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I was working in the engineering department at Specialized during the whole "zertz" thing. They did absolutely nothing. We tested frames with them and without them on an MTS test bed as well as having strain gauges/etc and DAQ systems on for riding. They did not damp or mute anything, zero difference. The shape of the carbon stay itself did change how the rear end behaved when compared to a "normal" seat stay, but the zertz did nothing. It even got to the point where Specialized was ordering field test frames without them as the cost was a bit lower...

You are so lost in the sauce. Like 4 different people gave great explanations of how flex stays work and you dismissed every single one, but want a "data driven discussion" when you can't comprehend a literal Microsoft paint diagram. Now you don't like "buzzy undamped coil spring", this is comedy gold. @CascadeComponents Can i formally apologize for this member of the forum and please say come back to discuss things with us Vital users that don't have a crayon missing from the box.

Hey folks, been reading here. Just wanted to chime in to say I fully agree that vertical compliance is a myth. At best it’s misunderstood. The idea that a frame is deflecting enough to provide any meaningful results when the tyre has over 2” of travel is daft. But marketing exists and here we are. I do believe certain materials and designs can help dissipate vibrations better than others but soft tyres and comfy grips will do much more. Lateral compliance is a real thing though. I often get asked about my ‘flex stay’ design - “will it snap”, etc...

As they say, "everything is a spring". Some "springs" are just intrinsically stiffer (and/or differently damped) than others.

This a mtb forum where anybody is free to post or not. You are not paying Cascade components an engineering consultancy fee so they don't owe you shit.

Buckling is a well defined phenomena in engineering and is distinct from the tube compressing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckling Short of saying trust me bro I'm an engineer, there's not many more ways i can think to explain this 🤣

SOLUTION: handlebars that mount to the crowns! Just make sure you wear a full face

What a time to be alive. Unbound opulence. Kids, make sure you understand the gradient of the trail you are riding that day too so you can make sag adjustments based on likely weight distribution changes due to gradient variances. Spend 1-2 hours on bike setup/prep. Ride ~4-5 laps of 3-5 minutes each (total ride time 12-25 minutes). Spend 2 hours analyzing data, posting strava, posting grams, posting trailforks, posting youtubes, arguing with netbangers. Sit back, soak in all the WINNING. This is TRULY what peak cycling enjoyment looks like.