wheelbuilding choices and other projects

[buckeye]

I recently bought a used RST with a Rohloff .
I am planning a two-week trip next summer on the Adventure Cycling Ass'n Northern Tier from the fingerlakes of NY to the coast of Maine.  I recently purchased an original Schmidt SON dynamo front hub which I intend to connect to a USB charger.  Among other improvements, I would like to build a front (and maybe rear) wheel over the winter months.
What rim should I purchase?  My current front rim is a Sunrim Series 6000 CR 18 559x22.5.  It has little wear but is perhaps not up to task.  The rear rim is a Velocity Aeroheat that appears to have moderate wear.
There are so many options as to rims, spokes and tires, your opinions would be kindly accepted.  I don't have too many hobbies, so while the sky may not be the limit, I am willing to make a moderate investment.

Thoughts?

[John Saxby]

Hi buckeye,

I have a New Raven, using Mavic XM 719 rims (Wheelsmith spokes) shod with 26 x 1.6 Schwalbe Marathon Supremes. The 719s are midweight (475 gms) and strong, and the 1.6 Supremes work very well on tarma, and are OK on gravel too.

I used to have Velocity Cliffhangers on the bike, but those rims (the older model) had a deep inverted V profile which didn't work so well with the Rohloff--stress on spokes exiting the rim.  The 2015 Cliffhangers have a profile similar to the 719s, but the latter are lighter. The current cliffhangers might be preferred for expedition-type touring, but I understand you're not considering that.

No hesitation about recommending this setup.

One last consideration:  as you may know, the Finger Lakes can be very hilly.  I used to have a 38 x 17 ring-and-sprocket combination on my Raven.  If you have a light-medium load on the RST (e.g., without camping equipment), I think that ratio would be fine.  For a heavier load, you might consider a 36 x 17, which is what I now use.

Hope this is helpful, good luck, and enjoy!

[buckeye]

Great response.  Thanks.

I was already considering the Velocity Cliffhangers.  I think polished are more traditional, although a little more expensive.  I understand the machined v. non-machined sidewalls is a non-issue.

My current gearing is 16 x 46.  Might need to downsize the ring and/or get some more hill climbing training.

Thanks again.

[John Saxby]

One other thing I forgot to mention in my post: I bought both the Mavic rims & the Supremes from starbike.com in Germany -- much better price than I could get here in Canada.  starbike works with European suppliers, as you might expect, so I'm sure that a US source would be what you'd want for the Ciffhangers.