Softride: extraordinary suspension tech that never stuck

Softride bikes with built-in shock absorption were touted as The Next Big Thing back in the 1990s, but these days they’re regarded by most as a quirky curiosity from yesteryear. What happened

It would be slightly unfair to say that the Softride concept never caught on because it did have a brief moment in the sun.

Every year since 1992 at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, a survey of the bikes ridden has been conducted. It’s a lot of fun. Back in 1996, out of 857 bikes, 126 were Softrides. To save you doing the maths, that’s nearly 15%. Only fellow US brands Trek and Cannondale had a higher representation (151 and 150 bikes, respectively). Granted, the triathlon market at the time was small, and the Ironman slice of that sector was even slimmer, but still, Softride was gaining followers.

In 1993, Jugen Zack set a new bike course record at the Ironman World Championships on a Softride, and in 1994 Greg Welch rode one on his way to winning the event outright. Softride was never the biggest thing in cycling – not even close – but it was a part of the landscape, particularly in triathlon, for a while back there.

The Softride Suspension System was introduced to the world back in 1989 and the company produced its PowerCurve mountain bike in 1991. Softride released the Classic TT, its first aluminium-framed bike for the road, in 1996, and more models came along later.

Pic: Zipp 2001 TT bike from 1993 (Sram.com)

Zipp also built bikes that looked vaguely similar in the 1990s, although the flex here came courtesy of a hinge rather than being inherent in the beam itself. There have been plenty of other bikes without seat tubes or seatstays, such as the Cervelo P5X  and P3X in more recent years.

> Bike at Bedtime, Ironman World Championships special: behold the mental Zipp 2001 TT bike from 1993

So what was the point?

Pic: ebay 

The main idea of the Softride design was to add plushness to the ride – the clue’s in the name. The beam was designed to flex slightly to isolate you from vibration and bumps. These days, we’re used to big brands like Specialized telling us that “smoother is faster”, but the concept wasn’t as mainstream back then. 

The idea is that the smoother the ride, the quicker you can go. Plus, high-frequency vibration can lead to muscle soreness, and that’s a big deal when you’re effectively time-trialling 112 miles (180km) after a 2.4 mile (3.8km) swim and before running a full marathon. On top of that, the lack of a seat tube or seatstays was said to reduce drag.

Did the Softride design work?

Well, it did soften the ride, yes, so in that sense it worked.

However, it was an odd experience. First of all, when you climbed aboard and sat down, the beam would sink a little under your weight. Not much, but enough to notice. You needed to take that into account when setting up the bike (you could alter the saddle height by adjusting the angle of the beam).

Also, the beam could bob as a result of your movement, although this was partly down to your pedalling technique. The beam wouldn’t bob if you span perfectly smooth circles with your feet, but the further away you got from that, the more likely it became. Some riders saw this as a positive characteristic to help improve pedal stroke. Beam movement could also occur if you didn’t have the saddle set at the right height.

Many people couldn’t get on with these idiosyncrasies but others could. Softride certainly had its fans, mainly among triathletes who would often praise the speed. Fair enough, crosswinds were sometimes a problem because of the very deep head tube and down tube, but straight-line speed  could be impressive.

Softride as a company still exists but it no longer makes bikes. The UCI announced that bikes not conforming to a traditional double-diamond design would be banned in road racing from 2000. They were still permitted in triathlon, though. In fact, they still are, although Softride hasn’t produced bikes since 2007.

Cervelo (mentioned above) is no longer making bikes without seat tubes and seatstays, but Dimond, for example, offers plenty of options for the triathlon market, albeit with top tubes that aren’t designed to flex, and Ceepo still makes its Shadow model, again for triathlon.

Flexy carbon beams, though? We’re not expecting a comeback anytime soon.

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