CR18 Rims, 28 & 36 holes, 74 mm hubs, etc., etc.
For reasons that I will explain, I would like to rebuild the rear wheel of my Dahon Boardwalk to make use of one of the several 32- or 36-hole Shimano freehubs that I have lying around. This will allow me to have a tougher wheel, to convert from 6 to 7 (or 8) speeds, to have a somewhat wider gear range than the (older) stock Boardwalk and to generally benefit from the advantages of the freehub design.
The catch is that the stock Boardwalk has a 28-spoke rear wheel, and I don't have a 28-spoke hub shell "in stock." Even if I did, at 170 lbs., riding bumpy NYC streets and carrying all sorts of luggage, I'd rather have 32 or, better yet, 36 spokes in the rear wheel (unless someone could convince me that 28 is enough).
My Boardwalk came with Weinmann rims (not sure of the exact model but it ends in "19"), which is a very basic, mid-width, single-wall alloy rim. My thought was to convert to Sun CR-18 rims, which I have used in other applications (larger wheels) and I like very much. While these are narrower that the Weinmanns, they should be plenty strong, esp. in the 406 diameter. These also have the advantage of being offered in 28- and 36-hole drillings. The 28-hole drilling is important, because the front wheel is based on a 74mm Dahon hub with 28 holes.
Assuming that I want to match front and rear rims, it seems that my options are:
a. Obtain 28-hole and 36-hole CR-18 rims, swapping the front rims and building a new rear wheel on a 36-hole freehub
b. Obtain a 28-hole freehub and use it in relacing the existing rear wheel
c. Obtain a new 74mm front hub drilled 32 or 36, thus freeing me up to obtain the best deal on any quality 32-or 36-hole rim set
d. Do nothing or simply replace the 14-28 freewheel with a wider range 7-speed freewheel
Although it's not the simplest or cheapest, as the above suggests, I am leaning toward option (a). On that note, does anyone know of a web-based vendor who offers the CR-18 in 20x1.5 in. (406 ETRTO) with both the 28 and 36 drillings?
Option (b) might be OK if I can be convinced that 28-spoke wheels are reliable for day-in, day-out commuting (this bike is fairly new to me, but so far, so good).
Option (c) seems less likely, but I would be curious to know of the options in 74mm hubs (other than the Panatour, which I don't foresee buying).
Option (d) may be the short to mid-term solution, as I have several freewheels lying around.
Your thoughts would be appreciated.