People suggest other options/ideas because things like being concerned about noy being able to replace vbrake wheels is mentioned as a reason to not to use them.
Reality is that 26" rim brake wheels are incredibly common.

So yeah, alternative options/suggestions are mentioned.

[QUOTE=Tourist in MSN;20023248] Wheels are pretty robust these days, not prone to failure. And if your concern is specific to the rims on wheels that use rim brakes, I have no such concerns. All of my bikes have rim brakes except one has a disc on back and rim brake on front.

Just yesterday I wore out my rear wheel it failed at the joint and only 30 miles from home. it WAS a single wall 26" matrix ALM, 36 hole, 7 speed freewheel. It had about 30k miles on it and only 9 years old, go figure crap happens. Ordered a better wheel and "wheel" see how that goes. But at the same time a 2018 CO-OP ADV1.1 will be under the tree in a few weeks

I wouldn't leave home without my Sturmey dyno drum brake front hub. 22,600 miles with only a bearing change at 17,000. Works 100% of the time with ZERO adjustment until the cable dies.
Same with my Rohloff14 with 11,500 miles set and forget. Drop the oil once a year same as a car.
And you do need all the drinks you can carry. I needed 7 x 680 ml on hot days, 3 water and 3 juice when I started the day in Vietnam.

I can see that rims and wheels are available online quite easily, now lets look at real world. The 3 LBS around me do not carry 26" V brake wheels. So while on a tour, an accident/ failure occurs, Do I order the new wheel online and wait 3-7 days while it arrives.
Will that happen? Who the heck knows? I strive to be prepared, more than the average tourer. I aim to be self reliant, which is why even on day trips I carry enough tools to perform almost any repair. I am also referring to other options listed on what I would consider the "perfect bike". Perfect in the sense that It has what I want, from wheel size, to handle bars to number of bosses.
Not sure who has been following, but I have repeated "looking" not set out to purchase tomorrow. It must be the bike I want, for the price I am willing to pay. It could happen tomorrow or maybe in 6 months or a year.
I am patient and in the mean time, I use my present bike with no reservations, I ride and watch. I read and experiment.

Thank you for explaining your position. Although I live in a community with half a dozen bike shops, I almost never find exactly what I want at a local bike shop either so I expect to have to order most things on line.

If I was nervous about the components on my bike, I would not go where I have been. The wheels in the photo are 26 inch, V brake.

Nice photo.
I am not nervous, just like When I leave the house and have an extra $50 in my wallet. Is it because I am nervous about not having enough money? No, it's about being prepared for an emergency. I have done several trips with my present bike (with almost no problems) and will probably do a few more before changing bikes or wheels.

There seems to be this consensus that if a person says they are not satisfied with an item and another person owns that same item, the latter feels the need to defend that item. I have not in any way degraded any particular wheel size, bike style or options/equipment. Yet, I read comments that insinuate I've insulted their bike.

I took no offense, but I did not understand the reasoning for your choice. I understand if you have concerns about parts that everyone else thinks are great. I rode a popular touring bike for a month long trip and had problems with a bad shimmy every day, when I got home I stripped all the parts off of it and put the frame in the metal recycling bin. There are a lot of people out there that will tell you that particular brand and model (that I am not naming) was great, but I was very impatient in my desire to dispose of it.

unless you plan to tour solely within walking distance of those 3 LBS's, then their
current inventory should have no bearing on the touring bike you buy or build.

Their inventory is a reflection on what other LBS carry. So when I am far from home and need to buy replacement parts, I need to consider what is readily available, not what I can order online

ok. so my work is done here? carry on, citizen.

Fine, but you seem too concerned with rims. Most often you'll pop a spoke, but rim damage is rare.

Am I right?

The 2018 models are coming into stock so if you hold on for a bit Evans will probably have a better selection.

About this time last year I was in the market for a new touring bike and eventually bought a 2017 Ridgeback Expedition, straight bars, 26in/36spoke wheels, steel, hydraulic disc brakes. I bought it here in Dublin from a LBS rather than online as the cash price wasn't that much more and included 2 years free service, I also got to take it for loaded run for a couple of hours before committing. Had a brief look at their 2018 model and I don't see any major change. I've done a couple of 2 week tours since getting it and I'm happy with it after getting used to the discs, it is however quite heavy.

