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Softride Technical Guide
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DOWNLOADS:
Classic Beam
 Rear Suspension (SRS) Instructions (100kb PDF)
101 Kit Assembly & Maintenance (148kb PDF)
Rocket Beam
Upper Pivot Assembly & Maintenance (66kb PDF)
Lower Pivot Assembly & Maintenance (114kb PDF)
How to Get the Most from your Softride:
Riding and appreciating a SOFTRIDE is a unique and special experience.
Just like any other piece of precision equipment, whether it be a
high-end sound system or a pair of skis, knowing how to tune a SOFTRIDE
for your preferences and how to use it correctly is the key to
unlocking its true potential. If a SOFTRIDE is not set-up correctly or
ridden as it was designed, it will not help you at all. As a
matter-of-fact, you may even think that it is slowing you down. So take
some time, get the bike dialed in and then appreciate it for all it can
do. Here are the items you should pay particular attention to:
Fit:
As with any bicycle, you need to ride an appropriate frame size with a
reasonable stem length and angle to be comfortable. Get sized up in
terms of bike length so that you are comfortable or in a position that
has proven to work well with you before. A quality dealer will be able
to give you insight as to proper fit and good places to start.
Saddle Height and Adjustment:
It
is absolutely crucial that the saddle on a SOFTRIDE is adjusted to the
correct height. If it is not, you might experience some disconcerting
motion in the beam as your hip joint is stretched to reach the pedal.
Just like a seatpost equipped bike, there is not an absolute way to
determine how to achieve the perfect saddle adjustment. Everything from
riding style and technique, to rider weight and beam stiffness, to
saddle position on the beam effects the amount of leverage you will
have on the beam and how much the beam will compress when weighted. All
of this will effect where you feel most comfortable on the beam. One
thing is for sure though, your saddle's starting position will be
higher than where your traditional post is set (usually 1/2" to 2").
Why? Your weight will compress the beam and preload it back to the
proper height. That being said, when the beam is weighted, the normal
seat height rules and base measurements still apply. The nose of the
saddle on the beam will often be angled slightly down from where it
would be placed on a traditional post because when the beam is
compressed under weight the nose will elevate slightly. A good starting
point for fore-and-aft saddle adjustment for most general performance
riding can be determined by having the rider balance themselves in the
saddle and placing their feet in the 3 and 9 o'clock position. Using a
plumb bob, the saddle should be adjusted fore-and-aft on the beam until
the dimple directly in front of the rider's outside knee joint on the
forward leg is aligned near the center of the pedal's axle. However,
keep in mind that this is merely a baseline and many riders have many
reasons to vary from this measurement. An experienced fitter at a
dealer can also give you insight and help on saddle adjustment.
Procedures for Determining Beam Height:
If adjusting a FasTT/Rocket Beam, make sure to follow instructions in
FasTT/Rocket Service Manual exactly to keep the beam from slipping
while riding. Experienced dealer assistance is highly recommended. If
you are moving from a traditional hardtail design and already know your
seat height measurement (center of the bottom bracket to the center of
the top of the saddle), you can find your exact Beam height by
measuring the amount you preload the beam and adding it to your correct
traditional height. To accurately measure preload (following
instruction 3 below) set the saddle height and fore-aft position on the
beam to the same specifications you ride a rigid post with. Place the
bike in a trainer or have someone hold the bike perpendicular to the
ground, measure the distance from the center of your crank bolt to a
marked point on the saddle. Record this number. Then, leaving the bike
in the trainer or keeping someone holding the bike perpendicular to the
ground, sit and place your full weight on the saddle; while weighting
the beam (saddle), repeat the measurement from the center of the crank
bolt to the marked point on the saddle. Record this number. Find the
difference in the two measurements by subtracting the second
weighted/preloaded number from the first number (example: unweighted
measurement=76.2cm, weighted measurement =74.93cm, difference is
1.27cm). The difference is how much you preload the beam and the amount
that needs to be added to your correct traditional seat height when
setting up the saddle height on your beam. Adjust the beam height (per
instruction 3 below) by the difference and ride. If you do not already
know your seat height on a traditional bike, you can start by
subtracting three inches from your pant leg inseam and set your beam to
that height. There are no absolutes here and the only true way to find
the end position is to ride and do micro-adjustments until it is
correct.
On FasTT/Rocket and Classic Beams, most riders place the nose of the
saddle slightly lower than normal because when the beam preloads and
compresses the nose rises up.
On a FasTT/Rocket Beam, it is best to make large changes in height by
manually moving the beam while dialing (twist) the taper units in the
desired direction of travel. To micro-adjust the height, do not move
the beam directly with your hand, instead, just slowly dial the tapers
in the direction you wish the beam to move. With the shoulder bolt
slightly tightened, you will find the beam and saddle will hold in
place until you've found the proper height.
Another way to help determine Classic Beam height is to use a rear-
wheel-mounted trainer. Adjust the beam to a height which straightens
your leg completely at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Begin pedaling
and settle into a comfortable stroke. Loosen the height adjustment bolt
with a 5mm hex wrench a quarter turn at a time until it begins to move
down. Allow it to slip down incrementally until a natural and aligned
beam position settles in. Tighten the bolt firmly. This should serve as
an excellent baseline adjustment. However, experience and rider
feedback may lead to some saddle height adjustment with time.
Pedal Stroke:
The beam is a great tool to help you refine your pedal stroke. If your
stroke is not round and even (pedaling circles), the beam will give you
feedback in the form of an up-and-down motion that can be disconcerting
at first. This motion lets you know that your stroke is not as
efficient as it could be. A traditional bike could never let you know
this as quickly. Pro riders spend years rounding out and smoothing out
the efficiency of their stroke. The beam can cut into that time
drastically by providing instant feedback to the rider. So, use all
your muscle groups, pedal circles, and give yourself some time to get
used to the feeling. Once you figure it out you will not notice any
beam rock and will ride more efficiently than ever before. Beam
feedback can be far more apparent on our Classic beam than on the
stiffer and more torsionally stiff FasTT/Rocket beam. As noted in #2,
make sure your saddle height is correct.
Foot Position When Cornering (Weighted vs. Unweighted Cornering):
Traditional thought has always called for a 12 and 6 o'clock leg
position when cornering a bicycle. This goes out the window on a
SOFTRIDE. On a standard bicycle, you are trying to keep your weight
balanced and static on the bike while negotiating a turn. Therefore,
placing the inside foot all the way at the top of the pedal stroke (12
o'clock) and the outside foot all the way at the bottom (6 o'clock)
made a lot of sense. However, the concept is different on a bike with
suspension. Suspension can be used to make a bike handle and hold like
glue to the road in far more severe situation than a bike without
suspension could ever imagine. However, it can only do this if the
suspension is loaded and functioning. If you ride a SOFTRIDE in a 6 and
12 position it will be very likely that you will unweight the beam
suspension, thus negating the advantage. So, what should you do? Keep
the beam loaded and weighted. This is easily achieved by riding around
corners with your feet parallel to the ground in a 3 and 9 o'clock
position while maintaining weight on the beam. When you do this, the
bike's suspension will be able to compress as much or as little as it
needs to in order to maintain the tire's maximum contact patch on the
ground and hold the tightest line no matter how tight, bumpy or varied
the terrain. Start cautiously until you get used to how the bike
handles and then let it rip and make your buddies cry trying to keep up
with you on the next twisty downhill or criterium corner. It works
amazingly well. Get the most out of your tires, ride a SOFTRIDE.
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