I am considering getting some new 28 hole wheels, I am 6'4" and weigh 190lbs. Does anyone the same size have any experience riding lower spoke count wheels? I am currently riding 32 spoke wheels with no problem. Also, if purchased, I was thinking about radially lacing the front wheel, would this also present some issues?

i think my next wheelset will be 32H rear 3x, with a 28H front, radial. of course, i'm 5'8" and weigh a whopping 120lbs....i'd stick with 32h.

or maybe 3x drive side, radial non-drive side in the rear....mmmm....like my road bike.

i weigh about 11st, and ride a 32 radial front, and on the back radial non drive, and 2x drive.
it hasnt broken yet and seems very rigid and strong. i wouldnt worry, as long as you tighten them well, it will be fine.
just dont go jumping 20 stairs or something

i weigh 140 and i'm riding 28h 2x front and 3x rear. then again they're phil's laced to deep v's. 190 sounds like a bit much to me to be riding 28h though, esp with a radial front - unless you're building them for track only.

Adroitfixed, we are about the same height and weight. You can go 28H but I would not recommend it unless you are TT or racing. They will be faster and lighter, but they will also come out of true much quicker and will not last as long (brake spokes). Light fast wheels are great but the trade off is durability.

If you are racing then you really need at least two sets of wheels. A fast set for racing, and another for training. If you are just cruising around, I would stick with a 32H rear and either a 28 or 32H front.

What kind of set up do you have now on your rear wheel (hub, spokes and rim)?

It depends also on the kind of rim.

I'm 175 and I'm convinced that I could ride a front wheel with about 10 spokes and be fine. As it is my fixed that gets about 100mi a week commuting has a 20 spoke radial front with a Phil road hub and DT bladed spokes. I think that becuase the spokes are bladed, it keeps it from being all that flexy. That said I don't expect it to last a super long time - it is a Sun Mistral rim and they're rather delicate, but light. We'll see...

I run 28 spokes front and back. I weighed a bit more than you in the off season and I never had a problem with my wheels. (Mavic Open Pros/Dura Ace)

I's set up at 32 rear, 28 front in the radial pattern. Alex rim.
Weigh around 180+ lbs (may have lost weight from riding)

The front has held up good for several months now, and the streets here can be rough on a wheel. No complaints here.

Go for it
I run bladed 20 spoke radials on the front of my SS with no problems.
I love the zen-like hum of bladed spokes.
I'm just south of 200 and ride very agressively.
Pimp factor far outweighs safety.

Enjoy

and i went the other way with my fixie wheelset. 32 3x front and back, hooked to aerohead rims and phil hubs. they're bulletproof and i doubt that they'll come out of true often.

on my roadie, i have 24 radial up front and 28 3x in the back (velomax circuits). i wind up re-truing them every 8-12 months or so.

so, i guess it's all about how well you build your wheels, and how you use them. my fixie is supposed to be an urban assault vehicle, so i wanted stronger wheels. my roadie is made for long distances and controlled training rides, so....

have at it!

i rode 28 tubular wheelset as a messenger . they held up good til they stole my back wheel. I was 200 lbs at the time. it how they build your wheelset.

S/F,
CEYA!

I'm 6'3" 190 and change. I'm a messenger in s.f. and I ride a set of phils laced to velocity deep v's 28 on both. I think the spoke length is def. a factor though. My wheels have been trued only once, which was the initial truing.
hope that helps

I'm 225lbs and run 28-spoke front, 32-spoke rear, both 2-cross onto high-flange hubs. As long as the wheels are built tight, they're fine (I built the front a little soft first time around and it soon went out of true, but after retensioning it's sweet).