Video: New Cycling Shoes For The Bowral Classic? Bont Have The Answer

From a thought bubble, to prototype, to extensive testing, eventual production and finally receiving high accolade at the world’s biggest bike show, the Helix has been a major success for Bont Cycling.

But as Steven Nemeth of Bont explained, this one’s not so simple.

“We worked extensively on this project and are very happy with how it’s turned out,” he said.

“For us integration with the shoe is the big thing,” he continued. “We wanted to put a shoe together that really could become a part of the riders’ foot. In most traditional types of shoes you’ll have a ratchet system that essentially pulls the upper tight, across the top. What we wanted to do was get something that would work around the whole foot and basically pull the shoe around it rather than just applying localised tension.”

The Aussie cycling shoe company going global – Bont Cycling’s display at the world’s biggest bike show, EuroBike.

Wire cabling from a single BOA dial routes rearward, down the side of the shoe and into a tube where it’s guided around the carbon soul before making the return loop the the closure. It’s one of those design concepts that make you think ‘why wasn’t this done earlier?’ But, as Steven explained, turning the design concept into reality was both challenging and complicated.

“The foot’s not the easiest shape to shape to work around,” he said. “Especially with the various bone structures. But we managed to get around it and it now works quite nicely. What it does is spread the load across the foot in a thorough way. There’s no spot tension, it’s a very gradual and very comfortable pull. It makes you feel even more part of the shoe than ever before.”

Read more of this article here – and we’ll have a full review of the Bont Helix here on the Bowral Classic site shortly.