Originally Posted by
WoodsterSS
I'm 195lbs. Everything I have read says I need 36h and beefy spokes for that mass. But, everything I have read refers to road wheels. What about dishless, track wheels? Would a 32 hole, light spoked wheel be just as strong as the beefy cousin need for gears?
I'm about 180, and I generally carry about 10-15lbs of weight while commuting. I'm using a San Jose, whose stock wheelset is only 28h. I do between 100-120 miles a week, over fairly uneven roads (lots of bumps, grates, root-ridges, etc.), and I've had few problems with my wheels. I've trued them twice in 4 months, the first time a few weeks after delivery, which seems normal. The second, I'd hit a curb really hard (actually flatting the rear tire) and the wheel had a nice wobble in it, but it was easily trued out and the wheel is nice and true again. The stock SJ rims are OEM Alex hoops, with a pretty deep profile (though not as deep as Deep-Vs).
Based on my experience, I'd say that a 32h wheel, if laced to a beefier rim, would be ample for you...assuming that you won't beat the crap out of it, or load it up too much. Just don't cheap out on rims/spokes/hubs.