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Color me dubious.
We all know, or should know, that it takes energy to propel a vehicle - any vehicle. So all energy stored in the flywheel is a product of the rider since there is no other source. If the rider doesn't initiate the pedaling, there's no energy stored. Even the downhill runs are ultimately a product of the rider - you have to expel 'human' energy to reach the top of the hill. Or if you expect to utilize the flywheel to assist uphill jaunts, then you MUST first input that energy into the flywheel BEFORE it can be extracted. There's no free lunch.
But more importantly, you need to consider the ADDITIONAL losses associated with the increased rolling resistance, and the added frictional losses in the rotating hardware - and lets not forget, the NuVinci CVP hub he's using is not very efficient (about 70% IIRC) and adds an additional 5.4 lbs to the total mass - in addition to the 15 lb flywheel. There's no shortage of 'flywheel' assisted bicycle patents.
We have spent decades pursuing efficient HPV's. The only way to improve upon it, is to lose weight, improve aerodynamics and make the gearing & tires more efficient. Bolting-on an additional 25lbs of mass & increased friction is not only counter productive, but an enormous waste of what precious little wattage the typical human is capable of.
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