Fleck has commented about this a few times. He used to be sponsored by Softride and rides Cervelo now.

I ride a Softride Power V and I am going to build up a Yaqui Mariola after Ironman Florida. I will let you know how the transition goes.

BTW I switch back and forth all of the time between a DD aluminum hardtail mountain bike and the softride without any adverse affects, however the geometry is quite different between the 2 and I do not know how valid of a comparison it is.

Why don't you just replace the bike or the frame with another Softride that fits you properly?

That's what I want to do. But I want to keep my options open and consider that even though I love my softride, maybe I just discovered that I love riding and another bike might fit me better. Maybe I'm proportioned in some way that no softride size will really be a great fit. And everyone says fit is King.

Also, they're a bit spendy. So unless I find one used (probably M/L) or one on sale, they're out of the range that I can reasonably and comfortably afford.

Do test rides on some softrides that fit you and compare it to DD bikes that fit you and go with what works best.

I switched from a Softride Classic to Lemond Tete de Course this year because the Lemond is about 7 lbs lighter. The Softride is super comfortable but my legs are not strong enough to lug around that much bike. I'm considering purchasing a titanium tri bike for next year and selling the Softride, which actually makes me kinda sad because it was my first "real" bike.

Cam

Indeed, I did find the transiton back to double-diamond bike frame a bit of a "shock" after training/racing on a Softride Solo for a number of years. I had one of the orginal beams, which did offer much more shock absorbtion than the current ones do, so the transtions now may not be as dramatic. As I seem to recall it took about a month or more of fiddling with fit and saddle positioning to get really comfortable on the "regular" bike. I had "retired" by that time, so was not concerned about how long would take. However, to those considering this, I suggest that this be done in the off-season and with the help of a good bike fitter.

Fleck

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Do test rides on some softrides that fit you and compare it to DD bikes that fit you and go with what works best.


According to Tom D:

Skip the test ride altogether. It won't provide you any real, usable information about how well the bike will really perfrom for you in a race environment over the long run.


What to do?

I went from Power V, to R1 to TT7 to Cervelo P3...I will be on a Fast7 next year...no doubt about it.

---

----------------------------------------------------------

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

Oh...and my Cervelo built up with Record 10, Carbon X, Reynolds Ouzo Pro Aero, Time RSX, Zipp 909, King Cages and bottle holder weighs...not even a quarter pound less than my TT7 did....

---

----------------------------------------------------------

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

I was on a Softride Power V until I got tired of being passed on hills by old ladies on Sturmey Archer three speeds....

Two things convinced me to change:

1) That sucker was HEAVY! Great on a flat course, but I hardly ever race flat...

2) I followed a buddy who was riding a Sofride, and realized the 'other' reason that they suck climbing hills - frame flex!! I couldn't believe how much his back wheel rotated each way (frame wind-up) as he pedalled...

I do miss the cushy ride sometimes though... That was nice, no doubt.

Didn't know you were a fellow ex-Power V man Chip!

---

"If I had all the money I'd spent on drink, I'd spend it on drink!" (Winston Churchill, I think..)

Well, I've never ridden a Power V, so I can't comment on that, but frame flex has NEVER been an issue with either of my Softrides, and my climbing hasn't suffered one iota.

Maybe it's not the bike... ;^)

---

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/

Do you got a buddy or riding partner who'll let you try out their ride so you can get a feel for the DD?

I switched from a Softride Power V to Cervelo P3 and personally think the P3 is more comfortable....BTW, I just went to the P3C and so far find it no more comfortable than the aluminum bike. I think fit is far more important to comfort.

Good luck!

---

David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

I had a guy pass me on the way back from Hawi @ Kona 2003 . He pulled up alongside and said "Try not to bounce so much. I've been behind you the last 10miles and you look like you are riding a mechanical bull!". No, I wasn't in the best form at that point of the race, but that comment really fired me up!
I sold that baby when I got back from Kona and have been back on my old Kestrel 500sci. I am considering a Titanflex, though. Do these still bounce around?
HC

---

---------------------------------------------------
Holden Cain, ObGyn..."People pulling people out of people"

I think that if I went from the Power V to the P3 I would think the same way - the Rocket frames are head and shoulders above the Power V - MUCH lighter. The Rocket Beam also has a ton more adjustability and is not so damn wide to rub your thighs. I cant say that the BB is stiffer on the R1 or TT7 as the PowerV was rock solid (I had 700's on mine too).

