Touring - Are these wheels worth it?

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=131&subcategory=1197&brand=&sku=6367&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat:%20Road%20Wheels%20-%20Pairs

I'm looking at this wheelset for my first touring bike build. I was thinking of building something along the lines of 36h lx/xt hubs on mavic MA3 rims. I know they arent on the same level but the price is so tempting. thoughts? other good alternatives?

are they for 700c or 26in? if 700c, what size tires would they take? the price is very tempting, especially considering my profound state of broke-titude.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MAVIC-CLASSICS-ELITE-WHEEL-SET-BRAND-NEW-NEVER-USED_W0QQitemZ230030467317QQihZ013QQcategoryZ58097QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It would be pretty hard to improve on these wheels.

Many people have had problems with the eyelets cracking on the MA3. You might want to look at a better rim like the Open Pro or the A719.

the wheels are 700cc and 26.5mm wide so they'd take a 30-40c range??

thanks for the advice on the MA3, now my wheelset just got more expensive:rolleyes: haha

laced to a quality, alloy hub

Ohhh ya?
Name this "quality hub" in the ad.

Do yourself a favor, spend your $150 on a well built rear wheel [36h XT hub laced to a Mavic 719] then, when ya get the chance, match it with a front.

-Ditto with the recomendation for going for something other than the MA3. Mind that the MA3 is a rather nice rim. I've a set on wheels I've beat on quite a bit-but without a touring load.

For touring on 700c the A719's come highly recomended. I'm currently running 48h 700c Velocity Dyads on my current "big tour".

Also, Id like to add: if you are going anywhere other than North America or Western Europe rethink your bike choice and use 26" (MTB) size wheels. Suitable 700c tires are rarely available (so neither would rims or spokes) outside these areas.

Cheers from Kashgar, Xinjian Western China! (where I'm waiting for a replacement tire set being shipped from the States)

thanks for all the input, wheels are the last thing i should be cheaping out on anyways

oh by the way, anyone tell me the difference between a lx and a xt hubset? thanks!

I'd like to hear the difference myself. I'm not super happy with LX at the moment, having just rebuilt mine after 1000 miles (slow day just wanted to look around in there), and found a broken labyrinth and a rough race.

XT and LX tend to get lumped together for touring purposes, and my LBS which does a lot of touring bikes, was not inclined to go any higher than the LX. They recommended buying the cheapest hub that was made outside China in the Shimano line, or something like that. Beckman lumps them together, calls them good quality, though says they are not great for Clydesdales or "expedition" use.