two weeks to bed in.
The problem with the Factors now is that the heel isn't very secure, and I have chipped the sole on the outside of the left shoe, and that causes discomfort on the outside of my foot.
I am keen to try Bonts as I think my ITB niggle would benefit from a more supportive shoe (among other things), but its hard to justify the £200 because Bonts seem to be quite polarizing.. people either love them or hate them and I don't want to be stuck with a £200 shoe that I hate!
Hence I ordered the Riot.. which actually felt very good with my foot-beds in, apart from the width/volume which seems significantly different to the Vaypor+ that I tried. Although the finish of the Riots was terrible, so maybe its a blessing in disguise that they didn't fit?Aaargh, Narrow cycling shoes. Everyone on here seems to have wide feet but no one makes anything at a decent price. Don't bother with Shimano wide they are not wide enough. TBH I have just bought the Vaypor plus in wide and I am still not sure they are wide enough for me. I have moulded them and may even need to give it another go. Or try Lake, or give up cycling.
The other problem with Wide cycling shoes is that most LBS do not stock them which means ordering online. Which is also a pain. For example the Bonts in wide are scarce in certain sizes which means that it is difficult to buy 2 in different sizes and send 1 back. It is driving me bonkers at the moment.
Unfortunately I just ordered the Shimano R171 in wide to try! Ordered some standard Bont Vaypors as well.0 -
I have the same problem. I tried bonts, giro hv, fizik, spesh..etc. the one I found that 'fits me' was the shimano r320 wide.. got them on special from merlin.0
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Mavic maxi zxelliums for me.Felt F70 05 (Turbo)
Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
Scott CR1 SL 12
Cannondale Synapse Adventure 15 & 16 Di2
Scott Foil 180 -
I tired the Shimano R171 wide and Bont Vaypor standard this morning...
Shimano R171 - as far as conventional shoes go, they feel pretty good. Still a little narrow initially but they would bed in after a few rides. However they're ugly and don't feel as supportive as the Bonts - especially the heel cup. It also seems like its just a standard width sole with a wider upper attached? Which is a little disappointing.
Bont Vaypor - Just as narrow and low volume as the Riots. Maybe Bont changed the last for the Vaypor Plus? I'm starting to question whether I tried on the right sizes in the Vaypor Plus...
So now the question is whether the Bont Vaypor Plus is worth essentially twice as much as the Shimano R171? Maybe I should just go for the Shimanos and relegate them to commuting shoes once I start my job (and can actually afford the Bonts :roll:)0 -
I tried the r171 when looking for shoes, and the 320's are a different fit. the ratchet on them holds the heel cup better.0
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After further investigation, it does seem that the Vaypor+ is roomier and made with a different last to the Vaypor. Maybe I just have expensive feet?Did you guys tried heat moulding the Bonts?
Everything I've read about the Bonts suggests that the fit has to be good before heat molding or you're never going to get a good fit. The heat molding is for making small adjustments. Plus there is the fact you can't return the shoes after molding them.
http://cyclingtips.com.au/2015/05/bont-vaypor-s-shoe-review/
Bont seem to think that most people don't need to mold.0 -
You can't really widen the bonts with the heat process. Sure you can push out the top edge of the last a little (the bit that wraps around the side of the foot) which may help a little but the curve which limits the width is pretty much fixed - at least thats what I found. I used wide bonts for a year but the more I used them the more they aggravated my feet to the point where they were unbearable. Shame as they would have been otherwise great.
I have pretty wide feet and I'm also prone to significant discomfort across the 5th metatarsals.The shoes I've had virtually no issues with (and I've had many) are Northwave Extreme SBS, Bontrager RL (not stiff enough for me though), Lake CX401 (they were borderline though) Specialized S-works which were very surprising as they are known to be narrow however I'm pretty sure the latest versions are wider than the older versions which I used to have and also had problems with.
I found putting on the shoes with several pairs of socks and clamping the ratchet down a few times when new stretched the Northwave's, Bontrager's and S-works sufficiently that they didn't hurt whatsoever. They all took about a month of high mileage to fully bed in. What also helped me was very high arch support which reduced the pressure/force being put through the outside of the foot, spreading it across the whole foot. G8 footbeds with the S-works are working perfectly for me now - entirely pain free now.0 -
You can't really widen the bonts with the heat process. Sure you can push out the top edge of the last a little (the bit that wraps around the side of the foot) which may help a little but the curve which limits the width is pretty much fixed - at least thats what I found. I used wide bonts for a year but the more I used them the more they aggravated my feet to the point where they were unbearable. Shame as they would have been otherwise great.
I have pretty wide feet and I'm also prone to significant discomfort across the 5th metatarsals.The shoes I've had virtually no issues with (and I've had many) are Northwave Extreme SBS, Bontrager RL (not stiff enough for me though), Lake CX401 (they were borderline though) Specialized S-works which were very surprising as they are known to be narrow however I'm pretty sure the latest versions are wider than the older versions which I used to have and also had problems with.
I found putting on the shoes with several pairs of socks and clamping the ratchet down a few times when new stretched the Northwave's, Bontrager's and S-works sufficiently that they didn't hurt whatsoever. They all took about a month of high mileage to fully bed in. What also helped me was very high arch support which reduced the pressure/force being put through the outside of the foot, spreading it across the whole foot. G8 footbeds with the S-works are working perfectly for me now - entirely pain free now.
What was it that made the Bonts so uncomfortable?0 -
They just weren't quite wide enough at the 5th metatarsal so the carbon up curve of the side of the shoe impacted the bone. If they were about 5mm wider where the outer metatarsal is I'm sure Id be saying how great they were. They were the wide vaypors.0
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Been lookin at Lake cx237 but Tredz tell me that Lake dont import wide fitting model into UK!0
