Originally Posted by
Velo Dog
I'm almost sure I agree...
Actually I read this first in a now-dead magazine called Bicycle Guide maybe as long as 25 years ago. The author's premise was that the frame acted as a spring, flexing as it absorbed power, but then returning it as it flexed back. There would be a tiny loss as energy was transformed to heat (or however that works,,,been awhile since I took that class), but it was insignificant, especially compared to the increased comfort and possibly improved handling (from a small suspension effect, keeping the tires on the ground) due to the flex. Sort of made sense to me then, and it sort of makes sense to me now.
The frame flex producing heat thing has never worked for me logically. Someone did the calcs on this in one of these threads. It was tiny, tiny....hundredths of a watt.
However, putting a slip angle in a tire makes a lot more sense. It would certainly explain wearing a flat spot on the rear tire after X number of miles. The front spends the same amount of time rolling in a straight line, albeit with less load, and you don't get that wear pattern. I'm not trying to come up with some grand unified bike theory, but it is food for thought.