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@gbj_tester
It has a bend in it, when the load should be pure tension from end to end. I can see the cost-engineering argument, especially in the olden days when you had to join hubs and rims from separate manufacturers with lacing pattern decided on a more or less arbitrary basis by wheelbuilders bound by prejudice and superstition rather than solid engineering principles, but the bend not only makes the spoke weaker but also imposes loads on the flange which mean the hub has to be overbuilt compared with a straight pull design.