Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Go with a 36 hole Shimano 105 hub. It's easy to spread the rear triangle from 126 to 130. 8 or 9 spd cassette will work fine.
Good advice! Most 80's tourers were spaced at 126mm. Spreading to 130 is no big deal...from my experience, they pop right in with little effort and no cold setting. I've done this with a couple of touring bikes. 700c rims--instead of the stock 27"--work great too with a simple adjustment of the cantilever brake pads.
I was thinking at first of going with a 135mm "mountain bike" hub--mainly because those wheelsets are so plentiful and cheap--but didn't want to go through the hassle of cold setting. If you're going to buy a pre-built wheelset with 105/Ultegra and 36 spoke touring rims like Mavic 719's...they're available if you look around a bit.
FWIW, if you go with a 7 speed casssete instead of an 8/9 speed, you'll need a small spacer.