Thanks for the note on the Tubus rack. I'll have to find one in person and see if I can measure the width for clearance's sake.

While I'm not the biggest fan of Shimano, nor and I boycotting their company, I've toyed with the idea of building a totally Shimano-free bike, which proves to be pretty tough. (so far, I've found very few readily available bar-end shifters, brake levers, and other similar priced hubs)

So, I think I'll satisfy myself by running Sram for the drivetrain, and then probably look at some range of Shimano for the wheels. My coworkers at my old LBS always suggested the Rhinolite rims laced to Deore hubs or greater. I might look into building up a wheel with those rims and the best Shimano hubs I can afford.

On a tangent, I have been drooling over a gorgeous pair of limited edition pink Phil track hubs at another shop my buddy works at. So hot.. and so expensive. Just for fun though, I may check at the new shop I'm starting at to see what I can get a pair for, since I do swear by half the other stuff Phil manufactures.

As far as I tires, I run some bomb-proof Michelin Erilliums on my track bike that I swear by. I've also ran Armadillo's (heavy as hell), and Gatorskins (a bit slow) but these were all 700c. I'm new to the world of 26", so this should be a fun new endeavor.