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@Fox
So I did a bit more research on the Ardennes rims, talked to Wayne about his (they're great apparently) and had quite a long chat with a very helpful chap at HED.
One thing I hadn't appreciated is that the 'Belgium' rim is a cheaper version of the Ardennes - I thought it was the same thing. The Ardennes ain't cheap - 149 for the standard rim and 199 for the scandium - which is for front use only.
Mr HED was quite candid and said that their own hubs don't fare that well in the UK with our weather and that's why they went to Hope to source hubs. The Hope SE wheels use the standard alloy rims, but the scandium does only save 28g per rim.
Slightly more dissapointingly they use bog standard Sapim leader spokes. Nothing wrong with Sapim, but I would have expected something a bit sportier.
So although I'm sure the Hope wheels would be good, I'm swinging toward the Chris King R45s built up with CX rays, although that's going to come out 300 more expensive. I don't know if Chris King's are worth that premium, although I do know my CK headset is very nice and I've never regretted splashing the cash on it. I do really like Hope hubs too.
I'm still trying to decide what exactly I'm going to end up with groupset wise too.
Hmm. It requires a lot of thought, this building one's dream bicycle business...