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Thinking of having a new set of carbon XC wheels built, advantages and disadvantages of 28 or 32 spokes ? Cheers
As some carbon wheels come with 20 or 24 spokes, then 28 should be plenty but caveated by not knowing the rider’s weight, their intended use (one person’s XC is another’s Rampage) and whether you put prioritise weight over durability.
Do you want your front wheel over built, or the rear under built?
Okay, over simplification, but why do they have to match?
My 160mm bike came with 28 spoke wheels and i was a bit dubious as they were not the usual 32 but then they were dt swiss ex1501 and they have been rock solid, haven't touched them and still straight and true 3 years later....guess depends on component and build quality but id happily have 28 spoke XC wheels
Simply put, you lose the weight of 4 spokes and nipples per wheel… About 40-50g for the pair.
Obviously the remaining spokes have to do a little more work, and probably hold a slightly higher tension. As to whether or not this will be an issue is totally dependant on the situation…
For an XC wheelset with a relatively light rider such as yourself and fairly stiff rims… I’d go 28h for sure…
There was an almost identical thread on this very recently. Somebody else can find the link but it's probably worth a look through.
Pretty much as others have said.... it depends.
That said, with a carbon fibre rim 28 should be plenty for most people. I'm 63kg, but do ride hard (or recklessly) enough to wreck rims on occasion, and go 28 CF, 32 alu (eg Crest) on the back, 28 alu on the front. It's never a lack of spokes that's the problem, usually rock rim dingers that break my wheels (dents, cracked CF etc).
The thread butcher refers to: https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/28h-vs-32h-wheels/