ON the bike - while riding I am hard pressed to think that the Cervelo is not as good as the Softride...but on those first miles of the run, and later that day when my back is aching I really miss that Softride.

---

----------------------------------------------------------

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

I've gone from carbon to aluminum to carbon........from dd, to beam, to dd, to beam.....Beam is where it all ends!!

I had a Trek 2300 carbon ('92), sold it when I got my first 2 Zipps, sold them, bought a Tiemeyer (dd) custom aluminum, bought a Softride SE7, sold everything and now own 2 Zipps. There were lots of other bikes in there, too.

I find the beam bikes are fast as hell, more comfortable, more adjustable and plain old a blast to ride! No more dd for me!

I've ridden Trek's, Cannondales, Kestrels, Zipps, Softrides, Tiemeyers....Zipps are the best.....Softrides second, Kestrel is third, Trek 4th, Tiemeyer 5th and Cannondales a distance 6th (hated those things....all 3 of them).

my 2 cents.....find a Softride that fits and ride it like ya stole it!!

.

---

.
.
Paul

You asked for it :)

I'm just starting this process so I'll tell you what I can. I've ridden a Softride Rocket TT7 for the last couple years; I have a history of lower back problems and that's what led me to buy it in the first place (I didn't own a true Tri bike before). I have no complaints with the bike and do really enjoy riding it. Recently I bought a used Yaqui Carbo frame because I knew that the previous owner and I had very similar measurements. Besides I agree with his well known opinion of bike geometry and figured I'd like the frame (guess who?). Why did I buy the Yaqui when I liked my SR? - honestly just for something to tinker with. I wanted to see for myself how I would like the Softride vs. a well built, good fitting traditional frame. My intent is to do my own tests over various courses to compare comfort, speed, etc. between the two frames. Not a true scientific test and no goal other than to give myself something to do for fun during the off-season.

So I built the Yaqui up from scratch and ended up with a very nicely equipped bike. Only the brakes and handlebars really differ from my Softride, so I think the bikes are comparatively equipped:

General Feel: The Yaqui is fun to ride. Not that the SR isn't, kind of like a Caddy vs BMW. Not necessarily faster and somewhat hard to explain, let's just say the Yaqui has a more nimble & lighter feel (I haven't weighed them). There are some other little things that are hard to quantify, stop at a stoplight and you don't have the beam riding your crotch. You can more easily mount and dismount because you don't have that unloaded beam sticking up to highstep over (minor I know, but I've noticed it). I feel like I climb better on the Yaqui, in fact, just this week, I set a personal best on my 7 mile "hills" loop, beating my previous best time by 2minutes (note: my best time was set on my road bike!).

On the other hand, there is no question that you do definately feel the road more on the rear of the bike. Bumps that I never knew were there, all of a sudden are felt. It's not too bad with 23c tires at 120psi, but if I throw on my Hed Alp Tubular rear at 140psi, it becomes more noticable. Honestly it hasn't bothered me thus far, but I'll admit that I'm only doing short course stuff this year and haven't been riding much over 30-40miles per ride. I'd bet that the cumulative vibration will be much more obvious as I get my mileage back up.

Fit: The SR trends more toward a road geometry (at least on the large 700 size)-just look at the headtube length. The adjustability allows you to set the saddle anywhere you want, but I believe there are handling drawbacks when you get too much weight forward. I immediately set up the Yaqui with 6cm more drop between saddle and handlebars then the SR and I don't feel like I lost anything in terms of handling, stability, etc. I do need more comparative experimentation in this area though.

