Originally Posted by
BugsInMyTeeth
I was planning on building my first wheel with the strongest spokes I could find.
Define "strong" for me.
If you're referring to "tensile strength", then a thick, straight gauge spoke is definitely stronger. Thicker spokes will hold more weight before they start to stretch and ultimately break.
If you're referring to "resistance to breaking", that might not be true. I've never seen a spoke break anywhere except at the elbow or at the top thread where the spoke enters the nipple. Designing a spoke to yield a little sooner in the center can reduce the stresses to the breakage prone zones and, consequently, be more resistant to breaking.
Reversing the logic, would you add material to the center section of a spoke to reduce failures at the elbow?