Looking for a lightweight, everyday, traditional-spoked wheelset. I was thinking of the following build:

Front: 24 hole, D/A hubs, wheelsmith XL 15 spokes, 2 cross, brass nipples, Velocity Aerohead rims
Rear: 28 hole, D/A hubs, XL 15s, 3 cross, brass nipples, Aerohead O/C rims.

I weigh about 155 lbs. Thoughts? Too conservative? Not conservative enough?

I would go Wheelsmith XL 14 and alloy nipples or Sapim CXrays and the Sapim alloy nipples. I think your spokes need to be beefier and save on the rotating weight farthest from the hub since that is where it counts the most.

I second the beefier spokes, or a butted spoke. Alloy nipples didn't work for me. They seemed to back off more and round off way to easy during the occasional truing.

I second the beefier spokes, or a butted spoke. Alloy nipples didn't work for me. They seemed to back off more and round off way to easy during the occasional truing.

Lube them well when you build... and when truing, put a drop of oil at the nipple/rim interface and on the threads. Then loosen the nipple first a half turn even if you will eventually tighten it, to break it loose.

But if you aren't real concerned about weight or color, the brass nipples are best.

lml1x... I think your components and build look pretty good. For everyday (not racing) you might consider going 28f and 32r though, if you want them to be solid. Do you already have the parts?

Thanks for the input. I probably will go with a beefier spoke. Maybe XL14's all around except for the rear drive side which will be DB14's. The CXrays are nice, but just too expensive. I kinda torn between brass or alloy nipples. I've read all the debates. Personally, I've had an alloy nipple wheelset freeze up on me so that's why I'm a bit wary. Granted this was an 7 year old wheelset with plenty of miles and I never once thought about periodically oiling the nipples, but . . . I recently built up a Record/Aerohead/XL14/DB14 driveside/32h/3-cross/brass nipple wheelset for my cross bike. It came out really nice. So now, considering that this build will be for road, I'm trying to push the boundaries a little bit, but still stay within the realm of "dependable, everyday".

I don't have the parts yet. Need to sell a few other wheels and parts to raise some funds.

[QUOTE=lml1x] I kinda torn between brass or alloy nipples. I've read all the debates. Personally, I've had an alloy nipple wheelset freeze up on me so that's why I'm a bit wary. QUOTE]
5 grams difference tween brass and alloy....just go brass.

5 grams difference tween brass and alloy....just go brass.

It's at least 0.6g per nipple, so around 18g per wheel for these. You could also try using brass on just the drive side since this is where the tension will be highest. Make sure you lube the Al nipples well with anti-seize, and I don't think you'll have trouble with them for several years at least.

Lots of options out there for semi-deep rims. The Velocity ones are not really lightweights, though. Could try ones by Alex, Araya, or a niobium rim and shed some more weight.