Triathlon - Softrides

Ok, I'm sure this has come up before but I searched the forum and I couldn't find anything on it.

Are softrides still legal to use in USAT tri's?

I'm not planning to buy one(yet ;) ) but I was just wondering if the USAT went by the same rules as the UCI about the traditional double-diamond frames.

My buddy did Mrs. T's in Chicago in 2004 on his Softride. It looks like nothing's wrong with that.

Koffee

Ok I see. I was looking at the explanation on softride's site and I got kind of confused on what they were saying.

while on the topic of Softrides, if their so good as percieved in the website, why are 98% of the pro's not riding them?

I think power transfer is lost while actually sitting on the bike, while you get the same power standing up as a normal bike and you get a smoother ride.

When I was in Hawaii I saw alot of the tri guys/gals riding softrides. I would say 2/3 was riding a softride, they seemed pretty popular over there.

So most of the pros are riding "conventional" frames then. Thats interesting. That would be an interesting article to read.

Yes, Softrides are legal for USAT sanctioned events. I ride one.

They are not legal for ITU elite or junior competitions. The vast majority of us don't need to worry about this.

while on the topic of Softrides, if their so good as percieved in the website, why are 98% of the pro's not riding them?

I think power transfer is lost while actually sitting on the bike, while you get the same power standing up as a normal bike and you get a smoother ride.

Softride is a small and comparatively new company. Nowhere near the size of Trek or Cervelo, etc. Granted they are going to try to make their product sound superior to others, but the actual performance of the bike can't be measured by the quantity or percentage of "pro's" riding them.

I don't lose power when sitting on the beam (it doesn't flex that much if you have an efficient stroke). It basically just takes the vibration out of the road. It is a very nice bike (2003 Rocket R1) and the customizable positions are seemingly endless.

I was told at a LBS that there are some problems with Softrides and going up hills. I am a very good hill climber on my regular bikes (Road/MTN) and I was considering a Sfotride but I don't want to take the fun out of my rides. Anyone have anything to say on this subject?

Thanks in advanced.

Did the LBS wrench say why he/she thought Softrides have climbing "problems"?

I don't have any problems climbing on my Powerwing. Sure, it's a little heavier - maybe 10% heavier - than my CF Trek, but if you look at rider+bike weight, it's really only ~1% heavier. So on steep climbs where air resistance becomes secondary effect, I probably climb about 1% slower. That's not a lot - only 6 seconds for a 10 minute climb.