Arse! So here I am in Spain with the bike. I decided to bring the 650 wheels cos the back one has a bigger cassette which I’ll probably need, plus fatter tyres. So I go to put the back wheel in to have a pootle from the house we’re in, in Estepona & I’m thinking, ‘hmm, back wheel needs truing a bit, it was ok last time I used it’. Only to find that one of the crappy alloy nipples has snapped/corroded/broken! Anyway I find a bike shop (cos I’ve only brought emergency tools & the bastid thing’s tubeless) & ask if they can replace the nipple & sort the sealant out, obviously with new rim tape. Yes they can, but not till next month! So instead of sensibly looking for another shop I decide to replace the nipple myself & bung a tube in till I get home (where I’ll replace all the nipples for brass ones). I leave the rim tape on & promptly lose the new nipple inside the rim 🤬. So I take the tape off, fanny around for ages until finally the nipple drops out of the valve hole (along with 2 bits of broken ones)
Luckily I always carry some insulating tape so that goes on as rim tape. 1st side of the tyre pisses on. Tube in, other side of the tyre is a bastid, probably cos of the tube. No way will it go on just by hand so I have to use a lever & it’s one of the tightest tyres I’ve ever fitted & in 32 years of riding I’ve fitted hundreds.
Anyway I eventually get it on & inflated, happy days.
5 minutes later the bastard’s flat again cos I’ve obviously nipped the tube.😢😢
ARSE!

Go on, laugh you lot. 🤬🤬😭😭😂

PS, also luckily they’re straight pull spokes so don’t need to take the cassette or rotor off.
Arse just the same though.

I feel your pain – I had similar in the alps over the summer. Multiple snapped spokes at the join with the nipple. Ended up having to spend a long morning rebuilding the entire wheel with brass nipples while my mates were out riding. Alloy nipples can get in the sea, they are a horrible and stupid idea.

The very best ones are alright. But still worse than cheap brass. I’m a total weight weenie, I’m using skinny spokes and carbon rims and low spoke counts… and cheap brass nipples because they’re the only thing that really works.

Well, your tale of woe has shown me that I’m not the only one to have one disaster after another ruin a day out.
So, thanks for that, at least I’m not alone.

Tube in, other side of the tyre is a bastid, probably cos of the tube.

Eh? I don’t think that should be an issue if you put a bit of air in the tube, just enough to shape it then push it well into the tyre.

Last set of wheels I built were DT Swiss rims that came with alloy nipples. I did think about buying brass ones additionally, but decided against it. Time will tell if I made the wrong call.

Ah, you mean CHEAP alloy nipples? 😎

Anodised Sapim alloy nipples on two sets of gravel wheels here, admittedly with a smear of copper grease on the the thread when building. Rebuilt one set after approx 2000km using the same nipples, still going strong 👍

Oh, but commiserations on the lost days riding, that sucks ☹️

Still trying to work out how the nipple snaps (bit nervous as I have built some wheels with orange alloy nipples) if the spoke goes to the top of the nipple thread. Does the wide bit of the nipple just snap off ?

Ah, you mean CHEAP alloy nipples? 😎

Well, I’ve no idea what grade they are. They’re on some 3T wheels & hubs that I got off a mate in April, who in turn got them off another mate who doesn’t mind what he spends. Also I don’t know exactly how old they are.

Still trying to work out how the nipple snaps

A bit of corrosion sets in & the top breaks off (the mushroom head bit that’s inside the rim)

If I was me using alloy nipples I’d give them a good greasing before inserting them.

I have 2 sets of Kinesis Crosslights that came with ally nipples for ultimate weight weenery. JRA, one went off like a gunshot (I’d imagine) and the wheel went out of true by about 3/4″. I had both wheels rebuilt with brass jobbies. No thanks.

Never had an issue with alloy nipples. Sure, some have corroded on, but they crush to dust come removal time and you just replace the nipple. Even with tubeless, it’s not an issue – just cut the tape, replace the nip and glue in a new piece of tape.

HA! I hadn’t nipped the tube at all!
I should however, have taken all the manky old sealant off first, then I’d have found the culprit that was buried amongst it, which I didn’t feel when I ran my hand round before fitting the tube. Thorn.
It gets worse though. Decided to true the wheel before fitting the tyre, just as well because another nipple cracked off (the first one I tweaked) Off to the shop tomorrow for 24 BRASS nipples!
So I spent an hour yesterday scraping sealant off with a dessert spoon.
Unhappy days.

I hate alloy nipples too. Especially anywhere near the sea.

I am not sure would ever notice the weight difference between alloy and brass.

My DT Swiss ones corroded to the point that they started splitting, I had to replace the whole lot. I always use brass now.

Don’t like them either due to corrosion. Have had 2 sets of Santa Cruz Reserve wheels rebuilt because of that with brass nipples. I was always worried that it was me causing the problem, so it’s good to hear it isn’t just me.

I have 2 sets of Kinesis Crosslights that came with ally nipples for ultimate weight weenery. JRA, one went off like a gunshot (I’d imagine) and the wheel went out of true by about 3/4″. I had both wheels rebuilt with brass jobbies. No thanks.

Err… Snap! Same here, although just one set in my case. Leaning the bike slightly into a gentle bend? Ping! Changing position? Ping! Gently accelerating uphill? Ping! Always nipples splitting or breaking off around the threads. Nice enough wheels otherwise, but an unnerving PITA.

[Edit] – and fairly light use with a 65kg rider. Never had anything like the issues with mtb wheels, even daft weight weenie ones…

DT Swiss Squorx ali nipples, no issues at all. No corrosive bike cleaners get anywhere near my bike.
If it was a winter commuting hack, then brass all day long.

4500km and now on a second sets of rims on my Sapim alloy nipples (only bought them for the anodised colours). Dunno if using the Sapim nipple washers or coating threads in copper grease has made the difference. Have pretty much always used Fenwick’s cleaner, no idea if it’s corrosive or not.

Alloy nipples, 3x straight pull spokes, the sea, and lack of cleaning. That factory wheelset didn’t last long! Posted on here about it the other year. They’re still in my shed not sorted. Corrosion at hub end of nipple, cracked, disintegrated.

Always brass, even on handbuilt wheels. Ask wheel buiding secialists !

4500km and now on a second sets of rims on my Sapim alloy nipples

How old are your wheels though TFM?
Doubt if it’s anything to do with mileage, it’s age that’s the problem combined with associated corrosion. These of mine haven’t done a lot by me or my mate but I reckon they’ll be 7-8 yrs old.
Alloy corrodes, brass…less so if at all.

Oh the weight thing, alloy v brass. Really?
Have a crap & a haircut before you go out on the bike. 😜

How old are your wheels though TFM?
Doubt if it’s anything to do with mileage

Aye fair point actually, I’m confusing fatigue with age!

They’re ‘only’ 3-4 years old, and live in a nice warm dry garage, and I’d probably replace them with the next set of rims anyway.