Originally Posted by
mihlbach
SS/FGers should actually be able to get away with fewer spokes than roadies because of the rear wheel's lack of dish. Personally, I ride a 24/28 spoke combo on road and fg with no probs, and I'm 205 pounds. If you are sure that you are going to get a quality build, and you don't plan on seriously abusing your wheels, you can get away with less than 32.
Your wheelset sounds so nice. I'm wanting more and more to build some up, but I don't really have a reason to do so, as I'm cutting back to one fixed gear, and it already has Formula/OP wheels, and I recently scored an Ultegra/OP road wheelset for $13. I'm building up a wheelset, but it's going to be 32-spoke utility wheels with Tiagra hubs and Salsa Delgado cross rims. No lightweight componentry there.
Originally Posted by
andre nickatina
Yes but don't forget that road riding generally entails better surfaces than city riding where potholes, train tracks and other unexpected obstacles are a lot more common. Not only that, but a lot more people riding fixed do lots of curb hobs and possibly some bunny hops here and there, whereas a lot of roadies wouldn't dream of doing these things (of course, there are the cool ones who race cyclocross in the off season and get a kick out of curb hopping their nice road bikes and taking off-road detours; I like those guys). Rear wheel for city riding, 32-36 spokes is the best bet for anyone over 160lb IMO. Front wheel varies.
This is when it really pays off to be 5'5", 130lbs. I can use any kind of crazy lightweight **** I want. And someday, I hope to be one of the cool roadies. I feel like you have to ride and remain unpretentious for 10+ years to really qualify, so I've gotta start puttin' in work!