I’m a sucker for brightly coloured shoes and I desperately wanted a pair of hot pink cycling shoes to co-ordinate with my favourite cycling kits. The range of cycling shoes in cool colours is surprisingly limited but the moment I saw the Bont Blitz Neon Pink road shoe, I was in love. What a colour! Exactly what I was after.
The difficulty with buying cycling shoes is that there are not many bricks-and-mortar retailers with a good range of interesting shoes. Too many retailers are tied to too few brands and stick to the safe shades of black and white (with the odd dash of fluoro yellow). So, how on earth do you know what size to order? Because we all know that manufacturers of cycling shoes are a law unto themselves who pay no heed to sizing conventions. One could reasonably expect a European cycling shoe brand would adhere to standard European shoe sizing. Alas, no. And while I would have happily consulted a review, sadly, reviews of the Bont Blitz cycling shoes are few and far between.
My feet are size 40. UK 6.5. But most places don’t do half sizes, so a 40 is my thing. A size 40 in cycling shoes will not fit, however.
After consulting the Bont sizing charts for what felt like hours on end, and carefully drawing around my feet and measuring the result of my artistic efforts, I decided that size 42.5 would be appropriate.
I clicked on ‘Place Order’ and prayed to the shoe gods that my choice would be correct. I can’t bear the faff of ordering things, waiting for them, trying them on to find out that they don’t fit, returning them, and repeating the process. As you might imagine, I was overjoyed when they arrived and fitted perfectly.
This is a very long winded way of saying that if you are thinking of ordering a pair of Bont Blitz cycling shoes you must not order your normal shoe size. You must draw around your feet and measure them carefully and consult the size chart and PRAY.
The good news is that not only do the Bont Blitz Neon Pink cycling shoes fit me, but they also look glorious. The colour is joyous (though be warned that they do fade – they’re a much softer shade now than they were when they arrived). They’re really stiff so they transfer power well, really lightweight (235g a shoe), highly adjustable, and just generally cool. I feel as though my pedalling is much more powerful because I have a more solid, secure base. There is plenty of space in the Bont Blitz for the ball of the foot to spread, which makes for a very comfortable riding experience. The shoes may look unusually wide, but they allow the foot to work as it should without being constricted.
The Bont Blitz, though an unusual looking shoe, suits my feet much better than the Fizik and Specialized shoes I had before: the arch is very supportive and the robust dial closure system allows you to tighten them to a really snug, secure fit. These shoes can be heat moulded, but they fit my feet so well that there was no need to make any adjustments. What’s more, the shoes are really well ventilated which means your feet are less likely to overheat and swell on hot days in the saddle.
I bought my Bont Blitz Neon Pink cycling shoes through SportPursuit for £99.99 and at that price, they are an absolute steal. I’d happily pay full price for them (though, of course, discounted is always better!)
Stiff, lightweight, comfortable, adjustable and really, really good looking, the Bont Blitz is a great pair of road shoes. What’s more, pink is a surprisingly versatile colour and they go with pretty much every kit I own. Just make sure you’ve got the pencil and measuring tape ready before you order…