Thanks for the feeback, one and all. I've been refreshing occasionally during the day to read responsed, but have been quite busy today at work, so little time to respond.
You will not be able to put a freehub body on a freewheel threaded hub.
That I knew. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear in my terminology. I'd be looking at a whole new hub w/ a freehub body on it.
Originally Posted by sstorkel
Ouch! That's heavy...
I'm not worried about a few ounces of weight in the wheel. I'm mostly interested in getting from point A to point B w/o wheels falling apart!
And if it's a little heavier, all the better in some ways - more effort = better exercise= more weight loss = even less stress on the spokes!
The OC drilling is interesting, though. I'd seen it in wheel profile images, but wasn't quite sure what it was for. Now it makes sense.
Originally Posted by socalrider
If you are going to be running 40mm tires...
I run a 40 right now and probably will for the foreseeable future. I ended up with a 35mm cyclocross tire on the front wheel, and the stock wheels used to have skinnier tires (32s I think), and I liked both. While I imagine I'll mostly be running 40s, I wouldn't want to limit myself to that or wider. I kind of like the potential flexibility of being able to go down to a 35, or maybe even a 32 some day, though I doubt the latter.
Originally Posted by socalrider
Talk to the wheel guy and see if he can retension the wheels you have now ($25 to $50). That may get you some life on your wheels.
That's an option I'm considering, although he has already stated that he "[doesn't] think going with a rebuild is a good idea." Besides the fact that they're already suspect components given my history, he mentioned that axles in freewheel hubs are much more likely to get bent than on freehub assemblies, especially for heavier riders.
At a $250 price tag, rebuild might be my only option, though. I don't want to offend his professional opinion, and I know that a new wheel would certainly be best, but I do face certain very real financial constraints. All new spokes with proper high tensioning done by him might be the ticket if he's willing to accept the job. That'd be in the $100 range, I'd guess.
Certainly frustrating at best. I know I'm certainly outside the bell curve weight-wise, especially among cyclists, BUT it seems like these things should just be engineered to handle heavier weights by default, especially on a bike or a wheel that will never see racing action. Guess I got what I paid for to begin with, though.
I do appreciate the wheel builder's non-dismissive (of clydes) sentiment, though: "There is no reason you can't have strong wheels on which you will be able to ride with confidence." To that, I say AMEN!
Thanks again all for your feedback!