Originally Posted by garage sale GT

I've never fatigued a rim but wouldn't a lightweight road racing rim need replacement even with discs sooner or later? The spoke holes are undergoing cyclical loading and unloading every time the wheel goes around and the spokes are fatiguing too.

I would love a disc brake road bike because discs simply work super well but wheels may wear out anyway even with them. They would tend to increase the fatiguing of the spokes and spoke holes in the rim because they apply braking torque to the hub and can relax the trailing spokes a great deal.

My only experience with discs is with Sun Rhynolite rims which are very strong and have held up for almost a decade but it may be different with road racing rims.