Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - New wheels?

I have an 08 Specialized Sirrus sport and weigh a bit under 300lbs. I busted a rear spoke after about 1500 miles and had it replaced. 100 miles later and I just busted a 2nd one. Is this a fluke or should I consider new wheels?

Breaking one or more spokes often weakens the remaining spokes and shortens their life. This depends largely on how far the wheel was ridden with the broken spoke.
There are plenty of posts on the subject but my own experience is that if more than a couple spokes go on a wheel I am better off replacing all the spokes than continuing to replace them as they break.

When the spoke is replaced, the spokes should have been retensioned to prevent further broken spokes. If they break while retensioning, then they are prolly toast.

Spokes often break due to low tension. It allows them to moce around in the hub holes. Like bending a wire over and over, eventually it breaks. After a hweel is ridden about 300 miles, should be retensioned after a breakin period where the spokes lose tension.

I'ver had wheels that have broken up to 2 spokes, then was fine after I retensioned the wheel. Spokes broke while being maintained by another. Good reason to learn how to maintain your own.:D

BTW, is the Sirrus a hybrid with 38 tires? Shouldn't have broken a spoke if the shop guys treated the wheels properly. Which most don't.:(

The bigger you are, the more you need to check whether your wheels are properly tensioned. No shop can make a completely Clyde-proof wheel, so don't automatically assume the shop did it wrong. Even a wheel that is properly trued by a shop can go out of true fairly quickly if you are big rider and ride on rough roads. Truing wheels isn't rocket science, and with a little research and reading most people can learn to do it themselves. If I were you and I rode every day, I would do a visual check every time I rode, and I would check the tension once a week or about every 500 miles or so- so in your situation it would be worth your effort to learn to DIY as opposed to running off to the shop all the time. ( It's also a good incentive to lose weight, because the less you weigh the less you'll have to check them ). You generally don't have to worry much about the front wheel, the back will have the lion's-share of the problems.

Even if you don't know how to true wheels, one can do a quick rough check on whether the spokes are evenly tensioned by plucking the spokes. If the pitch on one of them is way higher or lower than the others on the same side of the wheel, then it probably needs re-tensioned, even if the wheel looks true to the naked eye. If you leave it this way, you're almost guaranteed to break a spoke in the near future.

BTW, is the Sirrus a hybrid with 38 tires? Shouldn't have broken a spoke if the shop guys treated the wheels properly. Which most don't.:(

Came with 28's I have 25's now

The bigger you are, the more you need to check whether your wheels are properly tensioned. No shop can make a completely Clyde-proof wheel, so don't automatically assume the shop did it wrong. Even a wheel that is properly trued by a shop can go out of true fairly quickly if you are big rider and ride on rough roads. Truing wheels isn't rocket science, and with a little research and reading most people can learn to do it themselves. If I were you and I rode every day, I would do a visual check every time I rode, and I would check the tension once a week or about every 500 miles or so- so in your situation it would be worth your effort to learn to DIY as opposed to running off to the shop all the time. ( It's also a good incentive to lose weight, because the less you weigh the less you'll have to check them ). You generally don't have to worry much about the front wheel, the back will have the lion's-share of the problems.

Even if you don't know how to true wheels, one can do a quick rough check on whether the spokes are evenly tensioned by plucking the spokes. If the pitch on one of them is way higher or lower than the others on the same side of the wheel, then it probably needs re-tensioned, even if the wheel looks true to the naked eye. If you leave it this way, you're almost guaranteed to break a spoke in the near future.

When i got the bike back from the shop the spokes seemed a little loose to me, but that was just sort of me guessing, the pitch of the pluck def wasn't even accross all the spokes and sounded lower on quite a few. I'm gonna try a dif LBS tomorrow and get the wheel fixed. I would like to try and maintain my own soon, just need to do some reading and get some tools

I remember having to bring a spoke wrench with me every time I went for a ride back when I had not-so-great wheels. I since have had some good ones made up and now very rarely have to true them. Get so good hand built wheels made up at a good shop. They'll be expensive at first but in the long run will be cheaper.

Get some Rivendell Ruffy Tuffy tires. As to the wheel, there are a number of ways to go about. An entry level cyclocross wheel is one option, as are touring wheels. Whatever wheel you get, have it tuned up before you ride it, unless it's
handmade.

If you want a rugged wheel that's fairly fast, get a MAVIC CXP33 rim, 36 holes. Throw on the Shimano hub of choice, and build it up with straight gauge spokes. Then put on the Ruffy Tuffys,