My previous 'touring bike' was a Specialized Sirrus which did fine but after a bad fall off it on a wet downhill I was looking for something more solid with better brakes. BTW I converted the Sirrus to butterfly bars for one trip and it worked fine so I'm sure this is a cheap conversion that can be done with any straight bar bike and I'm thinking of trying it with the Expedition.

Yup. One of the first year of production frames. With a load it handled like a wet noodle.

I suppose.
When I purchase a bike online, I will most likely do it from home, when I purchase a part for an emergency repair, I will most likely be hundreds of kms from home.

I appreciate the advice

distributors | Surly Bikes

Get on your bike and ride somewhere interesting and not particularly close. Then you can find a touring bike between your legs for free.

Just a quick update. For now, I am looking to buy replacement wheels. Found 2 sets at SJS cycles.
Wheelset 36h Grizzly Rims with Shimano Deore Black Hubs.
and
Wheelset 36h Ryde Andra 30 Rims with Shimano Deore Hubs in Black
Any opinion on either rims?

I will wait to see if there are any Christmas sales.

If I have a part failure in the field (or on the road) I can either make do with what's available and carry on, or wait for the 'parts I want' to come in, however long that takes to source them.

Let's take your wheel example; I have a custom set of 26" Mavic 230's on 7-speed XT hubs. They're 20 years old now, and have proven to be incredibly strong. I raced XC on them, I commute regularly with this bike, I bikepacked the 180 mile C&O Canal trail with them, and even took a few attempts at observed trials with it. I'd ride anywhere right now on that bike.
I've also broken a lot of parts in the woods, and I know that anything can happen. If I was on a trip, and something happened to one of the wheels, (more likely a crash than 'wearing out') I know I can't replace a wheel like that. 26" 7-speed wheels are easy to find, but high-end ones are not. I would have no problem using a 'generic' wheel to finish the 2 or 3 days left on my trip.
Remember, though that I only need this wheel to last a few hundred k's until I get home, then I can repair or replace my good wheels.

You don't need to be able to find your 'expedition level' parts on the road, just the parts that will get you home.

Of course, and that is perfectly reasonable. My point is, that certain parts (older) are difficult to find. For example, if you have 26" V brake wheel and you need to replace it on the road, there is a possibility that you will have to buy a supermarket MTB, take the one wheel and scrap the rest. Tourers take the risk and adapt

I am not saying I expect to break down, nor fear breaking down, but just for the same reason I bring a first aid kit: I do not expect to get injured, I do not fear getting injured, and a first aid kit will certainly not prevent me from getting injured, but when you need it, you are happy to have it.
It is just a little willy, that I cannot voice these concerns and the ideas to resolve them without a contest of " You don't want that, you want this".

Thanks for the reply. Riding is the most important thing here

You probably don't have to go to that extreme. 26" v-brake (and canti) MTBs have been around for a while and there were and still are a lot of them out there. Most all of the shops near me have a pair of 26" Sun Rhynolites with a 32h generic Shimano hub hanging in the mechanic's area, somewhere. It's not a great wheel, but for ~$100 /pair, it's good enough to get me home.

Alternatively, you could buy two sets of your preferred wheel, and keep one in a box, ready to ship. Leave this box with a 'support team' at home. If you have a wheel-related breakdown, you call home, and they send it out to you in the FedEx, or whatever.

I have the Andra 30 rims on my expedition bike. They come in two versions, regular braking surface like all other wheels or CSS braking surface which greatly limits rim brakes from wearing out the brake surface. CSS is a high cost option and requires special brake pads. I have the CSS version. Either option is a good solid touring rim. SJS and Thorn will tell you that they are great for a wide range of tire sizes, but I think they are too narrow for anything over 50mm. I run 57mm tires on them but I have to run the pressures a bit higher than I would otherwise like. But if you stick with 50mm or less, they probably would work quite well.

I nave no experience with Grizzly model.

SJS builds a lot of wheels so I am sure they know what they are doing.

I do not recall if you are using disc or rim brakes, if you are using disc then the CSS would not be any benefit.

Thanks for the reply.
I have V brakes. I have just learned about CSS and not sure if I should go that way. The specialized brake pads and extra expense make me weary. I surely need new wheels, but want to keep it reasonable.
Again, I am in no hurry and if an attractive bargain comes up for a full fledged touring bike, I'm still going to consider it.

Just following thread to learn new stuff