Marcus,
I have often reused good quality stainless spokes (with new nipples though) if the threads are in good condition and there are no scrapes or other damage. But then I am fairly easy on wheels as I'm not heavy and don't put a lot of miles on my bikes. For a set of wheels that will be used a lot, it may be smarter to just go with new.
There was a fellow named Kris selling lots of Berg-Union chromed 2.0/1.6 spokes on ebay for a while. He is also an occasional CR poster I believe. Although chromed spokes are not the strongest or most durable, I really like using these Berg-Unions on vintage bikes because they are light and look great. I've built several sets of wheels with them and so far they've turned out great. The quality is not quite as good as DT, but it's certainly acceptable. The price was right, $10 for 100 including nipples, and I bought about 2500 of them in various sizes (including 304) for myself and a couple of other collectors here in Vancouver. If you're interested I can give you the contact info. He may have some 304s left.
Brian Samson Vancouver, BC, Canada
On 21-Jun-10, at 7:38 AM, marcus.e.helman@saab.com wrote:
>
> Can I reuse the old spokes? I once built wheels on used rims, and I
> have
> regretted it.
>
> What about Berg-Union?