Okay...I have both and did Moo on as well as LP on Softrides...

#1 - It is worth your money to get the Rocket bike. The beam is lighter, stiffer and I think offers better "feel" to the road. I did Moo on Rocket TT7, Zipp 909 and Record just last Sunday. I thought the ride was quite easy and had an avg of 20mph with out standing on any hills or getting my heart rate up.

#2 The Rocket BB is SUPER stiff.

I think my bikes climb awesome. The beam will make you either spin our bounce...so a rider will tend to spin. You have a better spin, you can climb better...that easy.

#3 make sure that you get a couple hundred mile test ride...if you cant find a shop that will let you have an extended test ride...let me know, I will arrange one for you. You will not be disapointed.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

gj
I have had both types of beams. The rocket beam is stiffer than the classic beam and harder to work on. It's more of a pivot point type of suspension than a regular beam. Is it worth $1k more, in retrospect I'd personally say no.
Softrides are extremly adjustable and mine was as comfortable after 85 miles as it was in mile 1.
That being said, until this year my TT/tri bike was a softride qualifer w/ the classic beam that was about 22.75 pounds with race wheels and a mix of DA and some carbon cranks. Not a lightweight by any stretch but that is also b/c my fork was about 5yrs old and my base bar/stem/aerobar combo was not light. my new forks/bars/stem weigh 1.25 pounds less to compare. I rarely got passed on that thing even in hilly races and never felt beat up after a ride.
(Pothole? What pothole? How'd you bend your rim? I never even felt the pothole.)
I got a rocket tt7 this winter and have already sold it for 2 reasons. 1. It didn't fit 2. I wanted something simple to take apart and put back together when travelling. (mainly reason 1)
The negatives IMHO on both types of beams is when it comes time to wrench them. The rocket TT was harder to work on than the qualifer which is harder to work on than any of the other bikes in the house.
I will admit after racing on softrides for 8-9 years I'm a little nervous about my first race on my new TT frame which is a custom fitted and built AL frame.
I did keep my qualifier just in case and if worse comes to worse will rebuild the softride. The guy who bought my rocket absolutely loves it. email me offline if you want more info

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

I'm very happy with my Rocket R1, I have it set up with Carbon X bars and Spinergy Tilium wheels. I have a carbon and ti road bike and the Softride is by far the most comfortable ride of the three.

Also what is the difference between the R1 and the TT, I know the TT7 uses 700 wheels but I haven't been able to find out the difference between the others...is it the geometry?

I rode a custom titanium frame with (the old sandwiched carbon) Softride beam (just like the Windshear or Solo) for my first four Ironmans and sold it last year. I ran well off that bike and my bike splits were good. I like the comfort and LOVE the adjustability of Softrides and wouldn't hesitate to get another one some day. I'm waiting for the friend of mine with a Rocketwing to tire of it. My bike didn't climb or descend very well, but I found his Rocketwing does both much better. Should've encouraged him to buy that Litespeed Saber he was looking at recently that didn't fit him...

I haven't ridden on his Rocketwing for more than 40-50 km. at a time, but it seems far more responsive than the traditional Softride I was riding. The thing flies.

A few years ago I helped another friend purchase a Powerwing (650c yellow L-shaped frame without the triangular rear end) in the US and brought it back to Asia with me. He's got Dura-Ace on it and has barely ridden it. He's looking to sell it. He's now my landlord so I would be happy to help him sell his Powerwing if anyone is interested. I fits someone between 168-175 cm. On flats and rollers it's pretty damn slick! I'll be taking a trip to the US next month and could bring it back with me to save shipping. Price negotiable.

I am a rocket tt owner as well. I really like the bike, but if I were to do it over again I think I would get a titanflex. there was a recent discussion of this right here on slowtwitch.

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Jon Bergmann
http://jonbergmann.com

I haven't had a Rocket series frame, but otherwise Desert Dude and I are in the same boat. I rode a Solo from 95-98 until it broke and then got a Roadwing that I have ridden up until a couple months ago. I also bought a custom aluminum frame that I really like so far (let me send a shout out to the amazing Russ Denny!).

The Softride served me well and got me through a couple of sub-10 hour ironman distance races but I was getting tired of the mechanical quirks of the Softride. And while Record9 is right about the Softride forcing you to spin, I'm not as convinced that is such a good thing. We'll find out - I have another ironman distance race 4 weeks from tomorrow and we'll see how I do "unsuspended".

Another couple of alternatives are a Titanflex and a regular frame with a suspension post. The suspension post would probably be lighter and cheaper than the Titanflex or Softride and offers a degree of tune-ability via preload adjustment. It is not as supple and sensitive to small bumps, though. Good luck with your decision.

Thats it. The steerer tube on my R1 is longer than on my TT also.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

Go classic. I have a rocket tt7, and while i lovw the ride, it is a maintenance NIGHTMARE. Softride claims to have solved the problem of rocket beams de-laminating (softride did step up to a new beam for me), but the 2 pivot point beam mechanism is still a major PITA. You MUST follow the factory proceedures to the letter or risk partial beam collapse during your ride. The classic beam is slightly less stiff, but much more easily adjusted, with fewer complex parts to raise problems...Again, when my bike works, I LOVE it, but all things considered, I wish I had bought something different. I will probably change bikes after IMFL.

I am by no means a bike mechanic. If you have any technical ability to do standard maintenance on your home, car, computer, other sporting goods, you can work on the rocket beam. I just lubed mine after having it one year. I found the mechanism to be fairly simple. There on only two bolts. The top pivot point is a no brainer just screws together. The bottom adjusting mechanism might be where people get intimidated. But it still only has 1 bolt. Maybe its the requirement to use a torque wrench 75 in/lbs. I just measured where my beam was - removed the bolts & beam - lubed - reinstalled - adjusted the height and torqued as stated per the instructions.

I also have a windshear with the classic beam and have had no problems. Although the classic beam is softer and I found myself bouncing when I 1st started to ride it compared to my rocket beamed bike.

Regards

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ShaRRky