Originally Posted by cb2367

I've got an old Gary Fisher Marlin mountain bike. Lately, the spokes have been breaking. Sometimes it's one or two, and other times it's as many as four on the same tire.

I would have the spokes break on the front tire, so I would take the bike in for repair. Presumably, the service tech would not only fix the broken spokes but also check the ones on the back tire. A couple of weeks or so later, the spokes on the back tire would break. I take in for repair and all is good for a month or so, until some more spokes on the front tire break. The service tech has mentioned that it's a known issue for the black coated spokes to break, and I just happen to have black coated spokes.

What I don't understand though is that from the time I bought the bike several years ago until now, I have never had a spoke break. I don't know if this makes a difference, but when I lived in NY, I kept the bike inside. When I moved to FL, I kept the bike outside on a porch. Now that I am frequently riding, the spokes are breaking. I finally decided to replace the front wheel and I guess I will have to do the same for the back wheel.

What's the deal with the spokes breaking? Any factual information regarding black coated spokes being prone to snapping or breaking?