32 or 36 hole - front - disc - xc wheel?

[Carbon_Kiwi]

hey guys,
i'm building a new disc wheelset and are using chris king iso disc hubs. i've gone for 36 in the back - but should i go for 32 or 36 up front?
my riding style is xc/enduro [wheels on the ground] and i'm not hard on my gear in any way shape or form.
going for hope mini discs and mavic x317 rims and i guess dt double butted spokes, with alloy nipples [hopefully spline drive one's - if i can find em that is...].
thanks in advance  
Jas

while i think of it - black or silver rims? they are to go on my carbon frame - the hubs are blue...

[Matno]

You left out one important bit of info... your weight. (At least I think you did, I've only slept 6 of the last 63 hours, so I might have missed that detail!)

However, regardless of your weight, 36 is probably overkill. Honestly, I almost wish I had gone with a lower number of spokes on both my bikes. (32 on my road bike and 28 on my EVO). Unless you're doing drops or weigh more than 200 lbs, anything over 32 is just extra rotational weight. In fact, some people (including Sheldon Brown, I believe) say that 36 spoke wheels are pretty much only useful for really heavy loads like tandems.

Personally, I like the look of lower spoke count wheels, but it's the weight that really matters. I miss my old Ritchey OCR's - they were lighter than my current Bontragers (which ain't half bad!) and they took a lot of pounding - including 3-4 foot drops (albeit from my light 140 lb body).

Wheel build quality is almost always more of a factor in how well wheels hold up than the number of spokes.

I'm still curious as to your interest in spline drive nipples...

Rim color - that's a no-brainer. A carbon frame DESERVES black rims. I'm amazed at how much cooler my new wheels look in all black, and my old ones were black too, they just had silver braking surfaces and spokes. Don't forget black spokes. May cost you a couple of bucks extra, but they look trick!

Oh, and the Chris King hubs are dope, but don't plan on sneaking up on any wildlife! Those things are LOUD... (Of course, your other option is just to never stop pedalling...)

[Simon]

32 spokes f&r black rims DT D/B spokes (black), brass nips,alu is nice but can round off or corrode to the spoke over time, brass is more reliable and the weight difference is not an issue, well built its all you'll ever need.Simon [smiley=nod.gif]

[slowride]

I'm over 200 pounds and 32 spoke wheels hold up fine for me. I would also suggest brass nipples... their cheaper and they hold up better.

As Matno said, the build is the most important part... proper tension and stress relieving will go a long way towards making your wheels more durable.

BTW... you can load the King hub up with grease, it'll quiet it down a bit.

[Dennis]

32 spokes should be plenty.
color:
all black is pretty cool.
what about black rims, black nipples, silver spokes? or better yet, what about getting the spokes powder coated white? (yes, I am watching American Chopper too much).
or:
silver rims with black spokes and black nipples?

mix it up a bit.
what about blue nipples with black rims and black spokes and your blue hubs?
get funky.
go for marwi titanium spokes in blue, gold, or tie dye.
powder coat the rims the same blue as the hubs and use gold spokes. that would be really cool!!

marwi spokes:


go ahead, go for something different than everyone else!!
[smiley=groucho.gif]

[Carbon_Angus]

you will be fine with a 32 hole cross pattern

Don't go too far off the scale with DB spokes, but for the front it will be okay.

BLACK rims

BRASS nips, you can get those in most any color, too, especially black.

i'm black on black on black on black on black for the Oz wheelset, you could try to doll it up with some wild-assed color scheme.....like black  [smiley=yawn.gif]

[Carbon_Kiwi]

EXCELLENT responses guys - many thanks  
yeah - ok, 32 up front it is. talked it over with the girlfriend last night and yeah, black rims and black spokes with blue nipples and blue hubs. i have to say i could go for those gold ti spokes though maybe  
just reading an article on wheels in the sept issue of mba which was kinda interesting and just affirms your comments.
spline drive nipples - a buddy of mine from the local bike shop built up some wheels with these and really liked em. apart from the better interface he also reckons they where made from a stronger alloy. not having any luck finding them though...
hey Dennis - any ideas where i could score a blue anodised race face crankset? they only seem to do powder coated in blue now.  

[Dennis]

carbon,
I guess ebay would be a good place to look for stuff that is no longer being made. its always been good for me.
btw, I have been doing some research and lots of people say powder coat actually lasts longer than anodizing and another benefit is that there are many more colors and effects available with powder coating.
its looks very similar to anodizing.
you don't have to go with ti spokes to get the gold color, you could powder coat ss spokes.
I still think blue rims, gold nipples, with gold spokes would look awesome.
check this out:


cheers,
[smiley=groucho.gif]

[RoentgenRanger]

32 should be plenty.  I have Velocity Deep-V's w/XT discs on my Evo and I'm a shade over 200.  Very sturdy wheelset.  Just remember...NO radial lacing w/discs...seen a couple that very bad things happened to [smiley=diaper.gif]