I have a pair of 14year old 7spd mountain bike wheels with DT double butted spokes and black alloy nipples. They've been through some of the muddiest races in the history of the midwest in that time. They've been ridden as commuter wheels during the winter and bathed in salt laden slush. one, just one spoke has broken in all that time and it wasn't at the nipple. The wheels were originally built using spoke prep and they see one or two minor truing adjustments a year and continue to be ridden. Look if you take care of your bike like it's your best friend and clean it when it needs it the product will hold up. You use it, abuse it and throw it in the corner covered with mud and crap caked to it...then don't expect it to hold up. Just my thoughts on this arguement/issue. Do you really think if aluminum nipples were that inferior to CP brass that manufacturers would continue making them, inventorying them and selling them? Those are all expensive for manufacturers to do. I'd think if the product were that bad that they would soon be out of business and aluminum nipples would be a thing of the past. I've worked in product and purchasing in the bike industry in the past. If there is demand someone will produce it. as long as people are trying to build 8lb bmx bikes, 20 lb mountian bikes and sub 16lb road bikes there will always be aluminum nipples available.