Originally Posted by
BCRider
If the part in red is from Brandt's book (I confess I have not read it or plan on getting it any time soon) then he has unfortunetly helped set the stage for this misconception. The upper spokes may only see a small change but with so many of them sharing the load this small change adds up.
Ah, but it adds up to much less than the weight of the rider on the fork. Before the rider got on, the upper spokes were pulling up to counteract the downward pull of the lower spokes. Now, the upper spokes are pulling up to counteract the weight of the rider
and the downward pull of the lower spokes. However, the lower spokes aren't pulling down as hard. Their relaxation almost equals the weight added by the rider, so the upper spokes hardly experience a change in tension when a rider puts weight on the fork. That's the point Brandt is making. Just as God didn't have to pull harder when my sins were added, because the Devil stopped pulling down so hard, so the upper spokes don't have to work much harder to carry my weight, because the lower spokes are slacker and don't pull down as hard.