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To be honest it's not like I ever tried bending cues to the point of the wood starting to crack,
or filming in slow mo to see how much it curves after I strike the cue ball.
So how would I (or anyone else) know how flexible any given shaft is?
I think it's likely that most LD shafts are pretty flexible, as they're hollow at the end and
at least one has a sort of rubber core. So I guess since I like those shafts, I like flexibility.
But supposedly it's all about reduced endmass and I can imagine a shaft having low endmass
but still being pretty rigid, at least everything except the last 5 inches or so.
I've met a lot of people with misconceptions on flexibility. They think a noticeable vibration after the hit
means the shaft is whipping back and forth like a spring, and therefore the shaft is flexible.
But really it's the super stiff shafts that give a lot of feedback and vibration on each hit.
The flexible ones cushion the hit.
You can bend your cue shaft carefully to see if it is flexible. Also you feel the flexibility in the hit. But how much the shaft bends is probably not the only important factor, it is probably also important how much "spring" it has. Many of the modern shafts have carbon fiber cores. Carbon fibre fishing rods are much springier than for instance fibre glass or wooden fishing rods. Some day someone will find a way to use carbon fiber in pool cues that actually works and we will be in for a revolution.