Upgrading an old Softride Powercurve, am I crazy?

[jamesdak]

So this has been on my mind for the past month. Woke up at 0400 this morning despite not having to work and have been pondering this even more.

I had just converted this from 7 speed DT shifting to 8 speed STI shifting with some Claris shifters. Then on the first ride afterwards I ran this for just under 27 miles with a 20 mph avg, best I pulled off all year on any of the bikes. And to be honest if felt easy and I could have dropped another gear most of the route for even more speed. On top of that, despite this route being mostly along rough cracked chipseal it was so comfortable on this bike. So now I'm thinking about treating it to some quality upgrades.

This is running old Shimano 105 parts right now with those Claris shifters. In my parts stash though I have pretty much full Dura Ace 7700 and 7800 setups. So no cost there other than maybe a new BB.

The real kicker though is what wheels? If I can push this along for miles in the low 20 mph range it should truly benefit then from some aero wheels. For the heck of it I priced out some Farsports Tubulars and it looks like for under $700 I can get a decent 60/38 setup that should be an improvement over what's on there. I'm no expert on the aero stuff but it seems like that should be a pretty decent all around wheelset to let me get in some longer, fast rides.

I do have some concerns about the longevity of the beam since it's not marked anymore with a weight rating. Mild concerns though as I do have a spare beam with a heavier than me weight rating hanging in the garage attached to a donor frame.

Anyway, just my random ramblings after waking up too early and now being on my 4th, or is it 5th, mug of coffee. Rain/snow last night so I may wind up wrenching on this instead of riding today.

[jamesdak]

As I sit here thinking about this. I also may have the drivetrain/brakes from my old Prologue TT available to swap over onto this. They are brand new save maybe 200 miles at most on them.

I was sorting out the Prologue's setup and fit about the time a dog wrecked me on another bike. I had a bad separation of the AC joint in my right shoulder as a result. Afterwards every time I tried to get aero on this one stuff was popping my shoulder. Had the bike listed locally for sale but no takers. Hmmm, I wonder why?

Anyway, I'm going to give this one more try this week and if my shoulder can't handle it I'm taking the parts off. I'll just hang the frame on the wall of the bike cave since it's so cool.

[BRad704]

First off... that bike is B A D A S S !

And I think you would enjoy some aero wheels, even if it is mostly psychological. I don't know that I would go with tubulars unless you're already a tubular fan. There's something inspiring about the whooshing sound deeper wheels make, plus they look fast. And if you look fast, you feel fast and then you ARE fast. Right?

Also, I vote for full 7800 because that's the most beautiful classic Shimano group IMO.

[mhespenheide]

It's always fun to recommend someone else to spend money, but I think it would be totally worth it. The concept never really got its fair shake from open-minded customers and is underrated.

That said, if you're not planning on going all the way up to 11-speed, I'm sure there's a raft of 8/9/10 speed aero wheels out there on KSL or eBay or FaceBook or Slowtwitch. You could probably pick some up quite cheaply.

I feel like if the beam doesn't have any problems right now (no sign of cracking or the like), it's probably going to hold up for a while yet.

[David Kirk]

As long as the beam is in good shape (the center foam layer can break down over time) then I think it would be really fun and quick.

dave

[davidb]

Unless the beam "sags" more than two inches under your weight I would not change. The pin and eyelet that holds the front of the beam. This is where things can fail and lead to a massive saddle drop. We used to recommend changing them every five thousand miles for our larger, 225+ lbs, riders. Failures of the beam were almost unheard of. We were the number two Softride dealer for a few years.

I'm shocked:

https://co-motion.com/products/softr...eaded-eye-bolt

[icepick_trotsky]

How do you set the saddle height on a softride? I've always wondered that.

[Nomadmax]

Originally Posted by icepick_trotsky

How do you set the saddle height on a softride? I've always wondered that.

I wondered the same thing. Behind the front mounting point there is a bracket with a slot and bolts in it. That is the saddle height adjustment.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by davidb

Unless the beam "sags" more than two inches under your weight I would not change. The pin and eyelet that holds the front of the beam. This is where things can fail and lead to a massive saddle drop. We used to recommend changing them every five thousand miles for our larger, 225+ lbs, riders. Failures of the beam were almost unheard of. We were the number two Softride dealer for a few years.

I'm shocked:

https://co-motion.com/products/softr...eaded-eye-bolt

Yeah, it doesn't so I stopped worrying about swapping the beam. Plus for the life of me I couldn't drive out the pivot pin on the donor frame. Got the right size punch but no luck getting it to budge. I scored a couple of the eyelet bolts as backups when I got the bike but need to dig around on the Softride sites for the rest of the hardware.

I honestly got mine about the time I realized I needed to stop having so many bikes. So I sorted it out a bit as the drivetrain parts were not compatible and then listed it for sale. Then a month or two ago I was bored and it hadn't sold, so I put on the STI setup and rode it. Yeah, now I'm keeping it, LOL!

[rustychisel]

I did exactly this about 6 years ago, full build up on an old donor frame I had hanging up. Underwhelming.

So yes, probably at least partly crazy, but you should do it and then you'll know for sure. Besides, the build up and fine tune is always worth it if you've got the kit.

[weisan]

I say do it!

What do you have to lose?

You got everything you need plus the time.

Also, you do all the wrenching work yourself and you actually enjoy it.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by rustychisel

I did exactly this about 6 years ago, full build up on an old donor frame I had hanging up. Underwhelming.

I do that more often than I'd like to admit...