Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Mismatched Rims?

So, my roadie's 27" rear rim is I think too bent to be worth playing with anymore. It has a flat spot and I get the thunka-thunka which is pretty annoying among other things. Now it's starting to wobbly too - it took a few people to try to true it and I think it's just not worth playing with.

Right now it's a 40 spoke rim (I'll assume steel because I had to knock some rust off the spokes and I'll assume it was stock on the Nishiki Sport...20 somethin' years ago). My lbs has 36 spoke (I assume machined) 27" rim for $35 and another with sealed bearings and QR (which is on there now) for $50. I don't know the brand. But they were saying it's weird not to change both rims out.

Do I really need to worry about the front? It's trued up and doesn't give me any trouble. If my wrists ever stop killing me on this one I may think about getting hand laced set but I don't have the scratch for that at the moment. Is dropping down to 36 spokes asking for trouble on a cheaper 27" rim?

I've never cared if the rims match except in size. Is the hub salvageable on your old wheel? If so, buy a replacement wheel complete and rebuild the old one with a new rim and you have a spare wheel that way. Ebay is your friend!
http://cgi.ebay.com/MAILLARD-5-SPEED-27-X-1-INCH-EYELETTED-BICYCLE-WHEEL_W0QQitemZ160071953188QQihZ006QQcategoryZ58099QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/BICYCLE-WHEEL-SET-27-X-1-1-4-ALLOY-COMPLETE-MINT_W0QQitemZ120112216703QQihZ002QQcategoryZ35961QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hub should be fine - I just repacked it not too long ago, felt fine. Where would I get the rims and spokes from (that's a great idea, I'd love to try to build my own wheel!)? I don't even know what to get, types, etc...

Wait - that link looks like a wheel but says rim. More confused...

Those are complete wheels, 1 link is a rear only, and the other is a mint like NOS set.

As to buying a rim and spokes, any LBS will have those available, or you can order 40 spoke through Peter White, I think. Get double butted spokes, by the way.

Sweet, thanks!

In my opinion, building your own wheel is a bad (and by bad I mean counter productive) idea, especially if you're a clyde. It's something that you want to learn, start by relacing an old wheel that you're ready to throw out. Even then it'll take a lot of practice before you can put together a halfways decent wheel.

I would just buy up some stuff and find a good wheel builder in your area. When I lived in Minneapolis I had a friend who was an olympic certified mechanic. He built me set of mavic 36 hole cxp30s/ultegra hubs that I only had to true twice in 8 years.

And if your LBS doesn't sell/order clyde friendly stuff, they have no reason to complain about building up a 40 hole rim you bought off the internet.

I've got the stock standard 26 x 1.5 Specialized rim laced to a DX hub on the front, and a Mavic XC717 on an XT hub in back. No problems at all with the combo.

In my opinion, building your own wheel is a bad (and by bad I mean counter productive) idea, especially if you're a clyde. It's something that you want to learn, start by relacing an old wheel that you're ready to throw out. Even then it'll take a lot of practice before you can put together a halfways decent wheel.

I would just buy up some stuff and find a good wheel builder in your area. When I lived in Minneapolis I had a friend who was an olympic certified mechanic. He built me set of mavic 36 hole cxp30s/ultegra hubs that I only had to true twice in 8 years.

And if your LBS doesn't sell/order clyde friendly stuff, they have no reason to complain about building up a 40 hole rim you bought off the internet.
I believe Air wants to use his old hub to learn how to build a wheel, since he's going to have it there......an exercise in bike education, and in that vein, I think it's a great idea as long as he's willing to expect the cost of errors. ;) :p

Are the wheels supposed to bend in half when you're done with them? ;)

Yeah, it would be a fun exercise to play with.

[By the way - best quote from my ride yesterday with a group of volunteers for the 5 boro bike ride. "Why do you even need spokes - you could take them out and it would be fine!" Took us about 5 mins to explain the spokes connect the rim to the hub :D]

I took a bent rim from my Son's bike and used it as a test unit to learn how to build wheels. Did not use high cost spokes as I new it was just a test unit. I did have to pay him to take a test ride on it though as he told me he was a test pilot and should be paid as one :D. It did pretty good, but the rim was just to bent to be repaired and I could never get the spoke tension correct and knew the rim would never be safe to ride. It was a great way to learn how to build a wheel. It taught me a lot.

If your current rims are steel and the replacements that the bike shop is selling are aluminum, then I would say change both wheels out. The aluminum wheels should make the brakes operate better, especially if damp.

"Why do you even need spokes - you could take them out and it would be fine!" Took us about 5 mins to explain the spokes connect the rim to the hub :D]

I feel bad for this person.

lol i have a weird set up on my to be fixie-conversion. in the back im getting made a 36 suzue promax hub being laced 3x on the fixed side and radial on the freewheel side to a Deep V on Sapim double butted spokes.. on the front i have the stock araya hoop on old spokes laced to a weird french Malliard hub soon to be matching promax. i think it'll look fine just as long as you dont mind them not matching.. on my roadie i had a mismatching front wheel 75% of the time too.. 36h in the back 32 or 36h in the front depending on which one i crashed LOL.. not good stories..