I briefly had a Softride Powerwing, which I wanted to use for time trials, duathlons and triathlons. They're very top heavy and as a result, they seem slow handling and feel awkard when climbing out of the saddle. They also severely restrict the standover height, so they're not real good for stop and go riding. The oddest thing was how many times I knocked the saddle trying to throw my leg over it. After rding a normal bicycle for so long, you become calibrated as to how high you have to lift your leg and you routinely just clear it. But with a Softride, the unloaded beam sits an inch or two higher and you continually hit it until you re-calibrate your leg lift.

Now, these things were minor inconveniences, for my intended use. Things went fine on TTs and duathlons but on triathlons, riding in my Speedo, my bare thighs were constantly rubbing and chafing on the wide beam. A little vaseline helped but occaissional wind gusts would sometimes inbed sand and dirt in the vaseline and that just made things worse. I sold after less than season.

The other concern is that the beams have to be selected based on rider weight, so it's not like you just buy just any old Softride. Replacing beams are expensive. If you selection the right beam, there's little bounce and it does make for a more plush ride.