This guy's got 'em.

Huge collection of NIB Robergel spokes from 60s, Trois Etoiles & Sport

That's alotta spokes.

To be followed by a whole lot of eBay listings by someone.

There was/is a listing for a huge lot of spokes on eBay, can't find it now.

Bill

Almost worth it, but I think I'll pass.

About 50 boxes of stainless.
About 364 boxes of High Tensile (Galvanized?).

308mm? Is that for some 3x build, 36h? I haven't done 36h for a while, but if I go back to that, it will take special spokes.

I've been using the Trois Etoile 305's for builds on Campagnolo and Normandy high flange hubs. Rims were Super Champion and Nisi for the Campagnolo hubs, and AVA for the Normandy. 4 cross lacing which was common from early '70's .
Very nice spokes. I've been getting mine from Greg Parker of Bicycle Classics.

Maybe he's a bicycle spokesman.

Back in the day Robergel spokes were the spokes to have on high end wheel. Haven't seen them in quantities since my bike shop days of the 70's.

They are out there...

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The Trois Etoiles were the stylish spokes (basically the only SS spokes back then), the the Sports were better spokes. Both suffered from inconsistancies that were a curse. Both lengths and depths of threading varied. (Diameters were inconsistent too.) The current practice of lacing on every nipple exactly say two turns to start a build, then observing a nice true wheel that just needed a lot more turns and tweaking as you went - nah! Thie Robergel spokes, you spent a half hour just juggling nipples to get as remotely true and round wheel.

The Trois Etoiles were famous for getting tired and breaking. The Sports made wheels that lasted a long time, but there were always 2 or 3 spokes per box that just broke.

Sorry to shatter illusions here, but that just is what is. I raced in those days, riding big miles and nearly all of them on Robergel Sports. Had one set of Trois Etoiles. Beautiful looking but not up to the job of being one of my wheels. Building my first wheel in the '80s with Wheelsmith spokes was a revelation. "This is easy! I had no idea!"

Now there isa one good use for those spokes. As a task for Sysaphus. Instead of pushing that rock, have him buildwheels with those spoke, 4 per day for the rest of his life.

Ben

By the box, these are a pretty good deal. Even though the "Sport" are not stainless. I might have to jump on a box or two of the 295's.

79pmooney,

Easy, I hear what you are saying about the Robergel's and yes they could be (well were) infuriating to work with but there is no doubt that they were popular back in the day for the higher end build wheels. I was talking about popularity not spoke quality. The fact that they are still in hot demand and somewhat scarce is interesting.

Automation, CNC machining and computerized manufacturing has taken spoke quality, even in run-of-the-mill spokes to very high levels.

It's the same as any other commodity industry. That same philosophy doesn't exactly carry-over into other components for the bike though. Frame for example. With frames, nothing beats total hands-on hand-made frame. Be it a $6,000 carbon frame or the highest steel frame made by Richard Sachs.

I think [MENTION=392125]79pmooney[/MENTION] is right. It would be a good deal if the spokes were good, but spokes have gotten a lot better since then, and I wouldn't build a wheel with them at any price if reliability mattered.

They were popular because 1) the were readily available, 2) some were very light (the 15-17 Sports I raced were not very different from a DT Revolution on a scale, 3) they came in sexy SS and 4) they were Continental, therefor usable on an Italian bike. The chrome plated 14 ga spoke that came on the Fujis in 1976 were far better quality, to lace up and down the road.

Ben

In looking at my old wheel build notes from decades ago, the lengths available are tolerable, not optimal.
308's would be for 32 holes for SOME rims and 4x for a few 36 hole rims... Then you are stuck if you want to do a rear wheel where the drive side can easily need 1-2 mm shorter. I don't like over length spokes, no too short where the nipple is not fully engaged.

I worked with Robergel a lot, before DT were readily available. You did have to check the length, we worked from bags of 500, easy enough to do, but yes, an extra step. DT had better nipples, true length, we migrated to them as fast as we could starting in 1975. It was a box of them that I won in a race that started that cascade, 305's that I built with Tipo large flange hubs and Super Champion Pro rims, bulletproof. We did not order Wheelsmith, at the beginning Wheelsmith was promoting the building of wheels over selling spokes, that was competition essentially, plus you had to ship them hubs, or buy them from them and had to pay shipping back. All for that Wheelsmith serial number logo...