Originally Posted by
jimc101
The M785 series is over a year old now, so should be easy to source (on the basis that your countries distributor brings them in) For other hubs; the availability of aftermarket hubs is diminishing every year, as most wheels now are factory builds, other than Shimano, there are option, but they will often be much more expensive, like Chris King, Phil Wood, Hope and others.
For rims, Velocity seem to be well liked, plenty of options as well, like Sun-Ringle, Mavic, DT, H Son, Rigida and others, all depends on your budget.
My budget is in the range of:
Shimano FH-M785 XT Hub (36H)
Velocity Dyad Rim (Silver - machined)
DT Swiss Competition Butted spokes (does this mean it is 2 mm at the ends, 1.8mm in the middle?)
DT Swiss Brass Nipples
The well-known hubs you mentioned are more than 2X the Shimano.
I'm going to see what my LBS can do for me when I bring my bike back. I repeatedly asked their two salesmen if a 24 spoke wheel would have a strength issue and they assured me it was not. I'd like to try and get the upgraded wheel at a discount. They are a rather large bike shop (Brands in Wantagh, NY), and I've been a very good customer.
Thanks for your guidance!