Originally Posted by
maddmaxx
517's are relatively light rims, similar in function to the open pro road rim.........nice but not necessarily the strongest for heavy loads. You might want to look at the Mavic 317 rim as a possible replacement. It has more extruded shaped inside the rim to add to the overall strength.
You could reuse your old hubs and buy new spokes and probably get years of use from the result.
The 317 is a stronger rim but I am afraid I do not like Deore hubs. The minimum I could recommend for Offroad use would be an LX hub. My mate Martyn is heavy at around 250 lbs and he uses 317 rims and LX hubs and He will wear out a rim and hub at the same time. Never breaks them but a wheel set will last him about 2 years offroad with all the muck and grime and his bad riding.
I would go up to XT hubs for my use with 217 rims (I still have a supply of these very light rims) but then I rarely use the brakes offroad. Don't do fast enough uphills- On the flat and I am playing catch up and Downhills I do more falling than braking.