Product Review: Bont A Three Cycling Shoe

With just under 70 miles in this weekend, I felt compelled to write about my ever-so-fabulous Bont A Three cycling shoes. Yes, they rock.

My friend Josh found Bont after noticing Bradley Wiggins wearing them in the tour. The idea of a heat-moldable cycling shoe immediately appealed to both of us. For me, I'd been having some issues with numbness in my toes on longer rides, as well as general discomfort. Plus, my cycling shoes were pretty entry level and I'd been considering an upgrade to something stiffer for a while.

Bont was originally known for speed skates (with heat-moldable boots, of course). They were smart enough to realize that many of the properties of a skate would translate directly to cycling footwear.

Unfortunately, most cycling shoes use the European sizing standards, and there's often a great deal of variance between brands. I've worn shoes from EU44 to EU47 that were comfortable - though I'm usually best in a 46. But Bont has a handy sizing chart. So I used that and placed my order, even though the size they recommended (44) seemed much too small.

Fail.

The first pair arrived - shipped on the slow boat from Australia. As soon as I slipped them on, I knew they wouldn't fit. So back they go, with an order for the correct size 46. In the meantime I score a barely used pair of 46's from eBay.

Lesson One: Buy from a local dealer. At the time I ordered mine, there wasn't one. Now there is. Next time, I'll know.

OK, so now I have a pair that seems like they're going to fit correctly. Per the instructions, I preheat the oven to 160 degrees and remove the insoles. Bake for 20 minutes at 160, pull 'em out, stick in the insoles and put 'em on. Then stand in one place as they mold to your foot and cool. The result? A full-custom fit that's positively awesome.

The next evening, I get them out on the road. Wow. Just wow! The improved fit is evident, but the real difference is in the stiffness. I had no idea how flimsy my previous shoes were! Every pedal stroke goes straight to moving you down the road. I gain a significant advantage on hills. Pure happiness.

A few weeks later, my replacements arrive from Bont. I do the heat molding process again. Here's where it gets interesting. The used eBay pair simply had three Velcro straps. The new ones are the replace the top strap with a buckle system and the difference is extremely noticeable. Much more rigid fit, and more comfortable as my foot stays in-place on the footbed.

Lesson Two: Buckle/strap models dramatically outperform just straps

Now I've got the better part of a year on my A-Three's and I couldn't be happier. They clearly deliver a fit and performance advantage I could never have imagined. Cooling airflow is also surprisingly good, considering the upper is all smooth leather. While these shoes are pricey (I got a deal - I bought mine as the improved A-Two was being introduced) they're comparable to other top-notch shoes like Sidi, Mavic, or Diadora. The difference is the heat moldable fit. None of these competitors deliver this at ANY price.

Highly recommended!

-Sean-

Big Sky Country 2.0 - Day 2

Our second day in found us headed toward Yellowstone National Park and more of the Madison river. After a beautiful drive from Ennis up to West Yellowstone we found a hearty breakfast and some good input from the helpful guys at Blue Ribbon. 

Schultzy gettin' it done on the Madison below Yellowstone!

First stop was just outside the Park (to avoid paying for an additional fishing license). This location was unlike the Madison we'd experienced the first day - broad, fairly slow, and a bottom of sand and gravel. Super easy wading! After rigging up for streamer pitching, we headed downstream. A sudden Blue Winged Olive hatch sent us scrambling back to the truck for dry flies. Unfortunately despite some great looking water and a solid hatch, this was not to be a hot spot. Schultzy stuck a few dinks, while Reid and I got skunked. 

Time to move on downstream toward Quake Lake. If you're never visited this area, Quake Lake is pretty amazing! Formed as a result of a 1959 earthquake that actually re-routed the river after 80 million tons of rock fell into the valley, the lake is 6 miles long and 190 feet deep!

The Madison above Quake Lake; pretty, but tricky wading.

This segment of the Madison was especially beautiful. But with this beauty came some tough wading. Some seriously FAST water, combined with basketball-sized ankle-breaker boulders, and slick algae growth was the recipe for scary. Early on I made the mistake of deciding the fishing would be better on the far back. Mid-crossing I realized I was wading in a spot that was above my skill level. Unfortunately, when you find yourself in these spots, turning back is often worse than completing the crossing. After a few tense moments of slick footing, fast current, and heart-racing adrenaline, I made it across. 

Though beautiful, this stretch left us all fishless. And it helped me address an important gear issue. Rocking Simms HardBite star cleats is the only thing the kept me upright in the fast-flowing Madison. Later in the week I also found them tremendously helpful wading some of the algae-slick portions of the Big Hole river. Previously I'd only used cleats in Ohio. The issue with cleats comes into play when fishing from a boat. A good way to be unwelcome quickly is to clamber aboard in your cleated boots, scratching the crap out of your host's boat. After this trip, I've decided it's time to add a second pair of boots sans cleats for boat-based fishing. I love my Simms Riversheds, so I think a second pair will be on-order shortly. While I like the idea of Korkers interchangeable soles, I have serious doubts that they'll hold up like my Simms have.

Back at the truck, I found that not only had I gone fishless, so had Reid and Schultzy. But we did get the pleasure of meeting a true Montana bullshitter who claimed to take 90 yard bow shots on whitetails, and hunt grouse with his bow. Uh huh, sure you do. Of course. And your 11-year-old daughter will kill her first elk with a bow at 60 yards...

A quick drive over to Twin Bridges got us to The Stonefly Inn - our home base for the next few days. A fine dinner of Rooster's coffee steaks followed by a few Moscow Mules had us all happy and energized for some great fishing starting on the next day...