So I'm building a up my first tubular wheelset. I'm going to use it for road racing this spring/summer then for 'cross in the fall (the focus is on cyclocross). I tend to spend a long time deciding things but I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with 32 hole Mavic Reflex rims. I've also considered velocity, kinlin, hed, and ambrosio but arrived at mavic due to what my coworkers have said, cost, and availability. Right now the plan is to use brass nipples and wheelsmith double butted spokes front/NDS and straight gauge rear. I would but some 32h shimano hubs and be done with it but the weight weenie in me is having hesitations. So, what hubs come in a high enough spoke count, are durable enough for cross, and are weight/wallet conscious? I don't mind spending more for quality hubs but let's not go overboard. I'm 170-175 lbs.

Thanks!

I am about 150 lbs myself and I am building a set of wheels with Circus Monkey 24f/28r hubs. They definitely meet 3 of your 4 criteria, i.e. high spoke count, weight and wallet conscious. The bearings in the rear hub are kind of standard, but the ones in the front hub are on the small side. I cannot comment on the durability yet, especially for cross, but I will replace the original bearings with enduro ones soon, which would hopefully make them less sensitive to extreme riding conditions.

King R45 - not the lightest but amazing hubs that will take everything you can throw at them!

White Industries H2/H3 sound perfect for what you're after. The Reflex seems to be fine for some people but others (even with good builds) seem to have problems with cracking around the eyelets.

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, I've heard about the reflex rim cracking. I'm hoping it'll be ok as long as I'm careful enough to not over tension. The king hubs seem really nice and I like the idea of a quick engagement but I'm not sure I'm able to stretch my budget to the level. The white industries seem like a great option. Does anyone else have experience with the circus monkey hubs? They seem similar to the bikehubstore.com stuff but I'm worried about the durability for use in cross.

I've been racing/training 2 seasons with Reflex rims, they're still good

+1 on the CK R45's.
I have them on my Supercross.
Bombproof, lightish, look great, sound better!

tubular rims ??
KinLin TB-25,
http://fairwheelbikes.com/kinlin-tb25-t ... -1212.html

Remerx http://www.remerx.cz/rtx-28-4/ http://www.remerx.cz/t303/

Hubs
Novatec F482sb (or F 162 SB ) , and A141sb
it's good and cheap hubs

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Pretty tough to beat the 'factory' 32's for hubs and Ambrosio rims...

+1 to Kings if you can swing it, +1 to WI if you can't. Polished Wi are pretty blingy, in a good way. With tubs, should be classy.

Browse Internet for hubs, you will definitely find some amazing hubs.

Thanks.

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+1 I know Novatec hub

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The Velocity A23 rim is high quality and at 23mm wide works very well with wider CX tyres. For a mid price hub the Hope range are well sealed against power-washing and easy to maintain. Either Pro Road for canti setup or EVO II for disc bikes.

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Just get Shimano and forget about it.

Sure would be nice if consumers could get the hubs wiht straight pull spkes used on the Dura Ace C35 wheelsets.

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