Originally Posted by
ryth
I did use the stock wheels for the first 2 trips, but have since built myself up a pair of Open Pros with 36 spoke XT hubs.
The stock wheels are okay, but i wouldn't dare riding on them without doing a full tension/true first. They way they came from the manufacturer was totally weaksauce, but once I tensioned and trued them up for my trips they held up great.
For reference I'm about 200# and was carrying ~30lbs of gear, as well.
I'm a firm believer that it's more about the build than the hardware in a lot of cases with wheels, also the stock Deore hubs aren't bad.
awesome, thanks for the info. i think i'm going to distribute the weight with front and rear panniers to be safe, i was just curious as many people swear only by 36 spoke touring wheels at least for the rear and i was trying to gauge if it was really necessary for a 4 or 5 day tour.