I wouldn't pay 300 for a wheelset using DA22s. those things are not very strong. They came stock on my gf's Sputnik and they dented pretty easily.

I don't have too much advice regarding an affordable, light wheelset. On my track bike I currently run an expensive, relatively heavy wheelset. But most of the weight is in the hubs and I'm okay with that.

1600 g IS light on SSFG. Most people here ride with boat anchor deep V or stock BD offerings, straight gauge spokes, etc.... my guess is the avg. wheelset weight of a SSFG reader is at least 1800g. It is all relative. This isn't the weight weenie road forum.

Build a seriously light fixed wheelset (~1300g range) and your wheels end up costing more than your bike.

To the OP-- why not build your own?

I would focus on a light rimset and spokes. Weight is mostly a factor in wheels as rotational, meaning that a 4g weight increase in the rim is going to be felt more than a 30g increase in hub choice (didn't do any math for that, just example numbers).

Open pros with DTSwiss comps and formulas will probably do you well.

You want light wheels? Get tubulars. Even a 36 spoke tubular wheel built on a decent vintage competition quality rim will be lighter than a low spoke count wheel using a modern aero clincher rim, and stronger as well. People complain about the "fragility" of tubulars. My experience (over 30 years now) is that (given decent roads) rider weight is the biggest factor affecting tubular tire longevity. Under 70kg, no problems. More than that and negative issues proportionately increase with rider mass. That's why I try and stay under 68kg.

sorry but going tubulars is the worst recommendation. for commuting? putzing around town? yeah, okay...

I weigh about 160 lbs/70 kg, and the streets in Toronto aren't exactly the greatest. I've already dented a few rims by accidentally going over some pretty terrible holes.

I'm not looking to build my own as parts around here are generally expensive as redonkeykong. Rims are $80-100, hubs, even average/mid-range ones, are pretty pricey (figure another $100 or so for the hubs), add on the spokes and the time/effort, and I might as well have had them built by someone in a shop, who would build them better and guarantee them to an extent.

So that's one vote against the DA22. I could inquire about better rims. But like I said, $300 was already pricey! Around here a Deep V/Formula build will run you about $400. That's how crazy expensive things are here!

I don't know how good an idea, an ultra light wheelset for commuting, is in the first place.
But hey, since the question was asked...

And downtown toronto roads are just fine for tubular wheels. Once you get beyond the core of the city, then the roads really start to deteriorate, but even then, tubulars are much less likely to pinch flat. Not much debris around to puncture your tire either. rims will only dent if the tire inflation pressure wasn't high enough, causing the tire to bottom out and allow the rim to take the hit.

but if super light is desired... better than XR-200 would be edge 1.25 tubular, which is only about 215g.
That's 175g lighter than XR-200 and guaranteed to make your wallet... and bank account much lighter too.
If you built edge 1.25 around a mack hub rear and American Classic micro 58 front, I'm pretty sure it would be under 950g.

Yeah, I'm not aiming for SUPER light. Like I said, my current wheelsets are pretty heavy (most of my rims are deep, aero, heavy rims, 'cause I'm a huge poser obviously) and most wheelsets would be an improvement. But still, looking to get the most bang for the buck.

First I think you need to decide what you consider light is. Then you need to define what your goal is here. Do you just want something light? Or something that will last as well? You've already said you're not riding competitively so anything under like 1800g should do you fine. Honestly I don't even know if you'd be able to tell a difference really from what you have already. I mean, from a stand still maybe you will accelerate faster, but then what? You'll get to that red light 2 seconds faster?

Well, I stopped caring for "light" about 30 minutes after my post.

Went with the ever-so-popular Veep/DT Swiss/Formula collabo. It's worked well for me so far. No need to deviate from that formula. What's a few grams? It's not like I'm racing, FFS.

Dude asked about *light* wheels, not commuter wheels. But that said, I used to do loaded touring on tubulars back in the 70s.

Im in a similar situation. I have a steel frame fixie with deep v's and just picked up a 2010 trek t1. I wanted b43's for no more reason for the looks but on this bike its just not logical. I'm going to see how the stock set holds up but there is some good advice in this thread.

Kinlin XR-270
American Classics hub 20H/24H (105g/180g)
Double butted spokes