I bought a Scott Scale 960 in August last year, since then a spoke has snapped on 3 occasions on the back wheel, it’s always just after the bent bit where it joins the hub.
I don’t do jumps or anything overly gnarly on it, I’m just a wheels on the ground cross country bimbler!
I never notice at the time it’s just when I’m washing my bike.
Is this a common thing with mountain bikes?

Because the wheels are badly built

Damaged? Has the chain gone over the cassette and cut the spoke heads? (only applies to spokes on the outside of the drive side flange).

Tension too low. All the spokes are moving about too much.

Uneven tension. Some spokes are suffering larger tension variations than they should.

All have the same solution. Retension/ rebuild the wheel.

yup, over tensioned likely or maybe your chain jumped into the spokes over the cassette and that weakened them. Just tape the snapped spoke to the one next to it, make sure the rest are tight and the wheel is generally true and carry on. Get it repaired at your leisure.

I have once in about 20 years had a pair of wheels that just snapped spokes at random. I gave up and had the whole lot re-built in the end. You may just have some poorly built / cheap spokes / flexy wheels.

aracer – Member
Because the wheels are badly built

That’s the short answer. It’s probably overtensioned spokes. IF this is the case, the wheel will stay true except when a spoke breaks.

Also, could be poor quality/thin spokes.

Get it re-spoked with something double butted by a decent wheel builder.

My current bike is an ‘off the shelf’ purchase. I was always breaking spokes, almost one on every ride.
The LBS that was doing the repairs said the at the spokes were all too tight and suggested, when funds allow, to get then rebuilt with less tension.
I did this with all new spokes and colour coded, and why not, nipples. I haven’t broken a spoke since and the wheels run lovely.

Good old STW!

Tension too low

and then next post.

yup, over tensioned likely

Possibly worth a trip to a decent wheel builder who will be able to check them and tension them properly (if that is the issue). They could just be crap rustless spokes rather than stainless spokes, for example.

IMHO it’s most likely to be both 😉

Well, everyone is agreed that the tension isn’t right.

In my experience, it’s pretty hard to over tension a spoke without mullering the nipple or the rim. Mass produced wheels normally tend towards too loose.

Loose spokes cause a greater variance between minimum loading at the bottom and maximum at the top so increase fatigue.

No one has said…

W A R R A N T EEEEEE !

I got it from Evans, I took it back the first time it happened, they fixed that and were supposed to do the brakes too but they made the brakes worse, so I watched a video on you tube and did the brakes myself, I’ve got no trust in them now so I’ve took it to my LBS the last 2 times, he’s tensioned all the spokes up now but he says I should really take it back for a replacement wheel.
I don’t want to be without my only bike though as I’m on it a few times a week.

“Tension too low
and then next post.
yup, over tensioned likely”

Well they were too tight and now they are too loose:-)

machine built wheel, makes thousands there are bound to be a few duffuns.
get it re-laced with some DT double butted by a good wheel builder.