While I don’t doubt that butted spokes are better, it has been a moot point for me. In my lifetime my weight has varied by 70 lbs, thankfully I’m closer to the lower end these days, and I’ve ridden both straight and butted without a problem.
I can’t recall ever breaking a spoke, or cracking a rim, although I must admit that we have good roads where I live. But I have a mtb with straight gauge spokes and it is holding up fine.
What I do find amusing is that when digging info from the archives, decades ago the 36 spoke wheel was the gold standard for strong wheels, unless you were loaded touring, or tandem, or both then it was 40, or even 48.
John
Last edited by 70sSanO; 09-16-21 at 08:35 AM.