Touring wheels

[beardy]

I think it more likely that he was suggesting the sort of wheels that he likes and thinks suitable.

Compared to other wheels that they sell, these may be a more solid pair.

The love of conventional 36 spoke wheels is more prominent here on this forum than it is most other places. When you are not getting told that what you really need is a hubgear anyway.

Look around and listen to all the different viewpoints before deciding, I dont think many of the options are actually bad options.

I like wheels that I can make myself, repair by replacing a spoke for 50p or re-rim for £18 but not everybody has the same priorities.

[TimP]

I built my own wheels for club riding when I was 15 years old using a pair of old hubs (nicely run in and cheap since I already had them), Mavic E2 700C rims (very narrow - 24 mm I think) and 'rustless' double butted spokes laced 3 cross. I subsequently used them for every type of riding including heavy touring on rough roads, even off road at times, with some serious gearing (SR Custom triple 32-40-52 on the front and 5 speed Suntour 14 - 34 on the rear (I changed some sprockets on the block for touring, changing back to 14-24 when not touring). To cope with the long chain needed I used a Shimano 500 rear mech with a lower cage assembly I made myself to take up more chain, later I changed to a Suntour touring mech. Now I have a Suntour 7 speed block 13-27 but in those days 5 speed blocks were the standard.

I still use the wheels today some 36 years on so I feel that some of the hype over having the right kit is simply a way of conning people into buying stuff they don't need. (I am about to re-spoke them since 'rustless' was really a bad name for the spokes and some of them are getting extremely close to snapping due to rust. At the moment all the spokes are still the ones I put in all those years ago.)

If you have had no issues with the existing wheels and you like them, then use them! Old and trusted is the way to go.

[PH]

If they worked and are not too worn I'd keep them a while.
If you do decide to upgrade think about just doing the rear, your current 32 spoke front wheel is still probably stronger than a new 36 rear. The rear not only carries more weight it'll also wear faster.
My rim of choice for a 28-32 tyre would be the Exal 17 and my choice of wheelbuilder would be Paul Hewitt. Whoever you use make sure they use different spokes on either side of the wheel as advised by CJ on this forum. (Paul Hewitt and Spa Cycles and IMO every decent wheelbuilder would do this anyway)
I'd also learn how to change a spoke, you don't have to be a master craftsman to be able to get a wheel usable again and it's easy enough to carry spares on tour. It can happen on any wheel, the only spoke I've broke was from catching it against a hidden rock.