I think it was more for weight and strenth, at least on the 1880's stuff
David Toppin dave@pelletizer.com http://www.pelletizer.com <------ see our complete, searchable inventory.
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-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Harvey M Sachs Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 9:21 PM To: heine94@earthlink.net; Classic Rendezvous Subject: [CR]aerodynamics of butted spokes.
Jan Heine wrote:
JAN: Double-butted spokes have been around for a very long time. I remember seeing a bike from around 1910 with straight-pull double-butted spokes. The two 1930s Reyhand featured in the latest issue of Bicycle Quarterly have double-butted spokes, too.
JAN: The advantage of thinner spokes is aerodynamic on the one hand, HARVEY: Jan, with all due respect, I think that this is an urban legend. If I recall correctly, the aerodynamic "thickness" of a wire in moving air is more dependent on relative velocity than the wire's diameter. That's because there is entrainment or turbulence or whatever in the air around the wire, increasing its effective diameter. But, it's too late in the evening to check this in Wilson/(Papadopoulos).
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harvey sachs
mcLean va usa