Wheelbuilding / Wheel Building / Wheel build help

1) The rims I'm looking at have an internal rim width of 17.9mm and external of 25mm. Will that be okay for 25mm tyres? (I'm limited by guards)
2) Generally speaking, for a road wheel how many spokes should I put in the front? (I'll have 32 in the back)
3) For a strong set of wheels (with carbon rims) does anyone have any spoke recommendations?

1. Yes, pretty much ideal
   
2. If you're not racing, you might as well use 32 front too. The increase in reliability is large, the decrease in speed is small
   
3. Normal 14g double butted spokes are fine for pretty much anything, and there's not much to choose between any of the even slightly reputable brands. That's DT Competition, Sapim Race, ACI, Pillar, CNSpoke etc. If you're a porky lardass going off road touring with the kitchen sink strapped to your bike, the ones with 13g bends are worth having, e.g. DT Alpine III or Sapim Force, assuming they play nicely with your hubs.
   

Thank you so much for your help! Also, I'm pleased to announce that (at least at the moment) I'm not riding with a kitchen sink so will look to the 14g spoke options!

Help me, rim gurus! I'm hunting for a deep alu rim with the following properties:

Colour: Silver
Depth: 30-42mm
Weight: <550g
Drillings: 20h, 24h, or 28h (or 32h if I must)
Brake type: Rim brakes

Options I've found:
Velocity Deep V 30mm deep, 580g - available in silver but a bit heavy. Will use if I have to.
Kinlin XR300: 30mm deep, 485g - great specs but I can only find it in black!
Kinlin 31t: 31mm deep, 490g - same problem, can't find any silver
H Plus Son SL42, 42mm deep, 615g - Look great but weigh quite a bit...
Vintage Campagnolo aero wheels are an alternative, i.e. Shamal, Vento, Zonda, Scirocco. Might end up going this route, but I'd rather build a pair if I can find the rims.

What have I missed? Anything else out there?

Kinlin 31t: 31mm deep, 490g - same problem, can't find any silver

You almost certainly want these, it's the default answer in this thread. Ask @cycleclinic about getting silver ones, if not BHS have 24H & 28H in silver on sale at $55 each

Thanks, I'll PM @cycleclinic

Would these 20h XR300 be a silly idea? Only 2oh drilling available. I could lace them up 2x, but I think the frame is 126mm (not got the frame yet, a later Vitus 979) and it might be tough to find a geared rear 20h hub with a 126mm axle.

https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/products/ambrosio-p20-road-bicycle-rim-brake-rim-silver-tubeless-compatible

am­brosio-p20

I was tempted to point out this offer, but it doesn't strictly meet his criteria, even though it would be a nice choice to go with his 979. cycleclinic might also help with Zenith hubs in 126mm if that's what he needs, although I think late 979s should be 130

Halo do those Kinlin xr31t in silver but only in 20h & 16/8h atm which might be an option if you can find a matching rear hub.

only in 20h & 16/8h

Or regular 24H if you get the Devaura "disc", which is just an XR31 without the brake track milling.

I tension them to 1250n and no sign of pringling.

I forgot about the drilling restriction. The very poor sales of silver rims stood me buying them. Just ordered 900 rims of kinlin and I sm leaving silver off. I'd have to buy 50 kn each drilling and I'm not sure if I'd ever sell 50.

Dt swiss tk540 has a rd if 600mm. Dt swiss rr415 and rr465 have 599. Velocity a23 is 602mm and ambrosio rxcrlighg us 600 or 601mm. You need a rim about 20mm deep.

I would but strictly it's not necessary

If you are after some esoteric spokes in a hurry LMNH workshop will probably have it. 254mm CX- Ray no problem.

Hi wheel builders, would appreciate your thoughts on this.

My road bike wheels are DT Swiss RR411 with Sapim CX-Rays. 18 months / 4,500km old. Made by a reputable wheel builder.

A couple of weeks ago, a spoke broke on the rear wheel. The wheel builder fixed it for free, which was great. Today another spoke broke. It's a 28 spoke wheel.

Should I get all the spokes replaced?

Are CX-Rays more prone to breaking than other spokes?

I had zero spoke breaks on my previous wheels which were half the price of these ones.

Many thanks!

I had zero spoke breaks on my previous wheels which were half the price of these ones.

1. How much weight have you gained?
   
2. How much weight have your wheels lost?
   
   

More expensive rarely translates to more reliable, because that's not what most people ask for when "upgrading"

Fair point about "upgrading".

Since I started cycling again I've varied between 86-95kg. I'm currently 92kg.

I'm not sure how much lighter these wheels are than the Open Pros I had before, but yeah, they are lighter.

Have you considered spoke saving training?

Yes, it's on my list of things to do.

Where did the spoke break? DS or NDS? At the hub or at the nipple?

First DS and now NDS. Both at the hub.

CX Rays are super resilient; I'm bigger than you and have 10 yo 32h Dura Ace/Open pros that have had multiple rims swaps on and are still trucking. Used Race on the rear drive though.

My 18/24h 55mm Light Bicycle carbon have been a bit more tempramental but I did overshift a chain into them once

I have 254mm cx Ray's. It not an unusual length.

You need sapim force or dt alpine III with the rr411. In fact your better of withal stiffer rim. The rr411 is not a stiff rim and yes the spoke should be replaced really replace the wheel. Even with a thicker spoke a spoke failure is possible depending on how you ride.

Here a hint, I dont build with the rim. When people ask for it I insist on offering something else. In 32h drilling its o.k it with thicker spokes. However then your building something like you would get with the old mavic open pro but more expensive, tighter tyre fitting and not even that run less compatible (tyre can unseat if you flat).

Walking into a bike shop in London it is