Originally Posted by
Moe Zhoost
Personally, I would skip rebuilding the back wheel. The marginal gains are just not worth the effort. OTOH, if you just want the practice or if you have some damaged spokes, go for it.
What hub are you planning to use? I've used Shimano, Sturmey, and Shutter Precision (which I like the best). SON was a bit too expensive for my budget.
I get that a probably won’t be able to tell any difference on the rear wheel, but I have a feeling I’m not going to like the look of shiny new butted spokes on the front and black straight gauge on the back. I enjoyed building my first set of wheels, so I’ll probably do it as much for skill development as anything else.
As far as hubs, I’ve got a Kasai FS on the way. I’m a little leery of components that need to be shipped overseas for service, even if that service isn’t likely to happen soon. The serviceability aspect was enough for me to finally give it a shot. (I can’t quite bring myself to shell out for a SON either.)