Originally Posted by
Thor29
I think there is a bizarre amount of fear surrounding aluminum nipples. I'm sure they are less reliable than brass nipples, but they aren't THAT troublesome. I built up a set of 29er wheels (Salsa rims, DT Swiss double butted spokes, White Industries hubs) over a year ago with aluminum nipples and have beat the crap out them with zero problems. And yeah, they look really cool (red!). Nothing wrong with that.
+2
Yes, aluminum nipples require more skill and knowledge to build a reliable wheel. I've got a set of 26" MTB wheels going on 11 years old built with aluminum nipples, no failures yet. -Knock on wood-
Why do people blame the nipples instead of their own mechanical ineptitude?