I upgraded my trusty Bont Riot+ to the Vaypor 2023. However, the Vaypor 2023’s do not allow the cleats to go as far back as they did on my previous pair even with the receiving nuts of the Vaypor 2023’s in the most rearward position to receive the cleat bolts. Anyone else experience this?
Despite having the cleats adjusted all the way back, they are still positioned a significant amount forward when comparing shoes (compared to my Riot+) and quite noticeable when looking at the cleat position relative to my 1st and 5th metatarsal heads in each shoe.
Bont indicates the new Vaypor 2023’s have more adjustability both fore and aft. The Riot’s fixed hole system allow my cleats to be positioned farther back to a significant degree.
I am curious if this could be a manufacturing error as it seems highly unlikely that this was by design given the aforementioned info from their site on size and cleat positioning.
I know this doesn’t answer your question but take a look at lake shoes. They allow the cleats further back than most other manufacturers. Shimano is ok as well.
This is good info! I know people have a love/hate relationship with Bont and their “bathtub” sole. They fit great out of the box and I love the huge toe box. I was checking out S-Works Torch as they seem to have really widened the toe box per reviews. I’ll check out Lake and Shimano, as well. Cheers
I have had pairs of both the Vaypor S and Vaypor 23. The Vaypor 23 allow around 5mm more rearward cleat positioning than the Vaypor S. This is for me, in a size 46.5, regular width. I’d love to get even more rearward adjustment to be honest.
With the slotted design on the Vaypor 23, you can use the mid foot cycling cleat adapter Adapter for Shimano SPD-SL, Look, Garmin and Time – Mid-Foot Cycling. This won’t work with the non-slotted design on other Bont shoes without modification of the adapter. If you want more info on that, definitely send Niels an email at Mid-Foot. He’s incredibly helpful.
Perhaps the cleat positioning is different between the Vaypor models generally and the Riot models? It’s worth an email to their customer support - I’ve found them responsive in the past.
Thanks for this info! I did email Bont but have not heard anything after their initial automated response that send me to their FAQ section. I was wondering if there was an intended difference between the Riot and Vaypor models, as well since the Vaypor is marketed as a top tier race shoe. I was hoping they would shed light on this.
There was something on the midfoot cycling page about the look adapters not being compatible with Bont. I couldn’t find a contact email on their page either I love the low stack height feeling of the Bont shoes and the adapter would negate that but perhaps, a worthy trade off.
They do have a Riot 24 coming out but I am hesitant to make the purchase.
Per Neill Stanbury, the bike fitter who floods my youtube recommendations after looking up anything related to bike fit, “a more rearwards cleat position means more stability over the pedal with less calf muscle recruitment, but a decreased sprint ability.” Maybe the Vaypor is a sprinter’s dream and the Riot is for the all-day-in-the-saddle rider.
FWIW, an acquaintance who works at a local shop had told me that he has noticed small differences in drilling from shoe to shoe when comparing the same shoes off the shelf albeit small. Outside of this working-in-a-shop scenario (or purchasing 5 pairs of the same shoes in one go) I don’t know how one would really go about comparing.
The incompatibility of the Mid-Foot adapter is true with the Bont shoes that do not have slotted cleat holes. For those shoes, the adapter needs modification. I can confirm that they do work for the Vaypor 23. And yes, it ruins the low stack.
Re sprinting, I have tested this on myself and noticed no real difference with wildly different cleat position.
I have sent you Niels’s email via private message (don’t feel comfortable posting it here).
I love the low stack height feeling of the Bont shoes and the adapter would negate that but perhaps, a worthy trade off.