Originally Posted by
rpenmanparker
Different gauge spokes don't help to balance spoke tension side to side, they help to balance the tensile STRESS in the spoke side to side. The force transmitted between the hub and the rim does not change because of the gauge spoke you use. What changes is the stress inside the spoke or the force/unit area. By balancing this, you obtain a similar stretch of the spokes on both sides of the rear wheel which can be helpful to prevent complete spoke unloading when the wheel is compressed for any reason during riding. That is thought to increase the longevity of spokes and to keep them taut to deter nipple loosening. But the spoke tension (as measured by a gauge like the Park TM-1) will be the same no matter what gauge spoke you use. So e.g. if you have a highly dished wheel with the same number of 2X spokes on each side, the individual spoke tension on the left will still be much lower than on the right even with heavier spokes on the right.
Robert
I just realized that I should have mentioned that if you are happy with light gauge spokes in the base case, increasing the gauge on the drive side just to balance tensile stress doesn't really accomplish the goal. You are likely better off with light gauge spokes on both sides even though the tensile stress will be unbalanced. But if you start with heavy gauge spokes because you think you need that, switching the NDS to lighter gauge will do what is intended, improve the longevity of the NDS by balancing the spoke stretch side to side while still allowing you the beefier spoke on the high tension side. What I am really saying is that stretchier spokes last longer, but you have to be able to tolerate them from a stiffness point of view.
Robert