breaking spokes on Mavics

[tourdelivermore]

On two occasions seperated by 3 months, I have broken spokes on the drive side of the rear wheel of my Mavic Kryserium SSL's. Each time it happens I get the response from my LBS "wow, that never happens with these wheels".

The first time, all spokes on the drive side were replaced, only to have one break last Saturday at the start of a 200K ride.

On the previous set of wheels, Mavic Open Pro's w/ Ultegra hubs, I also broke a spoke on the rear wheel drive side.

Why do I keep breaking spokes? No one I ride with has this problem.

I am 5 ft 10 in and 180 lbs moderately fit rider at 6,000 miles/year. A moderate load in my estimation.

Help!

 

[daveornee]

Originally posted by tourdelivermore
On two occasions seperated by 3 months, I have broken spokes on the drive side of the rear wheel of my Mavic Kryserium SSL's. Each time it happens I get the response from my LBS "wow, that never happens with these wheels".

The first time, all spokes on the drive side were replaced, only to have one break last Saturday at the start of a 200K ride.

On the previous set of wheels, Mavic Open Pro's w/ Ultegra hubs, I also broke a spoke on the rear wheel drive side.

Why do I keep breaking spokes? No one I ride with has this problem.

I am 5 ft 10 in and 180 lbs moderately fit rider at 6,000 miles/year. A moderate load in my estimation.

Help!

On the SSLs it could be due to the reduced spoke count and the aluminum alloy spokes. Those spokes are supposed to be 10% stronger "stactically" than some stainless spoke. However, the spokes deal with a dynamic load.
Spokes usually break due to fatigue. In a standard build ,fatigue failure can be minimized with best practices used in the build.
Suggested reading:
"the Bicycle Wheel" by Jobst Brandt.
If you still have the Open Pro Ultegra wheelset you might want to have them built by a quality builder with quality double butted spokes.