Hi, within the span of the last three weeks the same amount of spokes on the drive side of my back wheel has snapped of inside the nipple of my Fulcrum racing ones. The wheels them self are used wheels I got them on the bike which I also bought used. I don't know how many km the previous owner put into them but myself has done 4000km (4000 kilometers = 2485.48 miles). According to the previous owner the wheels them self are from 2008. So roughly two years of use.

Is it just time because of the wear and tear that spokes keep popping? I mean is it just time for the spokes to be replaced because of fatigue in the alloy or something?

I can't say anything regarding if it's the same spoke that has failed at least twice. I do know that the first two broken spokes where not the same since the first one laid under. And the second that broke laid on top. When I say this I mean that they were positioned on different levels in the groves that holds the spokes in position in the hub. The third one that broke for me today could be a new one or one of the changed ones I don't know since I have no marking or way to tell them apart. (If this information makes any difference at all?)

The problem for me more than that the spokes "keep" braking is that these wheels are special. Special in that regard that I don't have an LBS that can help me fix them. And I don't posses the skills nor the knowledge to repair them myself. So for each broken spoke I have to send them away in order to get them fixed which is rather expansive. So I'm more or less leaning towards getting rid of these and buying some other wheels. But first I want to know if it's something out of the ordinary that is going on here. Or it's just the cycle of a wheels life?

Please excuse my poor English I do hope my grammar is enough so that the message gets through. Thanks for you help in advance!