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Following on from my earlier question about truing them, I was wondering if anybody could point out the advantages (and perhaps disadvantages) of flat spoked wheels?

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From what I've read, they claim an aerodynamic advantage, but sometimes at the expense of extra weight. I've been told that they're recommended for flat-land riders, where aero is more important than weight, and to avoid them if any climbing is involved...

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    The bladed spokes on my father-in-law's bike don't appear to have more metal than the round spokes on mine, just that the metal they have is flattened out for said aerodynamic advantage.
    – alesplin
    Nov 17, 2010 at 23:14
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    November Bicycles did some wind tunnel tests with flat spokes: "the wheel with the CX-Rays was a smidge faster, generating about 11 fewer grams of drag on average at 30mph. If you recall the calculations from yesterday's blog, you'll see that 11 grams of drag at 30mph is - yep - 1 aero watt." If you're capable of sustaining 30 mph, using flat instead of round spokes saves you one whole, entire watt of power. If you're going slower, you're watt savings will be less, probably a lot less.
    – Andrew Henle
    Nov 8, 2018 at 16:22
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When building or truing a wheel, it's easier to notice if you put a twist in to a flat spoke.

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Advantage? They make more money for the spoke company.

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    So a disadvantage would be that they cost more money to us ;p
    – Vorac
    Mar 24, 2014 at 12:28

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