Originally Posted by waterrockets

+1 sounds like a flat spot in the rim.

People who are replacing 36h rims every 3000 miles should reconsider their spoke count. I only weigh 185 and I ride a 36h Deep V rear (32h front) on my solo. My prediction is that it will last me 30,000 miles.

When I finally get back to my tandem project, I'm going to be building up 40h Deep-Vs for it, and it's a 26" wheeled-bike.

I don't understand the motivation to reduce the number of spokes. Aerodynamically, it might make a small difference in a time-trial (though gloves create more drag than wheel spokes, according to a recent MIT study). As far as weight goes, spokes are meaningless. For durability, it just makes no sense at all to reduce spoke counts.