Originally Posted by
halfspeed
They have the same thickness as straight guage spokes where it matters and they're more elastic in the long center section so they handle stresses better. See Jobs Brandt's "The Bicycle Wheel" for a more detailed explanation. Or you can just google. There are lots of resources on this.
Yeah, this is what a lot of people say, but there's a lot of anecdotes out there from experienced people that indicate straight gauge works fine too. Wheels are systems with a number of components/variables. Maybe, as a practical matter, it's more of a wive's tale. Find data please, preferably field data.