Originally Posted by supcom
While there is no reason you cannot rebuild an existing wheel to use the Son hub, I wonder why you would. ...
I guess I wasn't clear. It would be a new wheel build with the same type of rim, not a rebuild...I'm assuming here that I can get a volos xl rim without buying the whole wheel, but I'm guessing that if I asked at cronometro (a local specialty shop that invented the cane-creek wheel/hub type) that I could. If I can't, I'd do 32 hole open pro without question. My question really was more...is the 24 spoke hub with the thicker rim going to be okay for me, given that the current wheel with the normal hub is okay, or is there a good reason to just go straight to a 32 spoke open pro type rim.
Originally Posted by supcom
Forget about the HID light on brevets. As you learned, it isn't practical. The truth is that it almost certainly puts out more light than you need to ride rural roads anyway. If you don't want to lay out the capital at this time for a Son generator and lights (a significant amount of cash) then consider a couple CatEye EL-500 LED lights. Mount one on each fork with a nob and adjust the beams as you like. On a fresh set of batteries, you'll easily get full illumination all night long. Two lights provides plenty of light for all but really fast downhills. My $0.02 anyway.
I'm okay with the cash outlay for the son, just want to make sure I am okay in terms of use. I like my current wheels...not the lightest, not the most aero, not the most bombproof, but a good mixture of the 3. I'm wondering if I should try to keep the same basic wheel...with a different hub, or if I'm better off just getting an open pro front, and riding a bike with mismatched wheels. Still, it sounds like the cateye might be something to consider.
A second question I have is this....how do you see the cue-sheet and street signs at night? I had a difficult time with both of those. Helmet mounted backup light? Doesn't that make your neck sore?