Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Central Coast, CA
Posts: 3,392
Bikes: Surly LHT, Specialized Rockhopper, Nashbar Touring (old), Specialized Stumpjumper (older), Nishiki Tourer (model unknown)
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I had a mail order bike - a Nashbar tourer, bought in 1992 - that had real spoke-breakage issues. I suspect the wheels weren't laced carefully, and weren't built with the highest quality parts. Also I carried too much weight and I weighed 215 at the time.
Since then I've had two rear wheels - one built by a local pro, and one built by me based on the instructions on Sheldon Brown's website. Neither has broken a spoke after several fully loaded tours. I still carry a lot of weight, though not as much as on that first big tour because I've replaced some of my gear with lighter weight stuff, and I don't carry as much stuff. I'm down to 195 lbs, which is also significant. 20 lbs. is 20 lbs.
I think the difference is that I now have wheels with really good parts - good hubs, good rims, and good double-butted spokes. I also put a lot of time into tensioning the spokes. I use a tension meter and go over the wheel carefully.
My so-far-trouble-free wheels have 36 spokes. If I weighed more than 250 lbs. I might consider 40 spokes or more. Right now 36 spokes are working for me.