how do these odd bikes work

My friend has a Softride branded mountain bike and rode it happily for many years. I recall it was one of those early innovative suspension systems where rather than suspending the bike they suspended the rider. Of course you needed a suspension stem to make the whole thing make sense. I think the parallelogram style Allsop Frankenstem made the most sense.

If you follow Bike Snob NYC he has been experimenting with one recently.
 
Here is another maker version that is a little more similar to a standard frame bike. The stem and seat mast use the same shock with great damping. This is a 91 JP Morgen made in San Francisco and I believe JP designed the Soft Ride stems for them. Only a handful of these were built.
 

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