Originally Posted by canam73

All other things being equal more spokes would be stronger. But as Seymour said the build is as important as anything. Unfortunately OEM wheels can have a problem there.

Here are a few checks you can do yourself:

Check to see if they are true by spinning and watching for both vertical and horizontal changes between the rim and brake pad.

Check to see if the spoke tension is even by plucking and comparing tone. All the spokes on the front should even. On the rear, the drive side will be tighter, but each side should be even.

The biggest thing that gets neglected on cheap wheels is stress relieving. An obvious sign of this is pinging noises on an initial ride, but if the wheels have been ridden some then tension or trueness issues will be a more likely sign.