Originally Posted by
SortaGrey
I don't believe the butted spoke is worth the coins.. given the slight increases in stretch.. given decent tension. Some granted see it differently.
Whether something is worth the dollars or not is obviously a matter of opinion.
However the technical merits of DB spokes isn't. They are clearly superior, building more durable wheels at lower weight. One thing to keep in mind is that the sheer (the direction of stress where it leaves the hub) yield strength of most steels is about 80% of the tensile yield. So using non-butted spokes is like using a towing chain with one link only 80% as strong as the others. As the say, a chain is only as strong as....
Originally Posted by
SortaGrey
Must be.. some width flange minimum per a rear vs stability issues. Why not a 38mm flamnge width 130 spaced rear... for a symetrical build? Likely not stiff enough laterally...
This has already been tried, and rejected. As you suspect, he total flange separation proved inadequate for decent lateral strength.
If you want to build yourself a decent pair of wheels, distilling them opinions on forums is one way to gain some insight. The other, arguably better way, is to look at and emulate top quality wheel building practices which have evolved and become generally accepted over decades.