Originally Posted by
terrymorse
Placebo effect, at least for vertical compliance. No human is sensitive enough to detect the vertical compliance difference between two identical rims, laced to a high- and low-flange hub.
Not really that hard to do. I was tensioning by ear in the 1970s, a technique I learned from my dad (who built wheels for Jobst Brant in the early 1960s, including some interesting tubular wooden rims that Jobst wanted). Tap each spoke with the spoke wrench, listen for the note. My wheels stayed true.
Thin spokes are "exotic" because wheel building machines have trouble tensioning spokes that thin--they tend to wind up when tensioned. Not a problem when tensioning a wheel by hand.
You've not done the experiment with a grands flasques hub.
Some can get even tension by tone. Most using that technique don't. Off the top of my head Ron Boi, Davey Danek, Ike Safter built uniform tension before meters and none of them could be bothered with listening to pitch of a spoke. No idea how they did it. Most could not.
Yes concerning automatic wheel machines. No to all the mysticism (from others, not pointing at you) about thin spokes being unmanageable or unworkable on drive side right. It is really a shame riders don't get to use thin spokes any longer or if they do pay an arm and a leg. Again, millions of Schwinns. 2.0/1.5 works quite well.
The other commenter saying I make it all up not worth responding to.