Originally Posted by
cyccommute
You are trying to separate that which can't be separated. If, at the end of the day, you have used less muscle energy as measured by muscle fatigue, then your energy efficiency...i.e. your energy output to energy input...is greater. The extra internal friction of the muscles from not using clipless is still part of that energy balance.
Energy lost as friction is still energy that is input into the system without getting energy output. In other words, wasted energy and decrease efficiency.
Uh, no. As you pointed out in your previous post, arriving at the finish with muscles less tired is one advantage of using clipless, regardless of one (but only one) definition of efficiency. Which latter small effect, while measurable in some subjects in the lab, may not be at all true out on the road on a long ride.
This is all silliness and I'm not discussing it further.