Originally Posted by
rpenmanparker
But the many other aspects of the frame differences could be what was affecting the performance. For example power transmission, not vibration. To do what they wanted to do they would have had to start with one frame and a variable source of vibration. It is so obvious that your refusal to see it is bizarre.
Yes...
If in fact, the aluminum frame is stiffer than the CF or steel, that could account for the (not statistically significant) performance improvement.
However, simply attaching an electric vibrator to the bike would tell one absolutely nothing. Well, I suppose it would tell one if vibration alone is affecting the rider's performance.
The theory with high pressure hard tires vs low pressure soft tires is that bumps cause micro vertical accelerations and a corresponding energy loss. In theory, these accelerations could be dampened by either the tires or the frame. So your vibrator would not give one a good understanding of parasitic power losses of road induced vibrations.
Perhaps an option would be to use a full suspension MTB frame (or a similar custom "road" frame), then vary the suspension parameters between rides.