I am seeking a solid, budget-friendly set of aluminum clinchers to replace my Alex ALX-200s, which are stock on my Fuji Roubaix 1.0.
These wheels would be used primarily for outdoor riding/training in South Florida, ergo, very flat terrain. It may be useful to note that my groupset is 10 speed (Shimano 105 5700).
Any recommendations and personal favorites are appreciated! Thanks.
I love the awesome TR community!
Boyd Altamonts have been great for me and also feels good to support a small US builder
Thanks! Currently taking a look at them.
Noob question: how do I determine the optimal spoke count?
Depends on how rough roads are, your weight, and if you like truing your own wheels. I’m pretty light but still went more more spoke count because peace of mind
I’m pretty light (148 lbs) and I would not be truing my own wheels. So, I a presume lower spoke count, for (minuscule) weight savings and lack of tension adjustment on spokes, would be ideal for me. Is that right? 
I’ve been very happy with the alloy Hunt wheels. ~$450, tubeless and tubed compatible, ~1600 grams. Comes with all sorts of adapters So will work with whatever axle standard you have. I’ve raced about 12 cyclocross races on them in addition to a couple thousand road miles and they havent needed trueing at all.
I take that back…$399. These are the wheels I have. IMO I havent seen better value for $400. https://us.huntbikewheels.com/collections/road-cx-disc-brake-wheels/products/4season-gravel-disc-road-cx-wheelset-1589g-24deep-24wide
Hunt Aero Wide , Cero , American Classic , Fulcrum Racing 3, Campagnolo Zonda or something along those lines should be fine. Heard good things on the wiggle Prime wheels but their hubs suffer in the wet a lot.
The more spokes you have the easier it is to true a wheel if a spoke brakes or becomes loose. Also the wheel may be a bit more rigid with more spokes. If in doubt go for more ^^
I have been a fan of spinergy xaero/z-lite wheels for non aero aluminum wheels. The spokes feel great for longer rides.
I’ve gone for some dt Swiss 1600 as I wanted tubeless and the hunts were sold out 
For budget clinchers, keep it simple and just get a solid wheel with a hub you can service. If you are in the USA, Colorado Cyclist builds a ton of wheels and offers very good pricing on their pre-specified handbuilt sets.
For example, DT411 rims on Shimano 105 hubs, 32H with the spring sale code are $300 Choosing Mavic rims can get you under $300
If you get hung up on spoke count, which I wouldn’t worry about, then upgrade to DT350 hubs and the set is $500 DT350 hubs are rock solid.
The small builders are going to likely be using a Novatec or Joytech hub. Nothing wrong with those, but I’d rather have a DT or Shimano hub for the same or less money.
Wow, thanks for all the great recommendations!
Second the Boyd Altamont. I really like them.
Also, I’m still using Shimano 10 speed as well.
Another DT 350 hub fan here, not for anything other than the total lack of faff. It is sometimes cheapest to buy DT factory wheelsets than buying the hubs and building custom.
I ran a set for 4 years without any maintenance. The freehub started to make a noise so whipped it off, one pawl was sticky so greased it up and was fine for another year.
Then one of the rear bearings was a little noisy so I swapped out all the bearings (a half hour home job with some sockets, few blocks of wood, a drift and a hammer) and good as new again. Total cost was maybe ÂŁ30.
Have never had to have them trued, they are still virtually straight and very round.
Originally the wheels were ÂŁ400ish RRP, weigh 1500g and will work tubeless. Not deep, not fancy, just solid.
When built up a new bike last year I bought the modern equivalent which is slightly deeper and slightly wider. ÂŁ200 in OEM spec (so only QR, not other end caps), 1550g.
My 1600s have been through a lot and never needed truing at all.
Mavic Kyseriums. I have a set I’ve used for years. Bombproof, you can service the hubs, and light.
Regardless of what you buy, look at the used market. A ton of people are swapping to disc, or new racing wheels, etc. You can pick up a killer set of wheels for cheap (used). I’ve bought all my sets used and never once had an issue.
I second BOYD. I have a pair of Altamont and a pair of Altamont Lite. Both have been bulletproof and great all-around wheels.
My 1600 are actually to replace a pair of worn out mavic kyrium elites.
I can’t really fault the mavics for reliability and performance but the reason I’ve not gone for mavic again for my winter wheels is that I really struggled to source spare parts.
I snapped a spoke and no local bike shops had them, even the nearest official mavic dealer had to order them in. Then the spoke retaining clip fell of the rear hub and I can’t get hold of that at all.
I was also put off that there is no rim wear indicator on my mavic rims - I’m replacing mine now as they are definitely concave but would have been nice to know if they are still safe.
Anything by Shimano and Campagnolo/Fulcrum.
Great quality and simple, when it comes to maintenance.
One thing that is annoying with the otherwise excellent fulcrum wheels is that only the disc brake versions are tubeless ready - I would have gone for the racing 3 if this was not the case.
Yes, both brands are very conservative when it comes to adding new “technology”.
If you’re after a good set of training wheels, I wouldn’t be too concerned about running tubeless and rather focus on durability.