To give some idea of just how hard building is: These were my third and fourth wheels. I printed Sheldon's instructinos for the first wheel and used them as a reference on the second. While getting the materials together for this build, I found those instructions and placed them on the table with everything else. I never actually ended up looking at them. When you're ready for some new wheels, Just Do It.

I chose Ultegra's because they're a known quality. I could have just as easily used some 105's and saved about $70. But, the bike they're on is otherwise all Ultegra and DA. When I added up the total cost of rims, spokes, tape, tires, tubes, the difference in cost for the hubs wasn't that great. I anticipate these wheels lasting a long time and would have loved to build them on a set of Chris King hubs. But, I'm not currently employed, so couldn't really justify spending that sort of cash. I also considered DT hubs. The colours and graphics would have matched really nicely. But, they're almost as dear as the Chris King hubs. So, Ultegra it is. Chances are pretty good that the hubs will last as long, if not outlast, the rims.

Choosing hubs:

Sealed bearings versus cup and cone. I'm increasingly an "all weather" rider. With that in mind, sealed bearing hubs start to make more and more sense. You live in sunny Cali. And, if you're at all a fair weather rider, cup and cone really don't have any negatives. Even given the nature of our weather here, I still ended up going the cup and cone route. I just need to become more consistant in my service of them.

Freehub ratchets. As superficial as this is, I don't like the swarm of angry bee's freehub ratchets (Campy, Fulcrum, Hope, Chris King). They offend my sense of enjoyment on my rides and I frequently joke with riding partners who have them that, "Campy assumes you don't coast. You must pedal! All the time. Coasting is not fast. If you coast, no Campy for you!" So, I gravitate toward the much quieter Shimano freehubs for purely personal accoustic asthetic reasons.

As a clyde, I also eliminate alloy and exotic freehub bodies. I know that there are plenty of clydes out there using them. But, personally, I've had bad experiences. I've broken pawls, the recesses that hold them, stripped the teeth they engage with and more. Moste recently, in February I had the freehub on a Specialized Camber completely lock up, fixie style. That was not a fun ride out of the woods and back to town. Thankfully it was a demo and didn't have to concern myself with "what" or "how" it happened. Just handed the bike back to the guy, informed him that it was not functional and negotiated the return of my and my friends rental fees for our inconvenience. So, steel frehub mechanisms for me.

Um,.........and don't forget to get hubs with the same number of holes as your rims. That's important! Beyond that, rear spacing, 130 or 135mm.