Good article -- thanks Epic.
My take-away from it is:
-- 28 spoke count is not necessarily a bad thing, if the Crossmax are only 20/24; it's the quality of the spokes that matters, and the stiffness of the rims
-- spoke tension matters....this is interesting, as I have not touched the wheels in three years since I bought the bike, other than to true the occasional wobble, so I should probably head to the shop and have them check this on my Bontragers....perha ps they have loosened over the years and are just making the flexing worse.
I will admit that the Bontrager wheels are comfortable to ride, esp. with high volume tires. Being a hard tail, having more cush in the tail is a plus. But I would be willing to give up some comfort for more snappy performance (if that's possible).
Weight is not really an issue -- my preference has always been strength and reliability over low weight. I like the feeling of being able to let the bike take some hard hits and know that nothing will break or bend. For that peace of mind, I will happily carry some extra grams.
I'm not clear as to what difference rim width makes to flex, other than thinking that wider = stiffer/stronger(?). And wider = more stable tire seat = better control. FWIW, the rim width on my Bontragers is 28mm (must be the outside dimension), but they look pretty wide compared to others.
I also dug up some specs on the Bontrager's spokes -- they are DT 14/15 gauge, but I have no idea what that means -- are they thick or thin?