Originally Posted by
the_don
Not quite.
The weight is not on the bottom spokes, but along the top 180 degrees of the wheel.
Spokes have no strength in compression, but a lot in tension.
The top spokes transfer the load up to the rim, the bottom spokes (all of them actually) are holding the rim in a stiff strong shape, so it is the rim that is then transfering the load to the ground.
Other way around, but I'm referring to the interpretation given in
The Bicycle Wheel; top spokes prestress the bottom spokes in order to GIVE them strength in compression, same way steel reinforcing bar can let concrete members take loads that are effectively tension loads. Only the bottom few spokes see significant changes in tension when the wheel is loaded. Either way, pretty sure it's a matter of semantics because it's the balance of forces that are important, and without the other 16 spokes the wheel isn't going to be a wheel.