Wes Oishi asked:
>When did the "standard" change from 36H to 32H?
Late 1980s, early 1990s
>And beyond that question, why?
Ah, that's the interesting one!
Back in the day all bikes had 72 spokes. British bikes were 32/40, other countries used the less satisfactory 36/36 setup. (I've always maintained that if you have the same number of spokes front and rear, either the front wheel is heavier than it needs to be, or the rear wheel isn't as strong as it should be.)
The exception was a few weight-weenie time trial bikes that would use 32 spoke wheels. 32 spoke wheels had an association with exotic, high end bikes as a result.
Then some very clever bean counter came up with the idea of doing 32 spoke wheels for mass produced bikes. This was a great scam, because the manufacturer saved a LOT of money by not having to buy and install those extra 8 spokes per bike. When you consider the number of bikes involved, it was a very substantial savings. The beauty part was that while they were cutting corners to save costs, they could market it as an _upgrade_!
They made such a killing on this that we now see fewer and fewer spokes on newer wheels as the manufacturers pocket the savings and the consumer is deluded into thinking he or she is getting a better product!
Sheldon "Spox" Brown
+--------------------------------------------------+
| Cynic: A blackguard whose faulty vision sees |
| things as they are, not as they ought to be. |
| --Ambrose Bierce |
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