At a spoke count of 18 for the front and 20 for the rear, I'm not sure if my Ksyrium SSCs are considered low-spoke count or not. However, earlier this year, I managed to bend one of the non-driveside spokes on my rear wheel and the rim stayed absolutely true.



Some people criticise the Ksyriums for not being the lightest wheel on the market and their rims are certainly not very aero but I believe that the rims are plenty stiff and beefy and that's what made mitigated the effects of a failure of the one spoke. So yes, I will have to agree with others who say that many low-spoke count rims probably have to be made much stronger and will probably be heavier.