Originally Posted by
Bianchigirll
...leads me to believe that riding style has much more to do with wheel performance than weight.
You mean wheel
durability, right?
For sure, up to a point. By all means, developing the habit of riding easy on your wheels is to be encouraged, but there are always going to be the odd moments when you're caught unaware and pound the crap out of the rear (IME front wheels can take
huge amounts of abuse, at least 32h and up)...
My approach is to spec the wheelset to withstand pretty much anything the rider can throw at it, given their weight and riding style. This means paying particular attention to the rear, perhaps even using a heavier rim, given its dish and it takes twice as much weight (60/40). Off-centre rims are a huge boon here, since they reduce the dish for free - they're not nearly popular enough yet. I predict they'll be standard fare in 5-10 years, patent issues permitting.
When it comes to a race wheelset, you'd obviously tend to forego ultimate durability, but the same principles apply.