How do I go about picking out a wheel?

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My LBS guy got my rear wheel bent back as best he could and said it will do for now but that I'm definitely going to be needing a new one. He said it will be hard to find a match for the one I have (Bontrager something (SSR? SSX? 55R? 55X? it's hard to read). He told me to research it and let him know what I want to order.

How do I know what kind of wheel I want? I have no clue.

Is it a stock wheel that came on the bike when you bought it? If so...you can go to bikepedia.com and look up your bike (by model year) and it will give all the stock specs for the bike, including wheels. If the wheel is no longer made, then I'm sure Bontrager has a comparable replacement for it. You can always check their website.