2016? Crave with multiple broken spokes. LBS says best to just to replace the wheels.

I'm 250ish. it's unlikely i'll be doing any severe riding. Gravel roads, maybe some single track.
What's a good choice for wheels?

Is moving the rotors and cassette to the new wheels a big deal?

Thanks

I would get a set of hand built wheels probably 32h or maybe 36h. I would look at Astral, I think they make some really good quality stuff I have two sets of wheels and a single front wheel from them and no issues at all. Really good quality and can handle a bit of extra weight.

*Sticker shock*

I'll admit I'm not really looking for "good". I'm just looking for "adequate". Something that will let me start riding again this spring.

If all the broken spokes happened in the rear wheel, you could just replace that wheel while leaving the front in place. I'd talk to your LBS about having them hand build a wheel, something solid but not extravagant should run around $200-$300.

Rotors these days come in 2 different mounting styles, 6 bolt or centerlock, and there are adapters to use a 6 bolt rotor with a centerlock hub. There are also multiple types of freehub bodies, though most 135mm QR hubs will use a HG freehub that should work fine with your cassette.

There are tons of OK to crappy wheels out there. Just go down to the local bike shop and get something. However because you are a bigger ridder and plan on riding the bike that is why I suggest a hand built wheel so it won't have issues. I like Astral because they are good quality but you can can have something built up cheaper I just like quality stuff that will last me so I don't have to buy it again.

Find a reputable wheel builder and have them build a set of Sun CR 18 rims with 32 or 36 spokes. Sun CR 18 rims are very cheap and very durable, more than adequate, you can't go wrong with them.

I've been able to get excellent wheels for about $200 a set from ebay (Bells Bike Shop, Planet Cyclery , Bikewagon etc). You might look there.

The CR18 is a great rim, but in this case I'd go with something wider and more sturdy. A Sun Rhyno Lite would be similar in price, and better suited for the task. If the bike is being setup Tubeless, the Rhyno Lite isn't specifically designed for it, though I've heard plenty of people have had success getting it to work anyways. If you want a tubeless specific rim, DT Swiss 533D is currently available for bike shops to order at half their normal cost.

Not the cheapest but tough = Velocity Cliffhangers

Thank you everyone who replied.

What does "boost" mean in regard to wheels?

Thanks

Boost usually refers to increased dropout width, sometimes 110 mm (instead of 100 mm) for fronts and 148 mm (instead of 135) for rears.

@2old is mostly correct though for quick release wheels it would be QR141 vs QR135 and for thru-axles which is where boost is typically used it would be 12x148 (as stated) from a 12x142. A thru-axle will be a thicker long bolt that goes from one side of your dropouts to the other and threads into the dropouts it can only go in one way and is a more secure way when using disc brakes. In some cases thru-axles will use a QR style closure but will be a very thick axle at 12mm and the front will either be 12mm for the average road and gravel bike to 15mm for some old gravel and most mountain bikes and then 20mm for your downhill bikes (there is a different variation of 20mm axles from early DH bikes but your bike does not qualify)

Some modern road bikes have moved to a 12x110 standard at the front where your average for both QR and Thru-axle is 100mm and on more modern mountain bikes you have 15x110.

Also more useless trivia for you at the moment but you also have super boost rear ends which are 157mm and really the reason for wider and wider is for a better bracing angle which leads to a stronger wheel especially as things get wider tire wise so frames have to widen out to accommodate. To make it even more confusing older downhill bikes had a similar size that was a different fit as it was essentially a narrow hub with wider axles.

Basically the bike industry goes hey we have a problem with too many standards, let's invent a new one to solve that problem and now we have 1 more standard.

How do I know what I have and what would be compatible with it?

Your bike has 100mm front hub spacing and 135mm rear hub spacing. Whatever new wheelset you decide to get needs to have hubs that have the same spacing as what you have right now.

The best thing to do is go down to your local shop and have them take a look, they can also help you with new wheels.
If you want to DIY the measurements you can use this from the late great Sheldon Brown
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html
You will know if you have a thru-axle if it is as described above. More than likely it is QR but double check don't just believe what is said know for yourself.

Has the shop that determined you need new wheels offered any options?

No. Otherwise I would have taken that as the easy way out.

I'll admit, i don't quite understand why "just replace all the spokes" isn't the answer.

The wheel is compromised one spoke, replace the spoke, multiple spokes replace the wheel unless it is a high end hub otherwise there are tons and tons of wheels out there some really great and some serviceable for a while and some serviceable for short term and some crap. If you are riding the bike and love the bike I tell people get a good set of wheels and if you aren't riding it or are about to replace get a decent set from your local shop.

I am surprised your local shop didn't give you options, that sounds odd. I would have given you some options for wheels unless it was some odd standard that no longer exists but there are usually work arounds.

Typically, when a wheel has seen enough abuse to have multiple broken spokes, the rim is in bad enough shape that getting the wheel true involves using uneven spoke tension to pull the rim back into shape, and that uneven tension creates more stress on the spokes that have higher tension, which tends to result in more broken spokes. If instead, a new rim is used that is perfectly round and doesn't have any bends in it, then a wheel can be built with even tension, the stress is spread out between all the spokes, the wheel is much more likely to stay true, and much less likely to break spokes.

The only situation where replacing all of the spokes makes any sense is if you have a rim and hub that are in great shape, and the spokes themselves are the source of trouble, such as if the wheel was built with a bad batch of spokes, or if the spokes are heavily corroded.

Deciding if it's even worthwhile to rebuild the wheel with new spokes and nipples will depend on how many miles are on the rims and hubs and how hard they've been ridden.