Wheel upgrade

[PpPete]

Why not just get some proper hand made wheels?

This ^^^^

Although if you want a more modern looking, and stiffer, rim I'd suggest H+ SON Archetypes over Open Pros.
If you shop around you should be able to get Hope Hubs, DT or Sapim DB spokes, and the Archetypes for your budget (or something close to)

Depending how heavy you are, and what sort of ground you like to ride... consider 28/32, 32/32, or even 32/36 spokes. May not be fashionable, but with bomb-proof hubs & rims like that, why opt for a more fragile build?

 

[Newman8]

This ^^^^

Although if you want a more modern looking, and stiffer, rim I'd suggest H+ SON Archetypes over Open Pros.
If you shop around you should be able to get Hope Hubs, DT or Sapim DB spokes, and the Archetypes for your budget (or something close to)

Depending how heavy you are, and what sort of ground you like to ride... consider 28/32, 32/32, or even 32/36 spokes. May not be fashionable, but with bomb-proof hubs & rims like that, why opt for a more fragile build?

Think 'fragile' is a bit misleading. Wheels are about that special balance between stiffness, comfort, weight, etc.

If H+ with Hope works for you, that's fine, but it seems to me you've got a very heavy rim (without eyelets if that matters to you) on a fairly pricey hub (prob at OP's budget just for hubs alone).

Certainly very nice looking though, at least whilst the anodising is still on the brake track, and one of the very few hubs you can get in shiny silver.

 

[PpPete]

it seems to me you've got a very heavy rim (without eyelets if that matters to you) on a fairly pricey hub

Certainly the Hopes are pricey - but the Archetypes are not significantly heavier than the Open Pros which you recommended. They've a taller stiffer profile, but yes, lack of eyelets is a concern to some - especially if you are a butter-fingers like me and are forever dropping nipples and retrieving them from the box section!

Note that I did not say less spokes makes a wheel 'fragile' per se. There was a qualifying adjective in my post.
I could just as easily have said "why not opt for a more robust build?"

I agree about balancing up stiffness, comfort, weight, but those are all impacted to a degree by the weight of the rider and the terrain over which the bike is to be ridden. I would add other factors into the equation: durability (which rules out Open Pros for me because brake tracks wear too quickly), ease of getting tyres on and off (which rules out Rigida Chrina, some of the Exal offerings), the tyres you want to use (if wider than 25mm or converting to tubeless I'd rule out the Ambrosio Excellence)

I've built on all of those rims - and based purely on the fact that the OP is talking about replacing a Roubaix (rather than, say, a Tarmac) it seemed appropriate to invite consideration of something other than absolute minimum weight. Maybe too much of an assumption on my part?

 

[Newman8]

And neither would I rule out Archetype - it would look very smart on a Roubaix as would the Kinlins (Hunts).

My best experiences (over 40 years of cycling though, and all sorts of wheels) are with a shallower, lighter rim with a decent spoke count. (28F, 32R). More spokes will generally give you the extra strength without compromising the ride quality or weight in the same way a deeper and wider rim will. Also I'm quite a heavy-braker, or frequent-braker and I've never had a rim wear issue on any rim I've used btw. My favourite rims have been Open Pros and Ambrosio Excellight (not Excellence). Almost impossible to choose between them.

Just to expand on my last post though:
Deeper and wider almost certainly = stiffer
Stiffer can definitely = faster, maybe a lot faster
Deeper and wider very probably also = heavier
Heavier probably = slower
Heavier can certainly also = stronger
Stiffer almost definitely = harsher and less comfy
So it can be a different choice for everyone.

I've had a couple of different experiences of actually very fast deep rims, but they've been problematic - (a) difficult to handle in wind or on corners - and also (b) impossible to re-true if they get slightly misshaped after hitting say a pothole or cattle grid.