If you do, your pedal stroke is probably already smooth enough not to bounce. I have a Rocket and have never felt like or been told that I'm bouncing.

It helps to make sure it fits correctly.

I love my softride.

My brother rode one for a couple of years. The few times i rode it I certainly never had the feeling the beam was bouncing (at least after the first few minutes of me trying to see just how far you could get the beam to bend by bunny-hopping and landing while seated.....try THAT on a rigid frame...bye-bye nuts). If you've ridden a bike for more than a week I think you should be fine, and with your screen name I think it's a safe bet.

Enjoy it.

---

_____________________________________________________
"Oh man, it's going to take days to kill all these people!" - Jens Voigt

This is a triathalon forum. Please move your posts about your bouncing beam to the Lavender Room.

If you get the correct beam I doubt you'll have problems. Ask Adam at SR for a test ride opportunity. As long as you aren't yo-yoing on the thing you'll even the stroke out in time. If you plan to be by my neck of the woods I'd let you ride one of mine.

Get a Rocket. I don't bounce unless I spin in too high of a gear.

A few comments here:

Answer 1: The beam only reflects the loads placed upon it. Unlike a rigid frame, a beam will adapt to your body instead of forcing you to adapt to the frame. If your pedal stroke isn't smooth (round) or efficient, the beam will let you know by moving up and down. As you ride more on a Softride and your stroke improves, the bobbing will disappear. Unlike any other frame, a Softride can help you become a better rider by giving you feedback. Below is 1987 Tour de France Champion Stephan Roche's take on beam motion:

"In the beginning. I rode with the beam for 100 yards and I did go up and down quite a bit...So, I brought it back to my house and put it into the corner. I felt it wasn't possible to ride the bike without bouncing. Then, the Softride people told me to give it a little more time. I took the bike out a week later, and gave it a three-hour spin - and now I don't want to give up the beam. It's definitely special." - Stephan Roche, 1987 Tour de France Champion

Answer 2: Beam motion can be caused by improper saddle height. If your saddle is too high or too low, your muscles are unable to revolve smoothly and will cause the beam to bob. For example, if your saddle is too high on a rigid bike your hips are forced to extend out of the hip joint on every revolution. On a beam, the hips will stay in joint with every revolution, but the beam will pull down instead. The result is bob. The solution is to adjust the saddle.

Answer 3: Beam motion will be cut down drastically as the rider becomes more experienced riding the bike. However, even if there is some beam motion, Softride design is not sacrificing power and efficiency into the drivetrain the way many frame suspension systems do. The drivetrain is still 100% rigid and, because of its compact size and stiff aluminum construction, is actually one of the more efficient power distributing drivetrains available.

If you care to test ride a Softride shoot me an e-mail @ adam.greene@softride.com or info@softride.com

The TitanFlex boom comes in 4 levels of flex. I have the "softest" i.e. most flexible, and it is much less flexy than my Softride Rocket, yet still absorbs all the road chatter. Think about the difference between a BMW suspension and a 1977 Cadillac cream puff.

www.titanflex-usa.com

Titan Flex has a boom that is rated to hold over 300 lb. rider. That's stiff. I'm 185 +/-, have the next to the most flexible, and find it very nice. My riding buddies say they can see the beam moving, but, I don't usually feel it. I also don't feel the rough road on my rear! As far as the stiffness of the rest of the bike, it's stiffer than anything else I've ever stood up and cranked hard upon. It's easy to stand to pedal on the Titan Flex, too, the beam is located low...just like on a regular double diamond frame, so, it doesn't tend to slap the inside of your thighs (like some beamed bikes can) if you rock the bike back and forth when climbing or sprinting.

---

Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Get a Rocket.

Does it bounce less?

I know there's a difference between the Classic and the Rocket in how the beam is attached to the frame. What purpose does each style serve?

---

"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Below I have listed some comments that have to do with the differences in function and design between the Classic and Rocket/FASTT beams.

Classic (Qualifier,TT, Solo, and Lite): The Classic beam is the best example of all that beam suspension technology offers. It is designed for those people who are open to understanding all the benefits beam technology offers and who understand that the more comfortable they are, the better their body will be able to perform. The Classic beam maximizes the Performance Advantages of comfort, reduced rolling resistance, cornering traction and adjustability, all the while still offering a responsive and aerodynamic chassis.

Rocket/FASTT: The Rocket/FASTT is stiffer and lighter than the Classic beam and thus helps to bridge the gap between traditional rigid frames and suspension technoolgy. The Rocket/FASTT is designed to maximize the Performance Advantages of frame stiffness and aerodynamics while still providing the rider with greater comfort, better handling and less rolling resistance than a rigid frame at the same time. The Rocket/FASTT provides a more "traditional" ride and doesn't take as long to get used to as the Classic Beam. The Rocket is designed for riders 200lb and under. If you are over 200lb, please consider a Classic beam frame.

