The new BONT Riot Buckle road shoes bring the cost of race-ready performance and custom fit down another notch with a classic buckle closure & simplified sole materials. Dropping 25% off their previous entry-level road shoe, the Riot Buckle delivers the same wrap-around construction, fully heat moldable customization, and stiffness unmatched at this affordable level.
Bont Riot Buckle affordable heat moldable road shoes
When we tested the Bont Vaypor G last year, we really came away impressed with how comfortable the gravel shoes were, even with their exceptional stiffness. A lot of that came down to the total customization of fit that you get with their fully heat-molded construction and the wrap-around bathtub-style sole construction that meant you don’t have to overly tighten them to get an efficient pedaling platform. But the Vaypor G price tag of $400 puts them out of most reasonable budgets. Bont already had a Riot+ shoe that dialed that down to $170 retaining much of the same benefits.
Well, now the cost of customization comes down again with the new $130 Riot Buckle.
Tech Details – What’s different in the Riot Buckle?
The most obvious outward change is the combination of a single forefoot velcro strap with a traditional ratcheting buckle closure. Until Boa dials swept the cycling world, this offered the most secure & adjustable retention, and still is preferred by some riders for its simplicity & low profile.
The Riot Buckle (also just called the ‘Riot’) shoes share the same general construction as the more expensive premium shoes Bont makes, but instead of full carbon, they mix fiberglass into the composite structure to save money. The fiberglass composite construction still uses a heat moldable resin so that you can reshape them to your feet as needed, and retains similar stiffness in a slightly thicker, heavier sole. Just 1.2mm thicker for a stack height of 4.8mm the Riot is still thin, and claims a weight of just 295g per shoe for a size 42 (just 15g more than the Riot+.)
The composite bathtub sole uses the more anatomically accurate cycling specific last Bont is known for. They still deliver the same lateral support from toe to heel that lets your feet be in a more natural comfortable position, without sacrificing a secure fit or pedaling efficiency.
The finishing of the new shoe is otherwise mostly unchanged. It features a synthetic microfiber upper with perforated ventilation across the toe & tongue, 3-bolt cleat mounting with a micro grid to align your cleats, and replaceable heel tread.
Bont Riot pricing & availability
The new $130 Riot comes in nineteen sizes ranging from UK sizes 4-14 (EU 36-50), with UK half sizes through most of that range, all in a single standard width. The sizing distribution itself seems a bit odd to me personally, but they offer an interactive sizing guide based on real foot measurements that worked perfectly for me in the past. The Riot is available direct from Bont in two color options white body with black logos, or the inverse black/white.
No word yet if a entry-level Riot MTB is coming, but it would be nice to see the buckle option for off-road riding as well.
