Originally Posted by
BluesDawg
Your preferences are what counts in choosing your bike. I just don't like low spoke count wheels. XT hubs with Salsa rims and 32 DT db spokes would be a big plus for me. That's the kind of wheel I would build as an upgrade. Trek and others are putting wheels on most of their road and cyclocross bikes that I would automatically replace. They may be plenty strong, but I wouldn't trust them.
I know of where you speak. I pursued this very issue with both the owner and a mechanic at the LBS selling the Mendota last fall. Both of these guys are straight shooters and have criticized some of their own bikes to me in the past. I've been a customer of that store for 15+ years.
They told me that these particular 24-spoke (blade spokes) wheels have been nigh bulletproof for them. They never need trued, they never fail. The owner recommends them to 300 pound riders (I'm 210) because he is so confident that he won't have to deal with warranty or service issues.
He wasn't claiming that they were the lightest, highest performance wheels at all. But he looked me right in the eyes and stated that he was 100% confident that I would never have a problem with these wheels. He was very surprised that they are included on the $969 Mendota, as they aren't found on any other sub-$1500 Trek.
I agree that the wheels on the complete Ala Carte bike are better, but I'm unsure if they are just more overkill over a wheel that is already good enough.