Originally Posted by
unime
You don't need to buy a composite wheel for reliability. Traditional spoked wheels should remain true for years of hard use without any spoke breakage. The problem is with poorly built wheels that put spokes at risk by allowing them to flex repeatedly (at the elbow where they go through the hub flange). Set them properly (wheel builders call this "stress relieving") and tension the wheel and the spokes will last a long, long time.
I very much agree with this: bike wheels that are machine-trued tend to have problems with uneven tension, and on most sub-$500 bikes (and even some that cost a lot more) the wheels are machine-trued. The wheels will SPIN true, they will
look perfectly fine--but that doesn't mean the spoke tension is even. Some spokes are way too loose and others are way too tight, and the over-tight ones are carrying too much of the stress and are the ones likely to break.
The easiest way to make sure a wheel is built properly is to pay your LBS to do it. You can re-use the hub often but usually the spokes and rims on cheaper wheels are truly junk--and better ones don't cost much more than junky ones. The rims on a lot of lower-end bikes are "OEM-level" parts that are so cheap that your LBS can't even order equivalents.
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Another thing I advise with ANY new bicycle or wheel is you pull off the tire/tube/rim strip, and inspect all the nipple butts to make sure none of them are chewed up. If any are, it is a
very good bet that the wheel build is cr4p and should be re-done.
For what its worth, the maker of my (very high end) electric assist bike told me they are dropping the TAG composite wheels. I don't know what problems they were having.
It may have not been problems with the composites so much as the fact that properly-built wire-spoke wheels cost less and had few problems too.
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