Wow, that is a good bit of money for building up a new wheel set. As stated before, you should be able to use the old hub and 6sp and just get new rim and spokes. Rims are common on ebay, you may even be able to match your front wheel brand if you have some patience. Then all you need is the labor to build the wheel, which should not be Tooo much, depending on where you go, I guess. It is not that difficult to do, I have built up a couple wheelsets just using a cheap Bike Nashbar wheel trueing stand. Nice job for cold winter nights by the fire. But thats up to you. Good luck! ew