Originally Posted by Road Fan

I think what people have been seeing is that if you press down hard on the pedal on a flexy bike, less power is transmitted to the chain at the moment you hit it hard. So a less flexy bike will have snappier pedal response. But if it doesn't translate to energy dissipation over time, speed is not reduced over a distance, since speed is a result of the rate of energy transfer, also known as power transfer. At least this is a simple physics interpretation. It's not without problems, however.

Now that I've opened the door, I'm gonna duck and watch what happens.