Should I?
 

So my bike is pretty awesome to me already except for 2 parts. The crankset and wheels. I have a Truvativ Elita crankset and Easton vista wheels. the crankset weighing in at 910 grams and the wheelset weighing in at 1800 grams.
I want to eventually build my own wheelset, so with that in mind, what should i upgrade first?

Crankset, then wheels. The easton vistas are heavy, but they are decently aero, and the hubs spin very nicely. They're a decent training wheelset

if you want something you may notice I'd say wheels

unless your crank is shifting poorly wait till you wear out your rings and need to swap them and get a new crank then

Why not build your wheels now?

As for the crank, do you know what you would be getting? Unless you are changing the gearing, you are doubtful to notice an actual performance difference. I would figure out what you want and then just be real patient waiting for a deal. Ebay, bonktown, CL, british sites, you'll find it somewhere. Since you don't have an immediate need you can hold out for a bargain.

yeah, do the wheels first. I have a set of Hed Ardennes LT. I never knew just how much I could appreciate a smooth ride until I got these. They are so true and well made... I consider wheels as important as the frame, everything else can wait.

Wheels are almost always the best upgrade, so I would definitely do that first.

Im not building the wheels right now because I dont have the money yet. Im getting a saddle, so either next month or around christmastime is when I'm planning on starting to order parts.
What should I build? I was thinking either velocity a23 orr kinlin x-270 rims, and I dont know what hubs.

Really depends on your size, terrain, budget, etc.

As others mentioned, your Vistas are a decent set of training wheels. I think they have straight gage spokes and a steel free hub body and that's what makes them a tad heavy. If you built a set of wheels with the Kinlin rim, double butted spokes and a hub with an aluminum cassette body you would get something that rode similar but weighed 200-300 grams less. With round DB spokes and import hubs price would be $200-300 for parts. If you have more money to spend you could spring for White Industry hubs which gets you a more durable Ti cassette body.

There are lots of other options, which is one of the main advantages of hand building, but again, this all depends on your specifics.

Fwiw, I ride a set of A23s laced 24/28 to WI hubs with DT Comp spokes as training wheels. I weigh 180 and the roads around me rarely get worse than 'rolling'. I find them smooth and they've been durable for 2000 miles I have on them. The A23s allow me to run a little less psi than I otherwise would which makes them a little more grippy and compliant on rough roads.

Wheels. IMO you will get much more enjoyment in the ride, handling and overall feel of your bike by taking 200g off your wheels than your cranks.

Im about 180, Bay Area roads are pretty nice, and I occasionally do hills. I want to move the eastons to the commuter because i only have 1 set of wheels for 2 bikes right now

You should not. Just ride the bike- that's where the joy is. Purchasing lot's of stuff is a waste.

You have two bikes and only one set of wheels and you'd think about upgrading your crankset before buying new wheels?

Is the Truvativ really that bad?

Wheels are always the popular vote to upgrade. Though it is a great uprgrade, I will tell you that I upgraded from my fsa gossamer crankset that come with my bike to a matching ultegra hollotech. MUCH smoother shifting. Not to mention the asthetics of the swap is much nicer as well.

Either way....yes you should. Here in BF, 99.7623% of the people will always say...yes you should! ;)

I said it before and I'll say it again over and over.
For crankset, Ultegra SL is the best bang-for-buck option.
It's stiffer than a Dura Ace 7800 and only weighs 70g more. (about 830g w/BB).

Wheelset? (if you don't build)
$400./Blackset Race Ten (1480g?)
$500./Soul S2.0 (1330g?)

Done and doner.

Neither a lighter crank or lighter wheels will make an appreciable difference in your performance.

If you're short on money and have one set of wheels for two bikes, get another set of wheels.

You can build a set using hubs rims and spokes from BikeHubStore. Depending on the parts it'll cost less than $300. But you'll need tools to do it. So if money is an issue, look for sales on built wheels. You can often find decent road wheels for well under $300.

Build yourself commuter wheels right now. They are a good project for a first time builder as you are more likely to use round spokes than bladed and higher spoke count wheels can be easier to true. The parts can be cheaper, too.

For $200 you can probably find Sun CR18 rims, shimano 105 hubs (assuming a 130mm rear) and Wheelsmith DB 14 spokes with brass nipples. You will end up with a great set of commuter wheels that will be durable and easy to repair if they need it.

You will also gain invaluable experience on wheelbuilding that you will want if you go on building road wheels with more expensive parts.

You'll feel more difference with the wheels.

FWIW, Mavic Aksium wheels and Ultegra cranks are in the Bonktown rotation at the moment.

Though, while the Aksiums would be nicer than the Vistas, I'm not sure they're a big enough difference to make it worthwhile if the Vistas aren't broken.