Rim, tire, wheel building...

I went with Ilia@EbikesSF's recommendation and ordered Velocity Blunt 35 26" rim with 12ga (2.67mm) spokes (made by Phil Wood) for a Maxxis HookWorm 2.5.

Using this very simple guide I built the wheel to 99% trueness, 'nuff for me at the moment.

1-cross lacing pattern is about as best as you can get with such a wide hub, spokes are stretched enough.

The axle fits in the dropout perfectly without the need to file - one of the benefits of a DH frame.