Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
I have had spokes break where their threads started at the nipple end of spoke. I could not get the bit of spoke out of the nipple and had to replace the nipple. But that was a couple decades ago, I do not recall if I had a rim tape issue or not.
I do carry some post office envelope tyvek to use as a tire boot. If I could not get my adhesive rim tape back on the rim after changing a nipple, I would probably use that tyvek in an emergency.
When they fail there, it's because the rim is drilled vertically, rather than in line with the spokes. In this case, cheap doesn't necessarily mean inexpensive, just cheaply made.