want to start wheelbuilding and am aware many go for DT swiss DB as a solid choice but also seen the prices!
does anywhere do them cheapish ?
Also seen ACI spokes which are relatively inexpensive but many online say they’re pretty good .
Your advice please
thanks in advance
Bill

I always rate Sapim spokes – bit cheaper than DT.
Although ebay can help source cheaper DTs.

Halos look decent, double butted and a quarter of the price of DTs!

For the few wheels I’ve built before I’ve always used DT double butted from Rose bikes which normally come out cheap despite the big postage cost. This time I’ve gone for some Sapim D-light from Just Riding Along. I’ve only laced the wheel up so far so can’t really comment beyond the good service from Just Riding Along. The D-lights are a bit thinner than the DTs so might wind up, but the Sapim Race look almost the same and are a bit cheaper.

DT are the only spokes I know of that are cold forged from start to finish in their forming process. Others are stretched. Cold forging improves the strength of the spoke.
They also roll the threads rather than cut them – again stronger.

They’re not cheap, but that’s due to the higher cost of making better spokes.

Is the rolling threads thing why on DTs the spokes stop in the nipples and on the Sapims they can keep going through?

As far as I know all the big spoke manufacturers (such as Sapim/DT Swiss/Pillar/ACI) only use cold forging and roll the threads, at least on their usually seen non value/cheapo spokes, it’s not just a DT Swiss thing.

The others use cold forging as part of the process, but the spokes are stretched to give the butting profile. DTs are cold forged throughout. Costs more but produces a better end result.

No problem with ACI spokes, perfectly reliable for regular wheel builds. I only pay a premium when looking at bladed, low spoke count wheels – getting the wheel correctly trued and tensioned is more important than who made the spokes. Process is much the same – all are cold-forged and drawn with rolled threads, they wouldn’t be strong enough otherwise.

If you want DT or Sapim, buy from Germany – we pay rip-off prices in the UK

Agree – Rose bikes good, although they didn’t do black Revs when I wanted some, so I bought from Actionsports.de, who were also very good.

Sapim CX-Rays were cheaper from ze Germans too when I last bought some of those.

I’ve built al my own wheels for a decade or so now, mostly using DT or Sapim DB.
Recently, I’ve had a cheap supply of Halo DB spokes and built a few wheels with them. They appear to be perfectly fine. Perhaps the difference would be apparent if the wheel was doing mega miles though…

Also mine have been mostly fat or + wheels so I think the spokes get a relatively easy time compared to a CX wheel for instance.

TBH it depends what you want. I tend to use Sapim Lasers- basically a non-aero CX-Ray, it’s literally the same spoke just with less forging, so it’s a little less strong but weighs exactly the same. They’re very light, and decently tough, and a great price for what they are especially as they come with brass nipples.

Now, a disclaimer about that, it turns out Sapim don’t recommend them for mtb use. I didn’t learn that til after I’d been using them in an enduro bike wheelset for over a year, so, I’m ignoring it but it’s something to bear in mind.

Oh, I just bought a set for a new wheel from JRA, it was cheaper than any of the euro sellers after postage.