Originally Posted by
Bill Kapaun
Getting the spokes PROPERLY tensioned will do much to extend their life.
WHEN YOU "pop" Aa spoke, the other spokes get overstressed. You then get the "pop corn effect", where you'll start popping them faster & faster.
Nope it has nothing to do with "increased stress" after breaking some spokes.
Spokes fail due to fatigue. Since they all had similar average stresses from manufacturing and wheel tension, all saw similar variations from the rider weight unloading them as they pass the ground, and all underwent the same ~750 cycles per mile as the wheels turned round all of the spokes in one group (rear drive side, rear non-drive side, front) will fail about the same time.