Originally Posted by
noglider
The number of spokes in your wheel must be equal to the number of holes in your rim which also must be equal to the number of holes in your hub. Chances are, your rear wheel has 32 spokes, and that number is fine. If you replaced the spokes with high quality spokes and built it well (or had it built well), chances are, the wheel would last several years with no spoke breakage. The most common cause of spoke breakage, by far, is fatigue. The most common cause of spoke fatigue is poor build quality. Once spokes start breaking, they continue to do so because of fatigue. Replacing them one by one doesn't fix the problem. Replacing them all at once does. What condition is the rim in? What condition is the hub in? Generally, it's less expensive to replace a wheel than to build one, but with your hub being rare, rebuilding might be the best plan.
These are 24 spoke hubs so it limits what ever rim he can purchase. This is not a your run-of-the-mill design when it comes to wheels. Even if his hub can be overhauled he still needs to find a 24 hole rim and most likely it will be for a paired spoke design. These wheels were not Trek's finest moment. Everything he does is coming to be compromise somewhere. This is one of the reason I sold mine, the wheels were going to be the albatross of that bike.