# Ever used a 48-spoke rim for your rear Wheel ?



## ThundaCrymz (Oct 22, 2012)

At least a year or two ago I decided to buy a 700c 48-spoke rim for my Motobecane Elite FS ( recently converted to a SS ) I hated when I had my old rim and took that ride across town and you hear that familiar POP, you knew you broke a spoke. So I decided to invest in a 48 spoke rim since I knew Tandems usually have this type of wheel in the rear and can support more weight. Even though I might get an occasional spoke break, I have alot less of them now compared to the old wheel. My question to my fellow clydesdales is if any of you ever used a 48-spoke rim for your rear wheel.

Also noticed (almost 2yrs later) It was laced in a 4-cross pattern instead of 3-cross (facepalm)


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## tenbsmith (Dec 31, 2004)

Sound like a strong wheel. I flirted with 38 spokes for a while, but went back to 32 which has been working fine for me. I weigh around 240lbs and ride aggressive XC.


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## Bike Whisperer (Aug 7, 2012)

I would consider 48 spoke to be way overkill in almost all cases, 36 spoke on a burly rim would be more than sufficient for most situations. If you have issues breaking spokes, that would probably indicate too low spoke tension. A properly hand built wheel using quality spokes would do just fine.

BTW-4x is common on 40 and 48 spoke wheels


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## ThundaCrymz (Oct 22, 2012)

Bike Whisperer said:


> I would consider 48 spoke to be way overkill in almost all cases, 36 spoke on a burly rim would be more than sufficient for most situations. If you have issues breaking spokes, that would probably indicate too low spoke tension. A properly hand built wheel using quality spokes would do just fine.
> 
> BTW-4x is common on 40 and 48 spoke wheels


idk, I'd prefer the overkill in my circumstance, but maybe in the future I'll look into investing in better spokes 

@ tenbsmith: I never used a 32h rim (yet) Might have to try one when i have the money for it * thumbs up*


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## 50calray (Oct 25, 2010)

I'm not sure how much has changed I used to run 48 spokes on my BMX bikes back in the day and they was bullet proof. It's not that I weighed much in those days, only 180lbs but I put my BMX bikes through hell.


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## bigE (Jan 22, 2005)

At 6'8" and 240lbs I have used 36 spoke wheels and am currently on 32 spoke wheels which seem to be holding up okay. 

48 spoke wheels sound like overkill, but I understand the need for strong durable wheels.


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## 4nbstd (Apr 12, 2012)

I'm running 36 spokes 4 cross (Flow with CK hub, DT 14g spokes) for both front and rear. 220 lb on rigid 29er with plenty of air time. The stock wheel had 32 spokes, and it held up better than I'd expected, but I didn't have much confident in them and that kinda held me back a bit. Now I do a lot of "check this out" stuff that end up on failblog.org, and wheels are fine.


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