Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Gotta disagree. While it is true that a wheel is less strong in the lateral direction, it is still strong enough for most uses. The bike and rider would put far more lateral force on a wheel when cornering than would happen during a crash. Most of the force in a crash is going to be centered on the most massive part of the system which is the rider.
That’s assuming proper tension on the wheels, of course.
There is no lateral force on the wheels.when cornering. The bike is leaning into the corner, that converts any lateral force into perfectly straight down force as far as the bike is concerned. You would only have lateral force if the bike is unable to lean, such as in trikes.