Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Stronger by the only definition that counts…less likely to break at the j-bend. Load at the rim makes little difference to wheel “strength”. The rim makes little difference to the wheel strength overall. With the exception of wheel collapse…which is related to spoke failure more than rim failure…there are many modes of rim failure where the rim can simply be replaced. The wheel can continue to be reused after a rim replacement.
Broken spokes, on the other hand, make the wheel very suspect and continued spoke breakage will eventually result in the wheel failure. Yes, you can replace the spokes but the wheel is likely to continue to need spoke replacement until all the spokes are replaced.
Well IDK, spokes are much cheaper than rims. And I question that the rim makes little difference. Poorly designed rims that get spoke hole cracks can cause a wheel to collapse as well as if enough spokes break at once at the j-bends. Most spokes break due to a poorly built wheel rather than any flaw in the spokes themselves.