Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 19,810
Likes: 597
From: NJ, NYC, LI
Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...
For what it's worth, I don't believe spoke quality, or even gauge, is the critical factor. Certainly not if you're under 200 lbs. The issue is spoke tension. And there, it's not even that important to have spoke tension uniform. As long as your spokes have sufficient tension, your wheel will hold up.
If a spoke comes in and out of tension under your weight as the wheel turns, it will fatigue and eventually break. In most situations, if one spoke is getting fatigued, they are all getting fatigued. So what you have to do is replace them all, and tension them properly this time. This much is necessary. More is not necessary.
You can replace all the spokes yourself; or you can have someone else do it. The former is cheaper; the latter is faster.
Better spokes? Butted spokes? Professional build? Whole new wheel? Sure! All of these are fine options. I'm not opposed to them; there is nothing wrong with any of them. They are just not necessary.