Originally Posted by
Mr IGH
No engineering principal support this myth. In fact, quite the opposite, a thinner spoke flexes the wheel system more and will cause the wheel to go out of true more easily. It can be proven through simple superposition or by computer simulation and has been.
If you want/need a strong/stiffer wheel, go with 2.0 straight gauge over butted 2.0/1.8. It's the law!
I would have to see the reports you allude to to judge the veracity of your claims. Many knowledgeable folks agree that greater elongation is desirable, but you are the first I have encountered who suggests the opposite. As for lighter spokes affecting the ability of a wheel to maintain true, I have neither heard of that nor experienced it myself. I'm open to accepting your claims, but only after being convinced by the facts you say are so simple to provide. May we expect those any time soon?
I am puzzled what you mean by a "thinner spoke flexes the system more". During actual use (riding) spokes don't cause the system to flex, applied outside forces do. In the vertical direction where the spokes are pulling in the same direction as the applied outside force, no spoke inhibits compression of the wheel. Laterally the spokes pulling opposite the direction of applied force will inhibit wheel flexing, and yes, thinner spokes won't do as good a job of keeping the wheel from flexing. What then is your point?