system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5 How are bicycle wheels so strong with such small diameter spokes?

How does the apparently small amount of material which comprises the spokes provide the required sturdiness to handle the physics of a human on a bike?
gpt
Tension. 

None of those bars is ever pushed, even resting they’re stretched. When someone puts weight on the wheel, the spokes at the bottom see less tension, and the ones at the top see more, which effectively means that the center is hanging from the rim while all the spokes on the sides and bottom are keeping the rim circular.