Originally Posted by
BikeToWork
Thank you for all the responses. This information is kind of disconcerting. The wheel in question is fairly high end, with Mavic 719 Disc rim and DT Swiss hub. It was built by Bicycle Wheel Warehouse. I assumed they would use the proper length spokes for building a wheel but now that nipples keep breaking, I'm beginning to wonder. This problem just started occurring about two years after I first put the wheel on the bike.The nipples break right where the flange of the nipple meets the rim. Could it be a case of uneven spoke tension? Although the wheel looks fairly true and round on the truing stand, I noticed some spokes are tighter than others. Thank you in advance for any advice.
People screw up. Maybe they calculated the spoke length wrong, maybe they didn't have the right spokes, maybe the box was labeled wrong, and clearly no one cared enough to look at the length. There are only two reasons nipple break. One is the spoke is too short. The other is the nipples are total junk, and can't handle the tension. Either way it's a defective wheel. Two years is probably longer than the warranty, so buy a new hoop, some spokes (of the correct length!) and rebuild it. Or get someone local to do it for you.