cheers Blazin-saddles, that's pretty much what I wanted to hear. Think I may try a 24 spoke wheel on the front possibly, but won't be doing so on the back. These are going on a hardtail, and it's always the rear wheel that gets the bulk of the abuse on any of my bikes anyway, so a few grammes in the sake of extra reliability won't be the end of it I don't think.
ballsofcottonwool, the Mavic Crosslands have got an inately stiffer rim than the Stans 355 is anyway, so though I appreciate your thoughts, it's kind of irrelevant.
Same pretty much goes for br. Mavic 819's are VERY stiff rims, I've owned quite a few in the past. Most of them 32 spoke, but one pair were 24 spoke. Could I tell the difference? The rims are way too stiff, so no I couldn't!
steve_b77, I should hope they do feel fine! I was trying to get at will the 24 spoke version feel fine or not as well though really… 😉