What about hubs... As far as I can tell there's no real benefit to ceramic bearings and if you're interested in durability, they are probably detrimental, but other than that, what the heck gives with all the different kinds of hubs?
I saw a set of ultegra hubs for $124 at ribble - is there any benefit to DA hubs? What about DT Swiss 240 vs 350? Chris King? Brand X?
I actually found "The Bicycle Wheel" on my bookshelf tonight, so suddenly I"m interested in actually reading it and using it. Having said that the book was written back in 81 when rims were decidedly more noodly than they are today so is that advice still sound? Brandt says "NO" to radial spokes even in the front. My wheels are Easton EA90SL and they're 24 radial in the front, 28 radial/2x in the back and they've been incredibly true and solid (but I banged into something and dinged the rim... now I'm a little concerned)