Frame stiffness article .....

[Huggis]

The same Cannondale that fitted their bikes with such tripe as Lefty forks and Girvin Flexstems?

Ha good point! Maybe they’ve stopped taking drugs!

 

[400bhp]

Without watching the video (baby is asleep) I can't comment on the specifics, but I don't see why in principle it can't be lost in friction/heat/etc. If you push your bike pedal and part of that force goes to bending the rear triangle instead of turning the rear wheel, then the frame flexes back again when your pedal force relaxes, how does the release of that stored energy translate into forward motion? Having your rear wheel going in any direction other that straight ahead doesn't seem like it is going to help

What did GCN say?

I agree with you. The gcn test concluded (more or less) that any lateral movement propels you forward...however... their test was done by putting the rear wheel in a static trainer and applying the rear brake whilst pushing sideways on the B.B., then releasing the brake. The rear wheel then started to turn with both a stiff frame and a flexible frame.
What this test did was channel the direction of force forward due to the static trainer. In the real world your bike would move sideways (marginal movement clearly).

 

[Smokin Joe]

I like what they say about tread patterns on tyres. The amount of breath I’ve wasted trying to explain what they have there, to people, is imense. It’s good to see someone else ‘getting it’.

They appear to not get it at all. The article claims that the dimples on the edge of a tyre finds the imperfections on the road surface and increases cornering grip. As the dimples are less than one millimeter high that takes some believing.