Bont Zero shoes

The Bont Zeros are lightweight, mouldable top-level shoes that are as stiff and efficient as we've ever used.

The Zeros are the shoes that Bradley Wiggins wore for his wins in this year's Tour de France and Olympic time trial – not that they'll necessarily deliver you the same success, but it proves that they can cut it at the very highest level.

The outsoles are made from 100% carbon fibre which extends well around the sides of your feet and into the uppers. There's another 4cm of carbon that you can't see around the heel cup, for example, so each foot sits in something like a little carbon bathtub. Those soles are a distinctive shape – much closer to that of your foot than most with a shaped arch support – and the forefoot is quite broad.

The soles are mega-thin; the stack height is just 3.6mm and the lack of material helps keep the weight down (see below). The low stack height is certainly noticeable. You'll probably have to drop your saddle height a few millimetres.

Despite being so slim, the soles are incredibly stiff. These things just do not flex or twist. Heel and toe sole guards do their job pretty well and they're replaceable should you wear them out over time. The sole is fully heat mouldable and that's an idiot-proof job in the kitchen.

The uppers are really unusual. For a start, they're made from laminated silver glass fibre. It's not as supple as some materials but it's very light and it's bonded in place rather than stitched.

The next curious feature is that the Zeros have a lace closure. That allows you to get the precise tightness you want – well, you know how laces work! – but it does mean that on-the-fly adjustments are more difficult than with ratchets, dials or Velcro straps.

Then, of course, there's that flap over the top of the laces. It's designed to keep everything looking neat and to improve aerodynamics. It's held in place by a large Velcro tab so it always stays where it should.

We have size 47s here, which equate to a size 46 in everyone else's sizing, and they weighed in at 502g the pair. The Bontrager RXXXL's that we reviewed recently  were just a touch lighter.

In use, the Zeros felt good. Once moulded, the soles fitted my feet really well, the bathtub shaping providing plenty of support without being restrictive. It was especially noticeable when I was standing on the pedals and throwing the bike around; your feet can't slip over the sides of the sole and push the uppers out like they can with some shoes.

I get on really well with Bont's forefoot shaping too. Your toes can spread out just a little more than in most shoes. If you have broader feet and struggle to get a good fit elsewhere, give them a go.

The lace closure takes a bit of getting used to. Like most people, I occasionally fine-tune the fit of my shoes on the go but you can't do that here. I actually got around it by using a triathlon-style lace lock that worked well. Then I could easily slacken them off a bit if they felt too tight without the need to stop.

The insoles aren't very deep but they provide effective cushioning. There's plenty of comfort there. The uppers, as I said before, aren't especially supple. They feel firm compared to some so I didn't find these quite as comfortable as the Bont Vaypors, for example, but there's no doubt that they'll stay in place. For that reason, rather than using the Zeros every day I'd be keeping these for racing only – especially considering the price.

Verdict

Very light, mouldable race shoes that are as stiff and efficient as any we've ever used.