Wheel recommendations?

It will be worth the time invested, I'm sure. Hoping that you'll post a review of some kind.

I can't wait that long! Here's a series that any good vlogger / 'grammer would surely recognise.

1. unboxing video - that should have been uploaded by now. Get yer skates on!

2. first ride impression (even if it's just up and down the street)

3. a review (you've ridden it a few times now)

4. a long term or 'proper' review (you've ridden it for a while)

5. what upgrade do I get to replace it? This can be either due to issues with the item or just 'cause you want to spend some money. For most people it's the latter.

andystow wrote:

Front wheel trued and tensioned last night. I think it took me well over an hour.

It looks round to me

andystow wrote:

I laced up my first wheel ever, new rim, spokes, and nipples onto my old SON dynamo hub. I still need to take it to the bike co-op to tension and true it. The rim matches the new hand built rear wheel, which is ready to go. The frame I used for LEJoG is out getting stripped and powder coated.

Hopefully posting the results in the next couple of weeks on Pictures of your Bike.

Nice.

I think you should give tensioning and trueing a go. Just take it relatively slow and try to tension each spoke roughly the same. It's quite possible to true up a wheel by putting it onto the bike and eyeballing it so that the rim is halfway between the forks. It'll be a learning exercise, prepare you for if you ever need to replace a spoke and then you can take it to the bike co-op to check how well you've done. As long as you don't go too tight, it should save them some time.

andystow wrote:

Oh, doing it myself is the plan. I've replaced spokes and trued wheels before. The co-op is a volunteer workspace (that I sometimes volunteer at) where you're supposed to do your own wrenching, with the volunteers just being advisors.

https://bikepeoria.org/coop/

They/we have a couple of good quality truing stands, as well as some other tools I'll need like a headset bearing press, and bottom bracket facing tool.

Excellent.

I built my rear wheel a while ago with a 60mm Prime rim and some aero spokes which weren't as difficult to use as I'd thought. When it came to truing it though, I ended up putting the tyre on, mounted the wheel on the bike and just eyeballed the tyre with the down-tube as my old truing stand probably won't take thru-axles. So far, it's been very solid and I haven't felt the need to do any more adjustment.

I did buy a cheap truing guage but haven't got around to trying it out yet.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006437109220.html

andystow wrote:

Before my trip I trued the wheel with the zip tie trick. A truing stand makes it a little easier.

Never come across the zip tie trick before, thanks to you have looked it up and docketed it, cheers. Have a stand at home but that's a great one to know for an emergency.

Good reliable wheels in my experience and the three year warranty shows a good degree of confidence - I should think for someone with your sort of mileage and terrain if you get three years out of a $350 wheelset you'd feel you'd done OK?

I wonder how many of those makes are more race oriented / supply 650B? 

Ryde (the old Rigida) rims might be another one to consider. You might benefit from a SON dynohub wheel? Also Pacenti rims. 

This guy's site (he does ship to the US) is worth poking around -

E.g. https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/products/copy-of-ryde-andra-321-disc-brake-...

Youll probably want some robust spokes and a 32/32h set-up. Cycle Clinic uses Sapim. I'm guessing you overloaded your Hunts. (I'd be 32/36h in 700c.)

If you have the time, DIY is another good route. Pair with a spoke calculator. 

https://www.troubleshooters.com/bicycles/wheelbuilding/index.htm

3 year guarantee offered - let us know what Hunt come back with. 

Every other spoke hole cracking you say - NDS or DS? The other thing I'm thinking, not that I'm any sort of expert, is too much spoke tension on the one side. 

If you pluck an uncracked DS spoke, what's it feel like? 

I would say definitely don't go down on spoke count from what you had previously.

I would also recommend having a look at Cycleclinic website. Malcolm is incredibly open and informative on pros/ cons of different options when building wheels and which brands of rims/ hubs/ spokes he is willing to use in his builds. Even if shipping from UK makes it not cost effective, it could give you a shopping list to go to a more local builder and get something made to your spec.

From that list only ever had Mavics
2 pairs Crossrides (disc only and a treasured early disc/rim brake)
Broken a rear spoke and a rear axle, both replaced and retensioned.

2 pairs Aksiums, worn out a couple of rims, and 1 pair tubeless ksyriums, only issue is tubeless, 2 rear tyres with punctures too big to seal in relatively few miles and nigh on impossible to get a tube in with the tubeless tyre without puncturing the tube.

Yikes! I wouldn't buy another similar wheel from them, even if it was half price or whatever.

Your bike deserves something built properly with a stronger rim with eyelets and brass spokes. Look at how a reputable UK builder like Malcolm at Cycle Clinic specs a dynamo wheelset here (I think it's a Kinlin TL-23) for a very similar price.