So with that, I got some new tri shoes a little while ago. They are these:
These are Bont Riot TRs.
Why did I go for these shoes? Well to start the whole shoe buying process I did some internet based research and the Riot TRs kept coming up as a very recommended shoe. I was aware of Bont as a company that made some nice bike shoes, including a number of tri shoes, but they have generally been more expensive than I can justify. However, these shoes appeared to bring some nice features at a reasonable price, which I will get to a bit later. Another thing they had going for them is that they are a wide toed shoe. I have quite a wide foot and have had numb toes from narrow shoes before. So when I saw that these shoes specifically had a wide toe box it was a big tick.
So to start with, lets talk price. I bought these in an actual bike store (remember them), for around $220 (Australian dollars), which is the RRP. I saw them being run out at around $170 the other day, which is a very good price. But around $200ish is the ball park. Now certainly there are cheaper shoes around, but for that price you get some nice stuff.
What sort of nice stuff? Well how about a full carbon sole.
This sole is super stiff, as in I would be hard pressed to find any flex in them at all sort of stiff. You usually pay a lot more for that. Standard three hole cleat mount by the way.
This sole is also heat moldable. This means that you can place the shoe in an oven, spend a nervous 20 minutes or so heating it up and then mold it a little bit to fit the shape of your foot (refer to the Bont website for proper instructions). Now, this is a cool feature that you don't usually get at this price point. I should make it clear though that you shouldn't read too much into this feature. You will not make this shoe hug your foot like a custom made glove, or make up a size difference etc. Real shaping it possible, but it is not dramatic. Got a hot spot on your foot, you can make room for it. Want the shoe to grip your heal a bit more, you can mold it to do that too. That is the level of customisation you are talking. It is cool, but don't expect miracles. Also worth mentioning that you can heat and mold your shoes as many times as you like. Very nifty.
The uppers seem well made, they have proven quite durable so far. Great big loops for pulling the shoes on, which is always an appreciated feature. As you can see in the above photos, they are very open shoes too. Even when closed there is a big gap on top of the shoe. Not exactly a big plus for winter at the moment, but I can imagine it will be welcome in a hot race. Having said that, I have been wearing these shoes with toe covers in winter and they have been fine. I haven't worn these shoes barefoot yet (like I would in a race), but I have read that they were designed with that in mind which is a nice touch.
The strap is not reversed like a lot of tri shoes are (ie it doesn't tighten from outside to in). I don't mind the old reverse strap, since I do think it makes the strap easier to reach when coming out of T1. However, I also know it baffles some people and in the end it isn't a deal breaker for me. It is a feature that if you feel strongly about one way or another though, then you should be aware.
Speaking of the strap, that brings me to one of the negatives I have on the shoe. The strap is long. I mean super, crazy long.
I suspect my shoes are about half a size to big for me. But even accounting for that, that is one long strap. From what I can figure, the strap is long to allow you to open the shoe right up to make it easier to put on in T1. If you look at the strap you can see a little notch right at the end. When the strap is loosened this notch locks into the buckle to hold the shoe open. The idea being that you can have the shoe ready and waiting for you to simply slip on at you jump on the bike. The longer the strap, the bigger the opening into the shoe. Very nice idea, and it works. But in my mind the strap is longer than it needs to be, to the point that is hangs down past the bottom of the shoe when the shoe is closed. It sounds like a minor point, but I find it annoying, particularly in a shoe that has been so well thought out in other areas. Then again, perhaps I am just doing it wrong.
Another negative is that despite having molded these shoes a few times, I still find that I get slightly numb toes on my left foot. It seems to have got better recently, but when they were new it was a definite problem. Not at bad as some shoes I have had, but still enough that I wouldn't have been happy running off the bike. The jury is still out for me on this bit. As I have said it seems to have got better recently, but I am not entirely sure why.
However, other than those couple of negatives, these are good shoes. I find bike shoes to be a bit of kit that I find hard to get excited about. However, with these, even if I don't find them exciting, I do find them impressive. The attention to detail that has gone into these shoes is really what does it for me. They have clearly been well thought out and bring a range of features that triathletes are going value to a price point where you don't usually see them. Around the $200 mark most bike shoes have a similar list of features, these bring something different to that price range.
I would certainly buy them again.
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