number of wheel spokes

[eorogers]

Fully loaded the bike, me and gear weigh up to 350 lbs.  I'm riding Mezcal 29x2.6 tires mostly on pavement and gravel.  I have 25,000 miles on the bike and just cracked my 32 spoke Velocity Dually rim at the spokes. 

Do I replace the rim and stay at 32 spokes, or rebuild the wheel with a new hub and 36 spoke Dually Rim?  The hub is a DT Swiss 350. 

Comments on advantages and disadvantages please.

Thank You

Eric

[John Nettles]

Old school says a person with your setup would go with 48 spokes.  Marketing and society says lowest weight is best.  I have been riding seriously for 47 years so I still have some old school in me.  Since I hate maintenance and repairs, I tend to "bulletproof" my gear when reasonably possible and to me, the more spokes the better. 
If you go with a 48 spoke and a strong rim, you should be good to go regardless of the weight and terrain.  Plus if one spoke breaks, the wheel tends to not lose much trueness due to extra spokes.  The big downsides are you have to get new hubs and rims and should you (or airline) break a rim or hub on tour, you are most likely SOL in getting a quick replacement.  A strongly build 36 spoke wheel with a strong rim would most likely work too but not as bulletproof but you can a replacement (even if not a decent one) pretty quickly so you can continue on the road.  If the bike is for around the local area, I would stick with 36 or 48.

If you can only do the rim due to costs, I would check with Peter @ Peter White Cycles as to what rim and spoke cross he recommends as he has been building wheels longer than most people are alive. 

Also, always buy some extra spokes for both sides of wheel and bring at least 1 each on tour with you.  And know the actual spoke length.

All that said, 25k is not a bad life for a 32 spoke rim.  Most people don't even ride 2k miles in their life.

Tailwinds, John

[eorogers]

Thanks John. 

I looked at 48 spokes when I had the bike built, but could not find one in a 40 mm rim :-).

Looks like I will go with 36 spokes - Velocity Dually married to a DT Swiss 350 Hybrid 12x148 unless somebody tells me different.

Eric

[John Nettles]

Eric, as I mentioned, give Peter a shout at Peter White Cycles.   I just took a quick glance at his website and saw he had multiple rims in 48 spoke up to 60mm wide.  He does list the Dually you had but only as a 27.5" & 26" rim and they are only available (at least on the website) in 32 spoke.  There are other, stronger rims you might consider, i.e. Velocity Dyan, Velocity Chukker, etc. 

The Dually is listed as a fat tire bike.  Are you riding a fat bike or just wanted the really wide tire? 

Peter really does know his stuff and it can't hurt to call or email him.  Be forewarned, he is a bit quirky (as you can tell by his website), but he does know his stuff. 

[eorogers]

I did ride a fat bike for a while in Alaska - Mukluk - 29x3.9 tires.  Really fun over the snow, but a bit much when I moved to Colorado. 

I had a Fargo with 29x2.0 tires, but hit a sandy patch on a dirt road in Arizona and almost could not push the bike through it.  So I wanted more float in case it happened again. 

The guy who built my frame talked me into 29x3.0 tires, but the selection is very limited and did not perform to expectations.  So now I'm riding Mezcal at 29x2.6 and really happy with them.  That is where the wide Dually rim come in.  I think I am going to stick with that and a builder at lacemine29.

I did check Phillip White and talked to them earlier - really impressive, but I think I am going the other way.

Thanks

Eric

[Small Wheels]

Peter White Cycles, from Hillsborough, NH I think, will take your particulars and build a wheel at a very reasonable price that will last a lifetime.