Originally Posted by
cdonges
Is there any way of knowing if it would be stronger than the original wheel?
No.
My other question is I seem to 'bounce' sometimes without realising it for a while. When I do realise I change to a higher gear but could the bouncing be putting too much pressure on the spokes?
No.
I am really enjoying cycling but I can't spend much more at the moment, and I definitely can't keep replacing spokes every few weeks.
Your problem is that spokes fail due to fatigue where the number of cycles survived (about 750 per mile as they go around the wheel and unload reaching the bottom) is a function of the variation (your weight, which is hard to change) and the average stress (parts of the elbow are never taken past the yield point during the forming operation and retain high average stress).
You need to stress relieve (squeeze near parallel spokes towards each other hard) to avoid that and get the wheel up to high uniform tension so that you don't have any loose rear non-drive side spokes that flex like paper clips and fail.