Originally Posted by CBBaron

You are right that a well done hand built wheel is better than a machine built wheel, but in my experience you can find some really good deals on machine built wheels and then with a small amount of your time you can properly tension the spokes and true the wheels for a wheel that rivals a good hand built wheel. If I had more time I might try to learn to build my own wheels but at this time a machine built wheel is often the best trade off of time vs money.
Craig