Basically I’m going to put a new Arch MK3 rim on the front wheel to replace my existing arch ex. When they did my rear wheel they said it was difficult to rebuild due to using existing spokes that came on the hope hoops.

Does it make much of a difference reusing spokes and can I get away with it? If not would a Sapim D-light be a good replacement to the spokes used in hope hoops?

Any ideas?

I’ve never had a problem reusing spokes, and I can’t see it posing any difficulty as long as the ERD is the same (or very close) on both rims.

I did wonder. I don’t have a problem reusing the spokes as it keeps the cost down and I can re rim myself and get a shop to finish off.

Oh, and assuming the ERDs match up, it’s probably best to reuse the spokes in the same position to avoid having to bed in the elbows again. IE left inside/left outside/right inside/right outside. That’s only if you’re breaking the wheel right down, if you’re just lifting one rim off and placing the other onto the existing lacing that’ll take care of itself anyway.

I did it a long time back, before I’d built a wheel (though I did have the feel for truing/tensioning).

Just tape the new one alongside the old one in the same orientation, transfer the spokes and evenly tension them afterwards. Get them all to the same tension as best you can (easy if it’s all straight, just do the same thing to all of them on each aide), true it a bit, then spread the tension by finding spokes which ring a higher/lower pitch than their neighbours and spreading that discrepancy either side (on the same side, obvs).

Should be relatively easy.