Spent the afternoon trying to lighten my wallet on those spokes and good sewups.  Yup, it's time to start building those tubular wheels I've been talking about.  The Mooney is done.  What a sweet ride!  And my usual mix of Open Pro front and Velocity Aero rear with light spokes and Vittoria Open Paves is pretty sweet!  But this bike can have a 46-12 gear.  Damn fast if you spin just 175 rpm - 54 mph.  I want safe tires!  I just got some NOS GP4s.  I know those rims.  I love 'em.  Only owned two but those two went 17,000 with maybe three tweaks on the spokes.  On the Mooney in the '80s and '90s.  That Mavic green will look really good with the new pain job.

Went to Merlin but it was shades of spring 2020 COVID TP restrictions.  I can buy 4 tubulars, no more.  High end ones fewer.  Why?  I have no idea.  (I wanted to buy 12.  Three brand/models of good ones plus Rallys for all three bikes as spares.  (2) Vitt. Corsa G+ 30Cs, a Vitt, Rubino G+ 28C and a Rally are on their way.

Spokes - 302mm DT/Wheelsmith/Sapim in butted with a 1.5 to 1.7 center - now that's like going online to get a mating pair of aardvarks.  Some places stop at 300.  Wheelbuilder was out of everything larger than 250.  I've seen 14/15s (2.0/1.8) but that's my city bike builds.  This is for a bike I just spent gobs on to have repainted that rides, well, like a Peter Mooney.  It deserves and I want - the spokes!

Well, I found them.  Exactly the length and gauges.  Spokes that will go the distance.  Spokes I have many thousands of miles on.  In a box of the perfect amount - and cheap!  Robergel Sports.  Barn find.  Except stains from barn storage, NOS.  72 count.  For 32 spoke wheels, that leaves 8 spokes to cover the two or three that break out of every box and the 1 or three that flunk GC.  And still have a couple left over.

But, do I really want to do this?  I remember well how long it took to get basic round because the spoke lengths were random.  Oh, the lengths all work but the concept of screwing each nipple on 5 turns then adjusting the two at the rim spice to the same tension as the rest and presto! a round wheel!  Well that was beyond my conception after many Robergel wheels until I met Wheelsmith in the '80s.  DT, same thing.  I've gotten spoiled.

I'm going to sleep on it.  It's a site with pictures overlaid with the spoke specs.  Very tiring to go through.  These Robergels are on page 4 or 5 but at least, all I have to do is scan for the yellow Robergel boxes and skip the Trois Etoilles.  (I saw those in a spoke length that would work.  Pretty but not for the long haul!)  The one thing those Robergels have going form them - found them.  It might well take twice the time of "rounding" the Robergel builds to get the Wheelsmith/DT/Sapin spokes.  That is, unless one of you know where those light good 302s are.  (And not that site on Amazopn with the bargain price of $8.94/spoke.  I'd pay $1.20 per. $100 for a box of 100.)

Edit: 302s and shallow rims.  Takes me back!  I have two sets of GP4s and three Mavic 330s.  All are so shallow they'll take the same spokes.  Laced 3X, the same length spokes work everywhere except the 9-speed R/R and that's a heavier spoke anyway.  (Fix gears are fun.  The spokes I use in front work just fine in back, both sides.)  I ran bladed (DT?, Wheelsmith?) on those GP4s that went forever as a way to get really light spokes. Doing it again would take me back again.