1) What do you want these wheels to do? Road racing (hills or flat), crits, time trials, general riding (no races), loaded touring, etc. Do you value durability more or light weight?
2) What is your budget? Custom wheels like mine generally start to look like a good deal when we get around the $600 range and above. For that you can have an aluminum rimmed set using top quality components (like White Industries hubs, and Sapim CX-Ray spokes), that handily beats factory wheels on weight, aerodynamics, and price. But unfortunately I just can't compete at prices that are much lower than this. I don't have a source for any of the "light but cheap" Chinese hubs, so going down significantly in price means using Ultegra. Ultegra hubs are fine (though a bit heavy) but a wheelset with those runs ~$450.
3) How much do you weigh, and what has your experience been with the durability of other wheels? Weight is an important factor, but riding style matters a lot as well.
4) Campy or Shimano/Sram? Maybe not so important right away, but I certainly need to know this before ordering! If you are riding Shimano/Sram the White Industries hubs have a Ti freehub which is nice... doesn't get gouged up or crack like aluminum tends to do after awhile. Their Campy version is also Ti though, which adds ~25g. Other hubs vary only a few grams between the two.
5) Do you have color preferences? Rims and hubs are generally black, spokes can be black or silver (I've tried painting them and failed), and aluminum nipples can be had in just about any color with a durable anodized finish. Brass nipples are silver... the black ones tend to scratch easily, so I don't use them much anymore.
Hubs... White Industries hubs are available in bright polished silver (unanodized... ie they can corrode in marine environments unless you keep them protected) and black (+$8 each). DT, Tune and M5 hubs are only readily available in black... but if you are very patient Tune hubs can be ordered in many colors. Chris King hubs are available in many colors, but they are pretty expensive for the weight and they don't drill lower than 28h. Zipp hubs are polished silver.
Rims... Black is it for most rims. The exception is Velocity... but as you can imagine, it is difficult to keep all drillings and colors in stock, so it is pretty hit and miss on getting the color you want. I like the bright silver or gold anodized colors the best. Here is a view of the possible options (not with all rims though): Velocity Rim Finish Options.
Nipples... brass nipples are stronger more resistant to galvanic corrosion than aluminum. I use a marine anti-seize compound on the threads though, which is formulated to prevent corrosion between aluminum and stainless steel... so I wouldn't worry about that unless you live in an especially corrosive environment. Brass nipples weigh about 3 times as much (about 2/3 gram more each) compared to aluminum. The biggest drawback to brass though, is that silver is the only good color choice.
If you are interested in ordering, please send me an email at the link below... with as much info as you care to give. I check it and answer emails daily (at least). I'm not showing a phone number here because I hate answering the phone when I'm working... or playing for that matter. But if you'd like to talk on the phone, leave your number and a time when you'll be available, and I'll give you a call.
