Originally Posted by
elcruxio
What does spoke head seating actually do? And what exactly is the specific mechanism with it that prevents spokes from breaking?
Elbows out spokes do not touch the hub flange and curve around it. So when the spoke tension changes from rolling, the resilt is that curved section flexes back and forth like a leaf spring.
18/8 stainless is a horrible spring. Much worse than even unheat treated chromoly. Whichnis why we don't build frames out of it. So the flexing elbows break.
When you seat the elbows you shape the spokes like a string, conforming to the flange in the straightest possible path. Now tension changes are all along the length of the spoke and there is no bending force. That's how spokes are supposed to work, and last nearly forever if they are maintained at a correct preload of tension.