Originally Posted by
tomato coupe
Your analogies with simple devices are irrelevant, because those simple devices don't behave the same as a bicycle frame. If analogies were all that were required, I'd make the (equally bad) argument that tennis racquets prove that a stiffer frame is better. (Because a stiff racquet gives you more power than a flexible racquet, and is therefore more efficient.)
Do you see the irony that you chose a device that has a trampoline woven into the center of that stiff frame?
Speaking of ball sports, which kind of bat hits balls further - metal or wood? What is it about using a more efficient spring material helps out? Oh, no! Too simple. (But bikes are simple.)
Using simple devices to illustrate how elements of more complex ones work is pretty much the definition of education.