No fantasy here. I have been riding my dream wheels for twenty years now and counting: Wilderness Trail (WTB) 36 Grease Guard Hubs; Mavic MA-40 rims; 2.0 DT SS spokes with Velox Rim Tape and Schwalbe Marathon XR tires 700x47. This means that I still use freewheels. [You can look the term up in your history of cycling books!]

I have these wheels on my BG RNR (700C) and Fat Chance Mtn Tandem (26"). I have merely replaced the rims from my spare supply and replaced the hub bearings once. The grease injection system purges water and debris from the bearings making them last a long time.

I only wish that these hubs were still made up to their earlier high standard. [Of course, I understand that this is not a good business model when the products do not wear out quickly!]

I've been running 32h Salsa Delgado rims on XT disc hubs for over 5 years and they've really held up. The Delgado rims are pretty affordable and a bit wider, so they can better accommodate wider tires. I pull a trailer, so I didn't feel the need to go with 36 spokes. If I carried loaded panniers, I'd go with 36.

I was in the market for a touring set and ended up grabbing an eBay deal on Open Pro's w/DA hubs. I weigh 140 and plan mostly on light touring and obsessively light packing for longer trips, so I thought this would be fine. They should be plenty strong (much heavier riders use them in cross) and I like to avoid deep profiles for their wind catching ability. With regards to tire size, my frame only fits up to 32 or 35mm, which most say is the limit but still feasible with the Open Pro's.