May 2002 Even though stiffer frames are clearly more efficient , they seem to have a major downside - they're terribly uncomfortable, and it seems that the stiffer they are, the more uncomfortable they are. ... Deflection has little to do with shock absorption. ... Rings" is a perfect word to describe this, because the bat starts vibrating at a high frequency. ... But when the bat is struck near the tip (bottom trace) high frequency vibrations can be seen superimposed upon the diving board mode. ...