Originally Posted by rydaddy

My problem is I get pulled into these arguments and it's my own damn fault for not resisting the temptation. It comes up every few months and I just haven't smartened up enough to stay the F out of it. I get fired up pretty easily by comments that the hub "hangs" from the upper spokes (see ls01's post which I quoted earlier). It is a matter of semantics, but "hanging" is the worst of the two, the other being "standing" on the lower spokes. The bottom line is, the lower spokes lose much more tension than any of the other individual spokes gain, therefore, you tell me which ones are absorbing most of the load? Call it what you want, but it certainly does not prove to me that the hub "hangs" from above.

I don't claim that the other spokes are doing nothing. They're keeping the wheel together. I have read several wheel books and I don't think one of them claims that the hub "hangs" from the upper spokes. If you haven't read it already, Jobst Brandt's book is great for understanding all the mechanics of a wheel, especially for engineers, which I am one as well. That book was truly enlightening to me.

As for the "which spokes drive" question, well that's in the book too.