Originally Posted by
electrizer
... ... PS: I've just found a good deal on A719, possibly I can reuse my XT hub after some cleaning but what spokes would you recommend?
Take off the rim tape. Loosen all spoke nipples a turn or two. Then tape the new rim to the old rim so that the valve hole is in the same place and the labels read the same (not one being upside down when you look at them). Then start transferring spokes from the old rim to the new, one at a time. You will figure out rapidly which spokes to move first and which to transfer last.
I think I have three times as many miles on my A719 rims with minimal wear. I would look at them harder to figure out if you really need a new rim. Since you put very little wear on the front rim, keep the old rear rim for possible use on the front later if you do buy a new rim.
When my brake pads look bad like aluminum oxide instead of rubber or when they sound rough, I lightly sand the brake pads to get to fresher rubber. Brake pads are a lot cheaper than good rims.