Originally Posted by
FBinNY
If we're going to insist on accuracy on the forum, we might as well complete the thought. A broken spoke has an effect on it's neighbors (either side) only if the break results in a deflection in the rim. If the rim doesn't move, the lengths of the neighboring spoke are unchanged, and therefore the tension is unchanged.
Usually a broken spoke will cause a change in the alignment, creating hop or wobble. Spokes that the rim moves toward have lowered tension, those the rim moves from have raised tension. The exact effect depends on the radial and lateral rigidity of the rim.
OK, FB - I think you're taking things a bit too far and yet not far enough. The only way for a broken spoke to not cause a deflection or a change in the tension of other spokes is for it to have no tension when it breaks. If it has any tension at all that tension has to be distributed among the remaining spokes. As the rim is elastic (in a physics sense) I would assume the overall tension would go down, so very few spokes would increase in tension.