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Semi-parallel wire suspenders with spherical plain bearings have untwisting under axial force, and the collision in the untwist process bring adverse effects on the structure. To investigate the axial mechanical response of semi-parallel wire suspenders with spherical plain bearings, the equilibrium equations of suspender are deduced by assuming the distribution of steel wire after deformation, the forms of boundary conditions are distinguished according to the use of spherical plain bearing, and the linear equation expressed by equivalent stiffness coefficients is deduced. The Costello theory and finite element modeling are used to verify the proposed calculation method in this paper, and the influence of suspender parameters on the stiffness equivalent coefficient is analyzed. The results show that the proposed calculation method is suitable for multi-layer semi-parallel wire suspenders; the twist angle and the total number of layers of wires have the greatest effect on the stiffness equivalence factor; when the twisting angle is close to 0, the torsional stiffness of suspender is 0.010–0.21 of that of the steel rod with the same section; the axial tensile stiffness of the conventional suspender is basically the same as that of the steel rod with the same section, but the torsional stiffness is only 0.012–0.023 of the steel rod with the same section, and the tension-torsion coupling effect cannot be ignored. The research results provide a concise method to calculate the axial response of semi-parallel wire suspenders, which lays a foundation for the engineering treatment of the untwisting problem of semi-parallel wire suspender using spherical plain bearings. • The axial mechanical response of semi-parallel wire suspenders with spherical plain bearings is investigated. • The expression between axial resultant force, torque and overall strain of twisting structures is deduced and verified. • A concise method to calculate the axial response of semi-parallel wire suspenders is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]