I think that I have found a good way to determine what would be a good and strong wheel build for me at 205lbs.

This might be elementary or not reliable or trustworthy enough for some of you but I have good luck with this method and just wanted to share. Also, if you can suggest a simpler, easier, and better way, I am all ears.

On the www.prowheelbuilder.com custom wheel build page, enter your weight and intended use for the wheels.

Then, select your rim of choice - they have rim strength rankings (Mavic Pro Pro is a good starting point).

Then, choose your rim drilling number - this will correspond to the number of spokes. They will provided recommended or approved drilling/spokes numbers. I think that more spokes is more critical than thicker spokes.

Then, choose a hub with the corresponding hole number, choose your spoke and nipple of choice. Also, triple crossed lacing for 28, 32, and 36 spokes is good. Double crossed lacing for 24 and 28 is good.

Lastly, they will give you a total weight and price for the hubs.

I entered 210lbs and club rides and selected HED C2 rims, White Industries H2/H3 hubs, Sapix CX-Ray spokes, 28 spokes double-crossed lacing for my front wheels and 32 spokes triple-crossed lacing for my rear wheels. My hand-built custom wheels arrived after three weeks and were perfectly true.

I have had good luck with my custom wheels and would highly recommend getting custom wheels, especially for us bigger riders.

Mark