Originally Posted by
400trix
Uh, no. The spoke has the same material throughout its length, therefore, the center is no "stretchier" than either end. It is, however, more flexible, and that flexibility means that the deflection is in the center, as opposed to the ends, which is more likely to break.
I think
Pierce and you are saying the same thing slightly differently. If this were an engineering thesis we could debate the subtleties of the language, but for a forum both are close enough.