People, people. I'm 180 to 185 lbs, depending on the time of year, and it is my experience that 28's are not all that fragile. I built a set of 28h mountain bike wheels with Mavic or Sun rims ( I forget) and bashed them repeatedly on a rigid frame for a couple of years with no failures. I also had 28h wheels on my road bike with Campagnolo rims with similar results. The 28's do require a bit more truing, but not much.
As the other tribemembers have opined, rim strength is critical: I'd think twice about riding 28h Arc en ciels. It occurs to me that with current rim and spoke technology, 32h road wheels are way stronger than most of us need.
Rick Chasteen
Kansas City
> Just butting in here... As much as rider weight and
> technique are critical to the longevity of a 28 hole
> wheel, the type of rim is very important too. With a
> stiff enough rim you can get away with very few
> spokes. Modern 18-hole wheels (Shamals, Cosmics) take
> this to the extreme, but a 28 hole Wolber Profil 18
> (for example) can be a pretty usable wheel, even for a
> 180 lb rider.
> --- DTSHIFTER@aol.com wrote:
> > Mark,
> >
> > I would think a 28o would be fine on the front, but
> > I'd want a 36o on the
> > rear (unless I was 140#!!).
> >
> > As I mentioned previously; much depends on the
> > technique of the rider (as
> > well as the build of the wheel).
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Chuck Brooks