Adam

Softride Bike

www.softride.com

I'm anything but an expert, but I do know that the Rocket doesn't support as much weight as the classic beam. (the rocket beam's rider weight restriction is lower than the classic beam restriction)

As for me, I don't think I have any bounce. I certainly don't feel a bounce (unless I spin in too high of a gear) and I've never had anyone comment that I bounce.

When I'm in races, it seems like the only Softrides that I see w/ a bounce is the classic beam riders (I don't have any recall of seeing a rocket rider bounce). However, that may be a function of riders and not the bikes (maybe rocket riders are more experienced/better riders????).

I suspect that the classic beam just isn't as rigid as the rocket beam. This increased flex likely lends itself to a greater bounce.

I'm not saying that all classic beam riders will bounce. But I do suspect though that pedal inefficiencies aren't as masked on the classic beam.

A lot of rambling in my response. Not sure if I gave you an answer.

I think that you should tet ride a classic beam before choosing one over the other. Test ride a titan as well if possible but I think that will be a more diffucult option.

I find that I had little bounce on my classic beam after the first month or so. My training buddies also commented that I was faster on the flats & rollers as well.

---

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

I've been riding a Softride Qualifier for two years now, and don't notice the bounce. I think it is pretty fair to say that my pedal stroke is far from smooth.

---

The Cuban Comet
(Comets are unbelievably slow over Cuba)

TitanFlex.

-Robert

---

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

Do you ride rollers?

LOL! No, when I fall off a stationary bike, I do it like a man- outside, to the ashpalt, in plain view of the public.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I'm gonna mull it over for awhile. Maybe see if I can get a test ride from a local dealer.

---

"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Buy one of these, well, buy one LIKE one of these, they are not for sale!! : )

---

.
.
Paul

If you can, test a classic with the stiffest possible beam. If that is not to your liking, go with the rocket. I have both the classic and the rocket style frames. I am one of those people that like the plush ride of the classic beam. The rocket is stiffer and lighter, hence the race bike.

---

Las Vegas NV | IM KY 07

I got wood looking at those Zipp bikes.

---

Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

I used to ride a Sofride Classic, back then called the PowerWing. Changed to a double diamond normal bike as my back healed up and when I wanted to move to 700c wheels. The Softride did have the plushest ride I've ever experienced and although you bounced quite a bit when you first got on it, after a week or two in the saddle the bouncing is virtually gone. And as Softride will so quickly point out, the beam acts as active feedback so you can better your stroke.

If you end up wanting to spend more and get a Rocket, this would be my choice unless I was riding on horrible horrible roads and had a bad back, send me a personal message if you would be buying a medium. I have a friend with an in the box Rocket TT in I think a size med. The price he was asking was around $1400 which is around half of retail and $200 cheaper than the current Softride promo going on.

Good luck with the bike buying.

Those Zipps are some interesting bikes! I noticed what looks like a Zipp sticker on the tri-spokes....hmmm.

How is the stiffness of the rear wheel? The Titan Flex has as much more substantial-looking rear end to me...taller at the bottom bracket area and essentially a triangle (like the Baracchi) "chainstay" arrangement that connects the bottom bracket to the rear wheel. Seems like it would be harder to make that Zipp-type rear end (which also looks similar to some of the Softride models) very stiff without a lot of weight.

Nice pictures of a couple of very nice bikes!

---

Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

What??????? You mean I bought HED3's and not Zipp trispokes? Did I get cheated??

Actually I also have a set of the original Zipp 3000 trispokes, yellow, to match the bikes!

The rear end is not bad as far as stiffness. Not as stiff as some regular tri bikes I've had but by no means soft. The bottom bracket area is quite stiff on the Zipp frames also.

What you see are the only tri bikes I have left. I also own a Trek 5200 for easy days. You have to ride the Zipps fast or I feel like a wussy. So on my easy days I ride the 5200, so I don't look bad! : )

---

.
.
Paul

No softride ever made bounces. The same is probably true for every other beam bike out there.

There are however plenty of riders with bad form who do bounce when they're on a bema bike. Sometimes I'm one of them.

I've got a Rocket. I love it. One thing you don't see mentioned much is how a beam bike soaks up bad road surfaces and bumps, that on a conventional frame disrupt your pedal stroke and cause you to drop you cadence slightly. It's an under-valued advantage, IMO.

I bounced a bit to begin with, but by the sound of it maybe not as much as others. Within an hour or so I had it under control. I think with conventional frame it is difficult to know if you have an irregular pedal stroke - there's nothing to provide feedback to you. I remember before getting the softie riding spin bikes in the gym, which are fixed, and riding my conventional on a basic turbo trainer, listening to the noise (trying to get it even, rather than whizz-whizz-whizz). I think both helped smooth out my pedal stroke a lot.

Chances are you will bob to begin with, but you'll get over it faster than you think. Like others, I only bob now when I'm spinning too fast in a gear that's too easy. I put this down to not having fast enough reflexes to apply/disapply pressure when the cadence goes too high. It's a cold day in hell when I can't fix this by moving up a cog or two!