As Stapfam says, the old school gold standard for wheels is the Shimano hub with an open pro (light) or CXP33 (aero and strong) rim. They have been the staple of wheel builders for years and they will provide excellent value and performance for the money.

Having said that, modern wheel technology has come a long way baby. There are modern rims that are incredably strong, straight pull spokes and cartridge bearing hubs to tickle the fancy. Most small wheel builders have not followed this trend yet because frankly the material to build one of these wheelsets isn't economically available to the average back shop biker.

For the time being, I've given up building my own wheels because there are some excellent commercial offerings available after picking through the sales. My preference at the present time are ***** ********** () for MTB's with straight pull spokes. I can buy some of these wheels for less than it would cost me to buy the material to build them.