Originally Posted by
cyccommute
The problems that people have with low spoke wheels are a different issue altogether. That's a design issue, as in poorly designed for the task at hand. People buy bikes...and companies sell bikes...with low spoke counts because they are "sexy". The wheels are inherently weak because they have removed the strength members of the wheel. Low spoke count wheels might work in race situations where the rider isn't going to use that wheel for long but for the rest of us out here, they are a very bad choice.
And they really provide much advantage over higher spoke count wheels. As others have said spokes don't weigh much. To make the wheels strong enough, more metal has to be added to the rim so the low spoke count wheels aren't even that much lighter weight. They can even be much heavier. I built a set of conventional 32 spoke wheels with a good lightweight hub and rim and ended up with a wheel set that was 2 lbs lighter than the low spoke count wheels I originally had. My wheelset is also far more durable, especially for my weight.
The advertised "advantage" of low spoke counts is generally better aerodynamics rather than lower weight. How important that is to most riders is debatable but I think it's minor.
I agree that low spoke count wheels can be fragile but not all. A few years ago I bought a pair of Shimano WH-R560 wheels at a tremendously attractive price. I was a bit concerned about their durability (16 spokes front, 20 spokes rear) but the price made them worth the risk. That was 27,000 miles of rough roads ago and they have been bullet-proof so far. Now I'm not that heavy at 150 but they have been just as good as the 32H conventional wheel I have and the weight is competitive.