Originally Posted by
koamileli
... I talked to 5 different shops about my requirements and they all have completely different outlooks.
An "average" wheel, used by an average rider, for average purposes has huge margins in its design - so there are plenty of ways to achieve a decent result. But shops have their preferences due to what parts they have home/can get the easiest/can sell with biggest margin, so it's no wonder you're getting conflicting recommendations. Nothing strange in that, unless the info starts to become straight out contradictory.
Originally Posted by
koamileli
...Oh, forgot to mention my stock front wheel is radial spoked. That is definitely a no-no for what I need, correct?
..
The pros and cons of radial lacing is a recurring subject here, and the main thing about it is that unless your hubs are cleared for it, it can actually tear the hub flanges apart.
Nevertheless there are quite a number of non-rated hubs out there doing just fine in a radial lace.
It's also considered a definite no-no for for drive- or hub braked wheels, although there's one guy on this forum saying they do OK as drive wheels too. There's even a pic on the Park Tool website showing a guy working on the hub of a radial rear.
The theory why it would be bad is sound though.
So what can you gain by it? They are a little bit lighter, and laced heads-in they're a bit laterally stiffer. Laced heads out they look quite neat(but you lose lateral stiffness). Radial lace is supposedly a tad more aero.
What can you lose? Assuming your hub holds up - not much.
Some report that radial laced wheels have a bigger tendency to go out of true. With the spoke and nipple being perfectly aligned there's less friction keeping the spoke from unwinding if it goes slack. Then again, any wheel built so that spokes go slack regularly will get you in trouble eventually.
Ride quality? Don't even bother. The difference in a wheel's springiness that can be theoretically traced to the change in spoke configuration is absolutely dwarfed by the deformation that the tire will contribute with, so that's a non-issue.
I see it mainly as a matter of choice and preference. Done correctly a radial lace is unlikely to either make or break your ride.
Still, on my rim braked MTB I do like my radial front. It does allow me to run the brake set up closer to the rim w/o getting any rub when I'm out of the saddle.