Running off the bike: Again, I've only had the Yaqui built for a month or so, but I honestly haven't noticed much difference in the run portion of my bricks. I did back to back sprint tris one week apart (first on the SR, second on the Yaqui). When riding the Yaqui, I posted a better bike ranking in a more competetive field and still ran 4 min faster off the bike (in a 5K!!). My back actually was bothering me coming off the SR, but not the Yaqui...

...But PLEASE don't take the above as anything definative I could give you the race results & course profiles and you could pick it apart to mean anything you want. The SR race was my first in almost two years. My wife & I have a 2 month old baby & a 3 year old, so my training has been minimal at best. These were only sprint tris, the courses were different and at that distance anything can throw you off. This is only one datapoint and the improvements in that one week are almost certainly largely due to getting comfortable racing again. it would be stupid for me to say that I definately run better off one bike than the othat at this point. What I will say is that for short distance stuff I haven't yet noticed a significant difference.

So this is a very long way of telling you that I have a lot of experimentation to do. My initial impression is that I probably prefer the traditional bike for short distance stuff, especially hilly courses. There is something about the traditional bike that makes me feel more solidly connected to the road and I like that. However, I have yet to generate actual numbers to quantify the results and can't yet make a comfort determination for longer distances although I won't be surprised if I prefer the softride for those 100milers.

Good point...short race, I will take the P3 hands down...long race (1/2 or Iron) I want the Softride.

---

----------------------------------------------------------

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

[reply]I switched from a Softride Classic to Lemond Tete de Course this year because the Lemond is about 7 lbs lighter. The Softride is super comfortable but my legs are not strong enough to lug around that much bike.[/reply]

Er, how could it be 7lbs lighter? I measured a 700c classic last winter at just under 20lb with shimano 9sp and heavy training wheels. It's got to be 14lb or heavier by UCI (unless that changed when I wasn't watching). That would be 6lb at most, and not because of the frame weight but mostly from componentry.

---

---

Brider, frame flex IS an issue though - the lack of a seat tube means that there is MUCH less resistance to twist as you apply force to the pedals. Like I said, I first realized this as I followed a Softride as he was taking off, and noticed how much the wheel rotated clockwise as he stood on the right pedal - I would estimate 3 degrees. This alternated to 3 degrees counter clockwise as he applied force to the left pedal.

In much the same way as Power Cranks account for that 'dead spot' in the pedaling circle, this alternating flexing is power that never gets applied to propulsion - it's lost forever in the frame!

I doubt that many 'conventional' double diamond frames flex nearly that much, regardless of construction material.

I'm not looking to convince anyone here though, to each his or her own - just sharing what convinced me that if comfort comes with loss of efficiency, I'll do with less. But then, I ride a carbon saddle.... (masochism!) If it doesn't kill you, it'll make you stronger!

---

"If I had all the money I'd spent on drink, I'd spend it on drink!" (Winston Churchill, I think..)

biggest issue is if you're currently riding a Softride for the fit or the comfort.

I was riding for the fit - needed a very short top tube for the best positioning.

Now I have been able to transistion to a Specialized TT bike with no problems. No difference in comfort as far as I can tell.

First, I said "about." Second, my Softride weighs 27 lbs, not 20 like yours. Third, the Lemond I have is exactly like this one - http://www.cyclingnews.com/.../probikes/?id=saturn, so obviously very light.

i have raced the last 2 seasons on a 56 dual and have really enjoyed it. my last bike was a centurion dave scott so its been a while. i just bought a medium TT7. i got the highjacker to help with height/angle and i still havn't got it just right. i bought the softride for Kona '06. No doubt it's much much more comfortable. In the end i beleive i might have to go up to the Med/large to nail the fit. i have been told the carbon made highjackers offered a little more height. if anyone wants to dump theirs i would be very interested.

Yeah, I did ask for it! Thanks. I know there's no real way to quantify any of this, so I was looking for opinions.

I'm doing IMLP next summer, one of the major reasons I want to stay with a Softride. And I actually think I'd prefer the Qualifier type vs. the Rocket type, unless someone can tell me a reason why I'm way off base on this. It just seems the curved beam is easier to make more road bike like, which should be a good thing, right?