Originally Posted by cyccommute

+1 Having been involved in a long drawn out discussion on wheel dynamics, this is the key to my problem with Brandt's point. He (and others) look on a decrease in tension as an increase in compression as if they are directly opposite forces. They aren't. For compression to occur, especially in a tensioned bicycle wheel, tension has to be zero and vice versa.

Additionally, there is also nothing to "compress" when it comes to a spoke. Put a single spoke in a rim (or piece of rim) and hang a hub from it. Hold on to the rim and turn it upside down. The hub will fall through the rim along the spoke until the hub hits the rim. The end of the spoke doesn't "stand" on anything so it can't be compressed.