Originally Posted by
Kontact
Every time I see a wheel with spokes broken at the elbows, it is the outside elbows. If DS spoke tension stress was the problem, both elbows in and out would break equally. That's why I think it is primarily a lack of proper seating rather than a lack of sufficient strength.
Yeah, the NonDriveSide spokes are way more likely to break at the elbows than DriveSide spokes. Conventional theory is that this is caused by the loading/unloading cycles which happens with each wheel rotation, or particularly in some areas when the rim flexes while hitting a bump. The NDS spokes are more likely to go slack (de-tension), and this loading/unloading cycle flexes them microscopically at the elbows, which can lead to cracking over time.
Lack of proper seating and stress relieving can make this worse. But under the conventional understanding, even properly-seated and stress-relieved NDS spokes will undergo flexion at the elbows every time the spokes momentarily de-tension.
From other threads I think you're pretty knowledgeable about wheelbuilding, so I may misunderstand your point. Let me know if we're actually in agreement here.