Wheel set?

[bncrshr77]

Hello,
I'm having the good ole internal debate about a wheel set. I've done several bike packing trips/races and tons of endurance rides so i'm not new to the sport.

I'm looking at the 2013 mavic crossmax st 29 wheels for my bike.  Compared to most higher end wheels they are relatively cheap and I've heard nothing but but good things about the new its-4 hubs.  Every crossmax wheel set I've had in the past has been phenomenal.

One of the things I'm really interested in is the fact that the spokes do not actually enter the inside of the rim so if I was to shear a spoke it would not shoot in through my rim tape and turn into a gaping hole with stans everywhere. I've dealt with this before. Fixing a flat on the trail is one thing but trying to get my rim cleaned and dry enough to patch the hole in the rim strip/tape is a pain.  I know I could just throw a tube in there but I'm looking to avoid the issue all together.  I know the spokes are proprietary but I will carry a couple with me since they weigh next to nothing. 

Any thoughts?

[RossC]

The link i tried to view on the mavic website was dead when I tried to check out the spoke count. I'm totally guessing but i assume they are 28 hole? My experience with low spoke count wheels (versus 32 hole) is that when you break a spoke, they go out of round in a big way. Particularly if you are carrying any sort of load.

I've seen it happen on three different wheelsets and decided that for my 'big ride' wheels i'd go 32 hole for a little bit more piece of mind. Just a stray thought since no-one else had chimed in.

[bncrshr77]

Yep, after much deliberation and research I did go with a 32 spoke wheelset.  Ended up going with the I9 Torch hub with their Enduro rim.  From the reviews online I will never have to worry about that combo and that's exactly what I wanted.