Originally Posted by
letsthrowfries
Yeah, I agree Yoshi. Aren't dbl-butted spokes simply thicker at the ends? Why do people keep repeating bs like "butted spokes are so much stronger than straight gauge!" It's incomprehensible, straight gauge spokes have the same cross section throughout the entire spoke. This translates to stiffness, strength and durability in wheel applications. Double-butted spokes only save weight and offer road dampening as the middle of the spokes are thinner/more compliant.
Double-butted spokes do more than save weight. The thick ends make them as strong in the highly-stressed areas as straight-gauge spokes of the same thickness, but the thinner middle sections make the spokes effectively more elastic. This allows them to stretch (temporarily) more than thicker spokes.
As a result, when the wheel is subjected to sharp localized stresses, the most heavily stressed spokes can elongate enough to shift some of the stress to adjoining spokes. This is particularly desirable when the limiting factor is how much stress the rim can withstand without cracking around the spoke hole.
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http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#spokes