THE BONT RIOT MTB+ ARE RUGGED OFF-ROAD WARRIORS

Words and Images - James Raison

The cycling industry gravel-ifitcation continues at a rapid pace so it might seem an incongruous time to head towards MTB kicks for your offroad needs. Don’t be so quick to write off this corner of the market, because there are plenty of top-notch MTB shoes that are only becoming better value. Enter the Bont Riot MTB+ - a shoe that seems perfect for those who are very hard on their footwear.

ABOUT

The Riot MTB+ is the entry to Bont’s dirt-focused shoes. They sit below the MTB halo shoe Vaypor XC and the much more recently released gravel shoe the $589 AUD Vaypor G.

The Riot MTB+ represents a value intersection of many Bont virtues but at a relatively accessible price; heat moulding, BOA dials, and relatively light weight for an MTB shoe.

Price: $279
BOA dial + velcro strap retention
Heat mouldable carbon composite sole
4.5mm stack height
Replaceable sole guards Bont’s Comfort innersole
385g weight - confirmed on my scales

I’ve had a pair of Bont Blitz for the last 4 years as my favourite road shoe and they’re utterly thrashed. Multiple review shoes have come in since then but none has dethroned my beloved Blitz.

My affinity with Bonts comes from having annoyingly-shaped feet. I’d describe them as Dorito-shaped; narrow at the ankle and wide at the ball with short toes. It’s not a fun shape for cycling shoes that. I need a wide toe box and a good retention system to lock my foot in and avoid rubbing toes. I’d recommend trying Bonts to anyone who can relate to a Dorito foot.

The Riot MTB+ then is a nice fit for my hoof. They give me plenty of room in the toe box and around the balls of my feet while the Boas hold my ankle fast at the rear.

THE GREAT BONTISH BAKE OFF

Bont is well-known for investing in heat-moulding tech for their shoes so I’ll start with that.

The process is straightforward; remove the innersole and cleats, put them in a preheated oven at 70°c for 20 minutes. Take them out, let them cool for a moment and slide your feet in. The next step is to stand in them for a couple of minutes with your knees bent a little to simulate a pedalling weight distribution. You can use the round end of a screwdriver to manipulate areas of the sole that are giving you pressure or discomfort.

Here’s my Bont baking setup in action although with another Bont shoe. I might have forgotten to snap the Riot MTB when they were in there.

I’ll caution buyers that heat moulding is more about fit refinement than radical fit changing. As always, I recommend everyone try shoes on first. Think of heat moulding as accelerating the wearing-in process. I use the heat moulding to focus on the balls of my feet. I tend to find new shoes too flat across the ball and I have a bad habit of rolling my feet outboard when I’m doing a long ride which leads to general discomfort in the short term and cramping in my calves if I do it for too long. I did a few weeks in the Bont Riot MTB+ before using the heat moulding to accelerate the sole sculpting. It’s a handy way to shorten the time frame between shoes being new and familiar.

It’s not mandatory either so don’t feel compelled to heat mould your new Bonts if you’re already happy with them.

THE RIDE

The Riot MTB+ exactly what I wanted from an all-purpose adventure/gravel shoe; comfortable, rugged and as easy to walk in as ride. I need resilient footwear. My off-road shoes are worn almost daily; commuting, running around bike races taking photos, walking around the CBD, bikepacking, and on my standard riding. I tend to destroy shoes that aren’t made to last.

Boas have become superb through their generations

Standing and mashing the pedals confirms both the stiffness of the sole and that it’s well buffered. The sole stiffness arms race with bike shoes has been accompanied by an ever-thinning of the sole until there’s precious little between your fleshy foot and a metal cleat plate. Thankfully the Riot MTB+ have ample material between the two so it takes considerable time for foot fatigue to set in. I did find that the shoe’s stiffness will start to cause some discomfort very deep into long rides.

I liked the softness and pliability of the upper and the modest padding around the ankle. There was none of the ankle rub that can occur with new shoes. Boa dials have matured to be oh-so-convenient when cranking on tension and popping up to get your shoes off.

The only wear issue is the plastic covering over the carbon starting chip away slightly

Clipping in with the Riot MTB+ is tricky because of how much tread there is surrounding the cleat. There’s a raised rubber ridge foreward of the cleat which means you can’t slide smoothly into the pedal. You have to quite precisely drop into the right position. It was easier on my Shimano XTR pedals but occasionally challenging on the Look X-Track carbons which have a larger pedal body around the mechanism. It’s an occasional frustration, particularly if you’re clipping in while climbing a steep gradient.

Comfort through a full day of riding is rather good but, soreness did creep in eventually for me. My feet got hammered across some of my long multi-day adventure rides and I’d take mt shoes off occasionally when on a break for some relief. I’d consider dropping a thicker innersole for some extra buffer when I’m heading out for more bikepacking.

They hit a reasonable centre point for temperature management. Air ingress is through small holes punched above your toe. It’s more effective for cooling than I expected and a good compromise for temperature. They don’t let too much water in when it’s raining or you’re plunging through puddles either. Extreme ends of the hot and cold spectrum are where the shoes will be found lacking but most of my riding is done in the middle.

WRAPPING UP

The Bont Riot MTB+ functioned outstandingly well. I am very hard on my shoes, and was impressed with how the Bonts handled the multitude of awful things I did to them. The spec is good, the price is solid, and comfort was very good given the stiff carbon sole. These are just as capable bikepacking as shredding trails. For people wanting just one shoe to do everything then these have to come highly recommended. For the first time in a long time, a review shoe is de-throning a mainstay pair that I purchased.

The Bont fit remains sympathetic to my stupidly shaped Dorito-feet so again come with a recommendation for people with similar needs for a broad toe box. As always I will caution people to try them on before you buy. The carbon sole is mouldable but there’s limits to what’s possible with heating and conforming them.

Disclosure statement: These were sent for review by Bont. It’s not a paid review and we don’t get incentives for the sale of Bont products.