reduced spoke wheels / commuting

ebola said:

Are the reduced spoke aero wheels found on some road bikes and some higher-end flatbar commuter bikes (e.g. 2004 giant fcr-zero, ridgeback genesis day 2 etc) likely to be weaker & buckle easier when being subjected to a commute ( potentially uneven roads, occasional pavement use etc. )

They are probably less likely to buckle than normal wheels, because reduced-spoke designs call for stiffer rims, due to the bigger gaps between spokes. But they are probably more prone than normal wheels to going out of true or suffering broken spokes. I would not use a reduced-spoke design for commuting if I could help it. Conventional 32 or 36 spoke wheels will be sturdier and probably cheaper.

Thought as much ..

.. correcting my terminology my existing rim ( regular not reduced ) 'went out of true' twice rather than buckling (and had a spoke pop out the first time, not break, now i recall ) -> so thats exactly the sort of problem i would see more of, ok.

Another reason you probably don't want to commute on the low spoke count wheels - they're stiff as a mother, and will transmit a LOT of vibration to your hands.

I have a set of the old Rolf Vector Pro wheels, 14/16 spokes front/rear, which is about as low a spoke count as you can go without getting a disc. They are strong wheels, but a couple of hours on them leaves my hands completely numb.

On my cross-bike that I use for commuting I run Mavic cross rims (I forget the model), Shimano 105 hubs, brass nipples and (36) 14 gauge (straight gauge) spokes (some folks here have told me that butted spokes build-up a wheel that's just as strong so this part might be psychological). Nothing fancy and built for durability. They've been very durable and they don't ride super stiff. I also run 700 x 32 tires which increase the comfort level and may serve to protect the rim a little as well. I don't think I'd bother with the fancy wheels on a commuter bike. Of course today it's -2 derees F here so I didn't ride to work...

I have a Ridgeback Genesis Day 03 and commute 12 miles with a laptop on my back. The shimano 505 wheels behave very well and are still in good shape after the first 4 weeks (500 miles) although I hit some holes in the road recently. They are very robust.

mjw_byrne said:

They are probably less likely to buckle than normal wheels, because reduced-spoke designs call for stiffer rims, due to the bigger gaps between spokes. But they are probably more prone than normal wheels to going out of true or suffering broken spokes. I would not use a reduced-spoke design for commuting if I could help it. Conventional 32 or 36 spoke wheels will be sturdier and probably cheaper.

Not always. I had a set of Bontrager Selects that started to rip apart in the area around the spokes. I got them replaced on Warrenty (still had to pay for the wheel to be rebuilt and a complete set of spokes for each wheel though) with a set of Bontrager Race wheels, the rear wheel got little pressure put on it when I put the bike in the car and bent the rim out of true and wrecked it completly. 😠

ebola said:

Are the reduced spoke aero wheels found on some road bikes and some higher-end flatbar commuter bikes (e.g. 2004 giant fcr-zero, ridgeback genesis day 2 etc) likely to be weaker & buckle easier when being subjected to a commute ( potentially uneven roads, occasional pavement use etc. )

I have a slightly buckled ( still workable after being trued a couple of times ) wheel as it is on regular fully spoked wheels (700x25) , i can identify several individual suspect incidents.. asside from which I've frequently used a riverside towpath route with some dodgy surfaces ( finer stone tiles that i wouldn't quite describe as cobbles but hardly as flat as tarmac ) ( jump off and walk it across the really bad bits )

I've heard this story many times about low spoke count wheels not being tough enough for commuting or touring, but I've been riding low/medium spoke count wheels (Bontrager race lite 20/24) for years on rough roads and never had a problem. I'm a touch over 90kg and have put more than 6,000km on them. The spokes are bladed for reduced air drag and give an excellent ride.

On the other hand I've had plenty of problems with full spoke count wheels on another two bikes that I don't ride anywhere near as much. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to true these wheels and had to replace one wheel altogether. On two occasions recently other riders in the group broke a spoke and both were 32 spoke wheels, one almost brand new.

Go for a quality well built wheel not the spoke count. The quality low to medium spoke count wheels are designed to have less spokes and are not weaker because of it. They have stiffer rims and thicker spokes that make them just as strong. Poor quality wheels with weak rims, uneven spoke tension, poorly stress relieved, twisted spokes etc will cause problems.