Tough Rims

Those IRD rims are not only extremily good rims but you would have to pay at least $1,000 more to get anything even slightly better!

I don't know much about the Velocity hubs, they are a lower end hub but people seem to like them, if you have a tight budget stay with the Velocity.

The spokes you chose are great, but if you want more of a aerodynamic wheel you should consider oval spokes over the DT Competition's. Look on that web site I think they give you choice of oval spokes just chose the cheapest because they all work within 1.5% of the Sapim spokes aero wise which Sapim admits on their web site.

It's good you chose brass nipples because they will last longer then aluminum.

I'm the type of person who prefers to overbuild, so this next piece of advice is based on that mind set. The number of spokes per rim you selected to me is a bit low for your weight. If you want a dependable long lasting rim you should consider at least 32 or 36 on the rear (can't remember the drilling options for IRD), but go with the highest then go with the next one down for the front. And because of your weight and climbing mountains which puts a huge amount of stress on wheels you should seriously consider 36 on the rear and 32 on the front, unless they don't offer a 36 then 32 on the rear and 28 on the front. You will get people that will tell you it's ok to build with less spokes, I disagree, but in the end it's an opinion, and a decision you have to make.

Also I would go with 3 cross on the front because 3 cross is a bit stronger the 2 cross and you'll be using less spokes on the front so you should have the stronger lacing, and it won't effect the weight of the rim by more then 1 gram! So go the strongest way.

[quote name="kluthage421]I was just curious as to some thoughts on this build above. I have Mavic Ksyrium Equipe Rims (came stock) now, but I am having some issues with them. I am 73in, 205lbs, and want something stronger, lighter, and more aero. I climb a lot in the European alps, so the above build seems nice. Any comments appreciated! Thank you in advance.[/quote] IRD rims are made by Kinlin, and Kinlin rims are very nice. You could also go with Velocity's Deep V rims if that's an option. A 28 spoke rear might be on the edge of what would be considered "durable". You might want to give 32 spokes on the rear a go. The weight difference is minimal. Likewise 28 spokes on the front might be a better option at your weight. 28f/32r would definitely be stronger. It's difficult to say what overall aero benefit you'll see. Certainly a 30mm deep rim (like the Cadence or Deep V) will be more aero than a lower profile rim, but it's likely some of the aero benefit will be lost to the increased number of spokes. It's impossible to say what the total aero benefit will be, except to say it's not going to be large. Keep in mind that the best aero wheels provide increase of about and additional 0.5mph (the latest wheels from Zipp, Hed, and Enve providing a bit more) at 25mph, and those are rims that are 46-60ish mm deep. Going with DT Aerolite spokes will provide better aerodynamics than the Competition spokes, and as a benefit, the cross sectional area of in the middle of the DT Aerolite is about 2.07 sq mm compared to 1.41 sq mm for the Competitions. The Aerolites will provide a tad stiffer build, all else being equal. They'll also be a tad more durable given that the decreased stress (force divided by cross sectional area....units of pressure) at a given load means less fatique and less load at stress risers.