Went on first 35 miler, broke rear spoke gear side at 27 miles.....

[loveable liberal]

What can be done about these spokes breaking? I've tried loosening them and everything! I need you're help people!! Im sick of replacing spokes. I wish they still sold those spinnergy star rims that dont have spokes. I was at a rest stop, bike leaning against the building when *ping*, there went the spoke. Is titanium the answer or what?

Oh, and my buttocks are on fire!!!

[BiggJawn]

1. Wait a minnit...you were OFF the bike, and it went "ping"?

Never had THAT happen! How many have you broken?

[happyslug]

2. Number one reason for most spokes breaking is incorrect tension

i.e. they are to loose. A properly tension built wheel will almost NEVER have a broken spoke.

Now you may have bad spokes, but if the spokes are stainless steel I doubt it is the Spokes (Regular Steel Spokes do rust and break, but Stainless steel Spokes rarely if ever break). A few years ago I used a wheel the spokes broke on me, the problem was it was built with regular steel spokes and such spokes are NOT built to the level of Stainless Steel Spokes used on better bikes.

If the spokes are stainless steel the next thing I would look at is how the wheel was built. Did the person who build the wheel do a proper adjustment? i.e. actually tighten the spokes.

I have looked at Titanium but with Titanium you must used brass nibbles, and with brass nibbles you loose whatever advantages you have with going Titanium. With Stainless Steel you can go with Aluminum nibbles, thus Stainless steel is the best choice for Spokes (For more see Sheldon Brown for details on material, this is a very brief statement on a very complex topic).

Here is Sheldon Brown's Article on Wheel Building which goes into more details than the above on Wheels and spokes.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

[happyslug]

4. I meant Nipples NOT Nibbles

Brass nibbles while crunchy, will not hold a spoke. Brass Nipples will hold a spoke.

[BiggJawn]

5. Well, the 2 ARE related!

Nipples, nibbles.....

[dean_dem]

3. That's not supposed to be a common occurence.

You might want to take it to a shop if you're not having any luck fixing it on your own. I've only had one spoke break in four years of riding. If its happening to you a lot, something is possibly wrong with the wheel. Might want to true the wheel too, see if that helps.

And those Spinergy wheels aren't all they're cracked up to be either. They have been known to take fingers off in a crash.