I will eventually build a new rear wheel for my DH bike, the components will be Hope Pro2 Evo 150mm hub for zero dish and Mavic EX729 rim for proper rim width. The spokes will probably be DT Competitions or possibly Champions, but I can't decide whether to go with 32 or 36 spokes.
I'm not concerned about the weight difference at all, and I'd like to use 36 spokes for marginally stronger wheel, but I am a little concerned about the parts availability. At the moment there are plenty of 36 hole rims available, but I have a feeling that more and more riders want fewer spokes, which drives the market to that direction and may some day mean that the 36 hole rims are obsolete. I plan to keep the hub until the hubshell explodes or it doesn't fit some new frame anymore because of new standards, so it will probably see several rim changes during it's life.
In the BMX world similar kind of thing happened, nobody makes 48h rims anymore (thankfully my wheels are strong enough and my riding is so lame nowadays that my current BMX wheels will last forever ).
What do you think, are the 36h rims going anywhere? Will 32h rims be more readily available? Is there any real strength difference with a pretty sturdy rim?
I'm not concerned about the weight difference at all, and I'd like to use 36 spokes for marginally stronger wheel, but I am a little concerned about the parts availability. At the moment there are plenty of 36 hole rims available, but I have a feeling that more and more riders want fewer spokes, which drives the market to that direction and may some day mean that the 36 hole rims are obsolete. I plan to keep the hub until the hubshell explodes or it doesn't fit some new frame anymore because of new standards, so it will probably see several rim changes during it's life.
In the BMX world similar kind of thing happened, nobody makes 48h rims anymore (thankfully my wheels are strong enough and my riding is so lame nowadays that my current BMX wheels will last forever ).
What do you think, are the 36h rims going anywhere? Will 32h rims be more readily available? Is there any real strength difference with a pretty sturdy rim?