It's not that they're soft. They work fine when it's dry but when it's really raining I end up having to do the Flintstone to stop. A lot of people are quick to argue that Canti's are great and if you have problems they say that they just aren't adjusted right. Which may be true, but 4 different bike shops couldn't adjust them right. I put mini-v's on the front and from the get go they work better in the rain. No complicated adjusting.