Originally Posted by
nfmisso
Butted spokes end up with stronger wheels than straight gauge spokes because butted spokes are more flexible in the middle which results in more spokes sharing the load. Butted spokes are not individually stronger than straight gauge spokes of comparable quality for example Wheelsmith DB14 vs Wheelsmith SS14.
Because of this sharing of the load, double butted spokes require less tension for a given wheel strength, resulting in reduced risk of rim and.or hub cracking.
I hear this so much that it seems to be gospel. I have searched for some objective data that show this to be true but have not yet seen any. I do find a lot of theory behind why it should be so, but nothing empirical. I have 40 year old wheels with single gauge spokes that are still rolling along fine.
Any leads would be welcome. Curiosity has to be satisfied.
Apologies to the OP for the hijack. Here's my comment - the DT 14/15/13 spokes would work well but you may save some money with their 14/15/14s, which I typically use. Any shop that can build good wheels can figure out the length, but if you want to do it, there are plenty of online calculator tools.