Originally Posted by
Wilfred Laurier
Are you the one who has been spreading this misinformation? Broken spokes are caused by an improperly tensioned wheel, and almost always happen at the hub, which does not care what is happening on the other end of the spokes. Perhaps the rims are more safe from being dented or otherwise damaged, but the stress cycles that the spokes see at the hub are identical to any other bike.
If the spokes are tensioned correctly on ordinary bicycle wheels, and a heavy person rides the bike on rough tracks, sooner or later spokes will break in the back wheel. So broken spokes can also be caused by heavy people riding the bike. They break sooner if the bike is ridden on rough tracks.
I am tall and fat challenged, and I like to go off the beaten track. I have broken spokes in the wheels of a number of bikes.
In recent years I have bought fat bikes. I am heavier now than before, and I still like to go off the beaten track. Until now, I have not broken a spoke in a fat bike wheel. At some time in the future, I may break a spoke or spokes in a fat bike wheel. But my experience tells me, the weight is spread out more with fat bike tires, causing less stress on spokes.