That’s not strictly true though is it.

What a butted spoke gives you is a reduced cross section at the mid point, so what you are describing is actually a “Weaker” structural element, if the same loads is applied over a reduced sectional area (per spoke) this means greater tensile stress on the mid point of a butted Vs PG spoke…

That slight reduction in cross section is intended to allow this of course so that the butted spoke is operating more in its elastic range (assuming materials and pre-load are the same), effectively the margin to failure is less, for a butted spoke…

Obviously the spoke is’t the only component under load in a wheel, it is of course under tension, butting is partly about tuning the component geometry to use more of the materials elastic properties.

Strictly speaking a PG spoke is stronger, it deflects less under a given load and requires a greater tensile load to cause permanent deformation, but this of course increases the chances of damage elsewhere in the wheel, like spoke holes or nipple threads…

Personally, I would find someone who I trust to build my wheels and then go with their advice.
I’ve done this on the last few builds (against what I thought I wanted) and have been very pleased.

Strictly speaking a PG spoke is stronger stiffer

FTFY

Alright how’s this:

Strictly speaking a PG spoke is stronger AND stiffer,
This does not, however, translate directly to a stronger wheel…

Better?

🙂

DB are better. End of story 🙂

DB are better. End of story

In black or silver? 🙂

What’s the main cause of wheel failure? Broken spokes, cracked eyelets or bent rims?

I suspect the latter is a major cause certainly. A PG spoke would stretch less, and hence the rim would move less for a given side impact, and hence would require more force to move the rim past the limit of elasticity. A PG laced wheel would therefore be less likely to become tacoed.

No?