alathIN

The rear wheel on my commuter bike is starting to crack and will need replacement.

Background: 700c rim size, 8 speed rear cassette, currently running 35mm tires. Bike is a 2007 Gary Fisher Nirvana Hybrid that I use for commuting and family rides. I often have some combination of cargo, tagalong and/or trailer on this bike, and the original factory rear wheel died shortly after purchase.
At that time, a local wheel builder happened to have a Salsa Delgado Cross rim laying around, which he laced to the factory shimano hub and the resulting rear wheel gave me 6 years of great service but is now starting to develop cracks extending from the spoke eyelets.
This wheel might actually still be doing fine except that I took it out mountain biking this last weekend - I could tell it was slightly out of true and took it to my LBS, where the mechanic showed me the cracks. He said obviously waste of time trying to true this wheel; says I can "probably" get away with riding it for a while but it will certainly fail sooner or later.

So, time to start figuring out my next rear wheel.

I am considering two options:

1) get something to make do for now -basically shopping for the least expensive prebuilt option that will serve my needs - a 700c wheel for fairly heavy duty commuting. I have no ideas here and would appreciate any suggestions.

2) I am also getting ready to build my "dream bike" - a commuting / light touring bike probably on a Soma Saga frame. So one idea would be to go ahead and get the wheel set that will eventually wind up on my Saga. I probably will run 32mm tires on this bike but should otherwise be pretty similar. In this case I'd obviously need a front and rear, and would be willing to spend quite a bit more, including custom building. Would also appreciate any suggestions here. The local wheel builder is steering me toward H Plus Son TB 14 rims with Shimano 105 hubs - I'd like to hear feedback on this idea or any alternative suggestions.

fietsbob

rims and cassettes can be considered consumables .. a pretty Generic wheel with a cassette hub will get the job done and leave cash in your pocket.

machine built tensioned and trued by the retail shop.. should be adequate ...check with your LBS.,

& there are wheelbuilding Gnomes in cubicles at QBP that any dealer can order in , with a variety of parts options ..

FBinNY 

Since you've had poor luck with factory wheels, and better with hand built, stay with what works. Pick a rim, and have the same, or equally qualified guy do a rebuild.

This will likely cost more than a stock wheel, so if you're thinking of tossing the bike soon, you might go the cheaper route.

Wilfred Laurier

see what the lbs has in stock
or can order in
or recommends
and have one laced onto your old hub as before
and get the hub overhauled in the process
and ride the hell out of it for another six years or more

cny-bikeman

I agree with FB - if you're thinking of another bike go for a serviceable wheel now, but there's a middle ground. Even a stock wheel can be made much more reliable with proper tensioning by that same wheel builder. That gives you more time to research your next bike. I will add here my usual advice about scratch builds:

If you are both very knowledgeable and very particular about specific components you want, know how you want to customize the "cockpit" (saddle, bars, stem, pedals) in both dimensions and style, are reasonably familiar with issues of compatibility between parts, are willing to pay from a 150-200% premium, and finally have dozens upon dozens of hours to spec, order and install everything instead of riding or other leisure, then by all means consider a scratch build.

I would say that a large majority of people who build from scratch get a minor amount of useful experience from the process, and the end result is not far removed from ordering a stock bike and changing some of the components, but at a high financial and time cost. I have over 20 years experience as a mechanic, tourist, commuter and racer, and I found the perfect bike for me without building from scratch. All that was required was a change of stem, bars, pedals and saddle, plus alternate tires when not doing loaded touring. As I purchased the bike in the box and sold the original parts it cost me only about 10% more than the stock price and I was on the road a whole lot quicker. I owned my Moto Grand Jubilee for about 10 years and got it just about perfect by rebuilding the wheels (remember Weinmann Concaves?), changing chainrings, pedals, bar and stem.

The frame the OP is considering is $450. My commuter/touring bike, after modifications, cost a total of about $850 including rack (purchased in winter during an REI sale of previous year's model) and after 5 years I have not needed or wanted to change a single thing.

nfmisso

For one of my commuting bikes and our tandem; I built wheels rear wheels up with:
this hub: https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Master-A...0h+wheelmaster
https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Master-T...0h+wheelmaster
same except color
and Velocity Dyad rims:
Amazon.com : Velocity Dyad Rim, 40h, 700c, Silver MSW : Bike Rims : Sports & Outdoors
with Wheelsmith SS14 spokes.

jimc101

Here he is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lGKdRxdYKI

alathIN

OK, this makes things easier: I just found out that someone makes the exact bike I wanted - a road-like commuter/touring bike with disc brakes and 105-or-better brifters 2015 Vaya 2 | Bikes | Salsa Cycles

Now that I'm out of the "scratch build" business and in the "save up for a new bike" business, I am just going to replace the rear wheel on my existing commuter. My LBS found an economical option that should be adequate.