Originally Posted by
markf
What spokes did you order? Why did you go double cross?
The Alpine III is a triple butted spoke, 13-15-14 gauge. It's possible that the 13 gauge end is too thick to fit into the spoke holes in your hub. Contact whoever made your hub or check their website to find out for sure.
Triple cross is pretty much the standard for wheel construction. I don't know the physics involved but it seems to provide optimum strength.
Double butted 14-15 gauge (2.0 - 1.8 mm) spokes built triple cross is pretty much the standard for building strong wheels. The thin center section (1.8 mm / 15 gauge) stretches to provide a little shock absorption, and the 2.0 mm end sections provide strength where it's needed, at the ends.
Which spokes broke? Front, rear drive side, or rear non-drive side? Did they break at the elbow or at the nipple?
Ask whoever's building your wheels if they use a tensiometer and what level they tension the wheels to, and compare that to the rim makers recommendation for spoke tension. You can get that info from the rim makers website or e-mail their customer service department.
Actually I think that the stretching is good not because of any 'suspension' it provides, but rather because a bit of elongation and elasticity keeps the system under tension as it goes through cycles of weight bearing and release while riding. Its like a spring holding tension on the system, keeping the spoke from loosening --> breaking.
edit to clarify: the loose spoke isnt he one that will break, but if one spoke is loose, some other spoke is doing 'double-duty' so to speak, and is more likely to break.... loose spokes are just the sign of a wheel where the load isnt being shared equally (and minimized) among all the available spokes....