Originally Posted by
Psimet2001
The spokes are actually a much smaller part of the overall process than many realize. They truly just transmit the tension. Their cross sectional size and material composition determine the amount to which they elongate under the load cycle they see. This doesn't translate into an affect on the rim though in as much as long as the tension is carried to the rim then it matters not what shape that tension member is. Think of the degrees of freedom in the connection. It starts to become clearer that it's really just pulling on it (save for some moments caused by torsion/braking).
I wrote what I thought was a pretty good break down on spokes on my site:
https://www.psimet.com/blog/spoke-se...icycle-wheels/
Yeah, I get what you're saying. I know that all a spoke can do is pull.
But if a spoke can stretch a little, be elastic, it won't pull as hard against whatever it's attached to when a force acting on the wheel tries to change its dimensions. You know what I'm saying? Basically, something's gotta give. If the spoke can't stretch, it will try to make the aluminum rim wall stretch.
Some DT Swiss guy said in an interview that their butted spokes -- which they make by forging wire -- have a bit more elastic stretch than straight gauge.