I remember this line someone posted about softrides a long time ago which goes right to this point.

Softride owners are like guys who prefer redheads; there aren't many of them, but they REALLY like 'em.

Here is my 200 SC from IMC 1991....gotta love the 6 speed straight block and the mushroom "aero helmet" and factory pilots (Steve Bauer edition)...still split 5:37 with slow high CRR rubber and flapping race top! I still have those Mavic GP4 with Campy Record wide flange hub wheels!....sorry for detailing the softride thread.

Blog about selling my Rocket TT:
http://3athletejen.blogspot.com/...s-left-building.html

I read that in my search for a Rocket TT. Sigh.

Softride FasTT - Thanks Andy F. for assistance with aerodynamic testing.



7mm thick custom airfoil seatpost - Less drag than stock seatpost. Solves Rocket-beam delamination issue. Phil White praised and photographed it.
Bento box - use decreases total bike drag
Nutrition system - use decreases total bike drag
Near-foot flat kit - use decreases total bike drag
Center-pull brakes inside flat kit and nutrition system
Internal cables
Tula aero bars
John Cobb Time Bandit fork




Race weight for the Softride FasTT is about the same as similarly sized brands.
Race configuration for IM distance may be about as slippery as a bike can get .

Hey Andy, let's test superbikes to see if we can find anything faster.

Me, sort of. This pic is from 2007 IIRC (not many pictures of me on the Softride). I rode it til 2008, at which point I got a P2C. I still have the bike...it isn't in great shape, but I'm not quite sure what to do with it. I feel like I would regret selling it, but my parents are tired of me storing it in their bike shed.

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I tweet!

very interesting stuff. Would love to see some more close ups... always nice to see what other "tinkerers" come up with.

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

Even jakcmott would bow to that. Love the rig it's about 8 flavors of awesomeness.

I'm in! :-)

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AndyF
bike geek

While I haven't been on it in years, I decide to dust off the old Powerwing. I might start riding it again.

Rocket beams (not the classic beams) have a delamination problem between the polyurethane and aluminum sleeve.
Keeping the beam angle low seems to prevent delamination.
My carbon fiber seatpost was designed with a 14cm height above the beam, thus allowing a low beam angle, and preventing delamination.
A Cervelo saddle clamp was used, so the maximum width of the airfoil is the same as the top portion of a Cervelo seatpost.
The airfoil is wider toward the beam to wrap around it, but the seatpost keeps the airfoil shape until just above the beam.
The screws that create drag below the beam on a stock seatpost were moved inside the airfoil above the beam.
The slot closes when the post is tightend around the beam.

  
Mine,

Since this picture was taken I have replaced the bars with Vision bars:

Your fit and setup look good. Maybe Chicanery will post pictures of his old Softride setup, or you can ask him to post pictures about how he routed his cables internally so you can get those knobs off the sides.

Hi Kathy,

Does that bike have a 650cc wheel-size? If so, I'd be interested as well. Looking for a bike for my daughter. She's 5'2'-5'3"ish.

Thanks!

For those of you who are still riding Softrides, do any of you have a problem with "beam creak" The usual explanation for this phenomenon is that I'm not making perfect circles with my feet, and thus am rocking the beam, but this problem seems intermittent and when it is happening, even my best efforts to control my foot trajectory result in only a slight reduction in the problem. On other days, no noise at all, uphill, on the flats, or downhill. I am wondering if my beam or the bolts have a problem. Any ideas?

Full disclosure, I'm not a triathlete, just a 64 year old guy who likes cool technology and relief for lower back pain from many years of recreational running.

I've posted this picture before, but once again:




BTW, in anybody wants to make fun of the rotten barn in the background, I should tell you that I've torn it down and built a much better one since this picture was taken.

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Over 4.5 years bike crash free.

Beautiful - you may however want to check out some of the wind tunnel data when using the deep forks with the H3.

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

Great thought! Can you point to any of the testing? The theories are out there, and it would be great to see data. John Cobb and I discussed his testing of his Time Bandit fork with an H3 wheel. At the time, two years ago now, John said the Time Bandit was the fastest fork with an H3. Direct testing was performed on my bike, and the Time Bandit/H3 combo was faster than the stock Profile Design/H3 combo. Testing of wheel and fork combos is on my schedule for September. If you can think of a faster combo, what do you think the fastest fork might be?

I get it when transitioning from sitting to standing. Things I've found to help:

* Open up the front pivot, take out the plastic retainer, the nut, and the first bronze washer, then grease the heck out of it. Re-assemble.

* Grease up the area between the height-adjustment bracket and the aluminum inserts in the frame.

* Don't have the seat holder bracket tightened WAY down onto the beam -- for some reason it causes more motion of the beam pieces relative to each other, which then translates to more motion at the mounting attachments.

Hope that helps.

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

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

a freind of mine found one for me last week, just got it friday, will make it a rocket again, my nickname on the softride was "afterburner"

OK, so I got one locally but I still need to do a bunch of tasks to set it up for my own use. The one I got has 7 speed with downtube shifting on the aerobars (if you guys know what I mean). 7 speed is not a deal breaker, but I want to move the shifters to the actual downtube, change the cranks (they have 180's, I need 170's). I'll probably put some 25 or 28 mm rubber on the rims too, as the original owner has 19mm tires. Other than that, it is just waiting for a maiden voyage. Work in the evenings and some home reno items got in the way of starting out with this....plus a big 23 hour training week 4 weeks out from IM Tremblant. I should have more time now that I will imminently start tapering.

I hvae been riding and racing a PowerWing since 1998. BEST bike I have ever ridden. It solved my injured lower back issues and my legs are fresher for the run, especially after riding on the crappy roads! BTW, it is very aero, too! I will try to post pix later.

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Habitual line stepper.

thanks for the input. Will give these a shot

I am 6'2" 250lbs and just bought a Softride Pro 700 from a friend of mine for a song. I really like how light it is and am intreagued by the design. I have been this weight for most of my life, down recently from 268lbs after training for my first half marathon this past January, so losing it is most likely not going to happen. Even when I got a stomach virus I only got to 220lbs. The weight limit on my syspension bar says 200lbs. I am wondering how dangerous it would be for me to ride this bike. I really want to use it to train and ride in my first Sprint Triathlon coming up on Sept 16, 2012. What are your thoughts on the safety issue with my weight on the bike? Thanks

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http://www.EricVanKirk.com

I have absolutely no idea what 'downtube shifting, but on the aerobars' could possibly mean.
Sounds like a lovely bike, though.
You can run 9 of 10 speeds on a 7-speed freehub no problem. Just lose the biggest sprocket&spacer from a 10 speed cassette. If the wheelset is freewheel, well, things might get a little funky.

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´Get the most aero and light bike you can get. With the aero advantage you can be saving minutes and with the weight advantage you can be saving seconds. In a race against the clock both matter.´

BMANX