Originally Posted by ItsJustMe
Be sure to use butted spokes and get them nice and tight. In my experience the thing that kills spokes is being too loose so they load/unload on every pedal stroke or every pothole (the former only a problem on the rear) and straight spokes transfer all the shock load to the bend.
I've had the same problems with machine built wheels having spokes not tensioned properly. I ordered a tensiometer to get the job done right. I am going to enjoy the challenge of building my own wheels and hopefully they will last a long time.