Originally Posted by
colonel corn
Dream Cyclery - Yeah, it's frustrating to find promising rims only to scroll down and read that they only come in 32. I already have 36 hole hubs coming in the post. I weigh about 70kg, I'm guessing the bike will be around 15kg when it's built and I'll typically carry 15kg luggage. I want wheels that I can carry an extra 20kg of food and water on if I have to, though, so up to 120kg or 265lb.
For 26" rims that are strong (e.g., Sun Rhyno Lite), 32 spokes can very easily handle 265lbs. I use 32 spoke 26" wheels (Deore 525 hubs, rhyno lite wide rims, Schwalbe Big Ben 2.15 tires). I weigh 230lbs, my bike weighs 35lbs, and I regularly commute with about 20lbs of food/clothes/books. When I tour my gear weighs about 30lbs, so total weight on wheels is easily 300 or more lbs. The key is ensuring good spoke tension and no loose spokes (that is really the killer). In addition, if you ride on wide tires, like you state, that adds more wheel protection since they absorb more shock than narrow tires.
Look on the clydesdale section of Bikeforums and you can find many folks there who weigh 150kg/330lbs, or more, riding 32 spoke wheels.
In short, you really don't need 36 spokes on a 26" wheel for the level of weight you are referencing.