Jeff is restoring a late 80s Shogun Alpine touring bike. He planning on using it for what it is intended, and needed our help to build the right wheels - tough, lightish, and smart.
We favour the Alexrims DM21 and (it's slightly slimmer brother) the DM18 for builds like this. These rims are very tough, have a nice box section profile and build very stiff wheels. Both are reasonably wide (23mm and 19mm respectively) so work well with modern touring and training tyre widths (28c or more). They are both eyeleted for strength, and (for a wheelbuilder) are an absolute pleasure to build.
Jeff sourced a pair of New Old Stock 90s Shimano Deore DX 7 speed hubs (aren't they pretty?) which are a perfect classic hub for the intended usage.
We laced these into the rims using custom cut DT Swiss Champion (plain gauge) spokes on the rear, and Competition (double butted) spokes on the front. A no-nonsense 3x pattern was selected for both, and brass nipples used.