More spokes stronger ?

[dyna-ti]

Is there an increase in real strength of a wheel, the greater number of spokes.

Its just that I used to buy 36/36, then when i got a sus fork and disc, went 36r/32f, thought being at the time the action of the fork took some of the stresses out. Also thinking the rear needed to be 36 for the non suspended impacts etc.
Tandems used up to 48.

but today, with different alloys, butting of spokes etc etc etc, do we still need a higher spoke count, or is lower better for strength to weight ratio.

 

[foz]

For any given rim, hub and lacing pattern (2x, 3x, etc) combination, more spokes will generally mean a stronger wheel. Think about a rim and hub built with very few spokes, say 4... would it work? then double the spokes to 8? 16?

obviously there is a minimum number needed, and there is a maximum practical number you can use too (probably about 48, above that and there will not be enough material in the rim between spoke holes, unless you increase rim diameter)

If you actually need more spokes or not is another matter - I think modern rims and spokes are a lot stronger than older ones, due to different alloys, extrusion patterns, etc. and you could probably get away with fewer spokes, but the rim would have to be strong enough

 

[The History Man]

On road bikes I learnt to my cost that more is stronger. Those particular wheels have moved on after a couple of buttock clenching rear failures.

 

[jimo746]

Re:

More spokes is stronger. Look at bmx wheels.
Advances in materials (rim/spoke) has increased strength whilst reducing weight.
So you don't necessarily need 36 spoke wheels for xc mtb, 32 is more normal, but lighter use and proprietary spoke/rim systems can reduce this further.
Some spoke counts on road wheels seem scarily low, but they mostly seem to hold up OK. (although breaking a spoke on a 36 spoke wheel is a minor inconvenience, I know from experience that breaking a spoke on an 18 spoke wheel is a bit more "interesting"

 

[Woz]

A bit related, but BITD you would run a lesser spoked wheel on the front. On a road bike a 28 was
fairly common for racing.

The theory being that about 60% of weight is over the rear. So, if you had 32 rear and 32 front either
the rear is under-built or the front over-built for your weight / riding.

In practice of course, hubs for are sold in pairs with the same drilling and not to mention the
majority of factory wheel manufacturers wouldn't be arsed to tool up for different drilling patterns etc.

On a MTB since your weight shifts between fore-aft I guess having an equal but sufficient spoke count
front and rear makes more sense.

My big complaint with low spoke count is that the rear wheel doesn't seem stiff enough due to dishing.

 

[hamster]

There is also a fashion element. Low spoke counts are cool. However this is often achieved by a heavy rim to bring back strength. This might be more aerodynamic, but slower to accelerate and dead weight uphill. Make up your own mind!