Originally Posted by
chucky
That would make me want to lower the spoke count until the tension needs occasional adjustment, which then begs the question of how to determine the need for adjustment?
Why would you intentionally weaken the bike until it couldn't actually stand the stresses and required maintenance? I'm a commuter, not a racer, and I don't buy that there's that much air friction or weight involved here; I can get my rear wheel up to 30 MPH in a few seconds on a stand spinning the crank with one hand, so clearly the 36 spokes aren't robbing me of a whole lot of power here.
Personally I'd run the spoke count UP until I never had to touch the thing again. Building wheels is fun and all, but I don't need extra junk to deal with.