Originally Posted by
OldBike876
They're snapping on both sides of the wheel, but always down near the hub.
The theory is clear that the NDS spokes should have it worse.
But sure, I bought my first freewheel puller to deal with a broken DS spoke, not to replace the f/w. It does happen.
I’ve sometimes wondered if it’s possible to build a wheel with low enough tension so that the NDS spokes survive b/c of never seeing enough tension to fatigue, while putting the DS spokes right in the fatigue range.
And there’s always the option of the really sloppy build where some spokes simply started out a lot slacker.
Originally Posted by
OldBike876
Of course my $50 Raleigh 3 speed that I ride every day has never done it.
Last IGH I built up had an 8% difference in spoke tension between DS and NDS. Last derailer gear wheel I built had about 60% NDS spoke tension.
As someone already wrote, what breaks spokes is constant bending, the frequent (big) changes in tension that causes metal fatigue. It’s far easier to get all spokes into the ”safe” zone on an IGH or otherwise near symmetrical wheel. For a comparable build quality, no mystery there.