I have nothing but love for Softrides, and I have never had a bad back. Way back in the day, I had a Specialized Allez Epic, and since all the tri's in the area are on all these backroads (read -- chip-sealed), the road buzz just got to me. I checked one out at Kulshan Cycles in Bellingham, and in 10 minutes I was hooked. That was around 1990.
I have one custom Paul Barkley road, a TiCycles custom road, and another TiCycles (steel this time) track/single speed. Love them all.
And I have never found it to be a detriment on climbs (a couple USCF hillclimb TT titles to back that up).
As for legality issues, for road racing in the US, it's not an issue. USCF does allow Softrides in mass start races -- but if you race abroad, you're screwed.
Folks who find them to be bouncy don't have a smooth pedal stroke. Period. And since a lot of these riders are "experienced", they blame the bike. If they give it a chance, the bike will smooth out that pedal stroke and all will be well in the world again.
When I got the first one, Paul convinced me to go with the lighter beam. His take was that folks who paid a lot of attention to the weight limits of the beam found that they wanted a plusher ride within a year anyway, so why not start there to begin with. I have never regretted taking that advice. The actual breaking point of the beam is MUCH higher than the weight limit printed on the sticker (on the order of 700lbs).
And the only issue I've had with ANY of the mounting hardware was a pin that slid out on a ride on my TiCycles (NOT the fault of Softride at all). They replaced that pin with a swedged one, and it's been golden ever since. I'm still on the original beams on all 3 rides, with a LOT of use on all of them.
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