# 36H vs 32H strength?



## C Miller (Sep 6, 2012)

Is there a big difference in strength between a 32h and 36h wheel. I'm getting back into riding after a long layoff and I'm at the local Performance shop picking up "stuff" when I overhear a couple guys(one that works there). Their opinion is that there isn't enough difference and that's why they don't sell many 36H rims?


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

A few things have contributed to lower spoke numbers since the 1980s and I don't know which one contributed the most -

Better rims.
Deeper (stiffer) rims.
Better spokes.
Fad & fashion (the pros adopted lower spoke numbers and the bike makers fanned the flames).

So 36 spoke wheels, except for the loaded touring crowd and the big heavy boys, went out of fashion. Heck I used to race on 36 spoke wheels until the mid-80s and I was 150lbs then.

I doubt that anyone has done a wheel strength test of 32 vs 36 spokes but I'll bet 36 spokes are quite a bit stronger. Whether anyone needs that strength (outside of the above two categories) is doubtful given today's wheel parts.

But nothing is for free. With 36 spoke wheels I could break a spoke and not find it until I next cleaned the bike. Now, with some silly low spoke wheels, break a spoke and you can't even wheel the bike, let alone ride it home.

IMO, for the average rider, 32 spoke wheels are the benchmark and we all should have a set laying around. I have two sets.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

Never much of an factor here in North America, but the 36-spoke wheel standard also took older European roads into consideration. I remember lots of riding on German gravel roads with long sections of washboarding, as well as riding on cobbles (not medieval Paris-Roubaix cobbles, but bumpy pavers we called "catheads.") When roads got better and better, 36-spoke wheels became extra insurance instead of the standard.


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## 0.2HP (Jul 13, 2011)

I agree with the post above, modern 32 spoke wheels are strong enough or stronger for most of the rideing most people do.

Retro-groaches on the intertubes say a 36 spoke wheels are easier to straighten if you hit something and bend it. But it seems most who say this have never tried to striaghten anything other than 36 spokes.


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

Back in the day, you could buy rims in 28,32, or 36 for road. There were a few other drillings, but those three were the most popular. Rims are better today, better seams, welds, machining, the eyelets stay in, better alloys, better surface treatments, etc. I've got some 36 spoke wheels, but that's because I've had the hubsets for 15-20 years. I'll still race technical criteriums on 36H tubulars because they're tough and will stay true if they get dinged while riding in a pack. They're light enough. I wouldn't buy a new wheelset in 36H, it's just not necessary anymore unless it's going on a tandem.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

I built up a 36-spoke wheel recently. Mostly because I already had a 36-hole hub. I can't say I've had a problem with 32-spoke wheels, but the extra spokes is a bit more than 10% of the total, tightens spacing by a bit more than 10%, etc.

Going down in spoke count, wheels generally lose spokes four at a time. It's a bigger and bigger proportion of the total, and greater and greater increases in spacing. So I'd expect the difference between 32-spoke and 36-spoke wheels to be less than the difference between 32-spoke and 28-spoke wheels.

I'm sure the extra spokes make a stronger wheel. How much stronger is a tougher question. I can imagine buying 36-spoke wheels for my off-road and commuting bikes, which covers most of them, come to think of it. I don't think the extra 30 g or so is going to kill me and it might make a stronger wheel. Since I don't have trouble with 32-spoke wheels on unladen road bikes, I'd probably stick with them, and I can imagine going lighter for race day wheels.


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## alvinzeng (Aug 23, 2012)

I prefer the rims in 20,24.....


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