Someone may have already mentioned this but….Try getting some tire liners for the flats. I’ve used them in my 29" and had NO flats at all. They are pretty cheap…http://www.pricepoint.com/Brand/Mr-Tuff … -Liner.axd ………… and they work like a champ. I guess you could go tubeless if you wanna mess with that…I have no experience in tubeless. As far as the broken spokes go…I cannot help you. My cheap bontrager wheels get broken spokes about every other ride. It’s just the way it is i think if you have cheap wheels. Paying $500 for a new wheel set is not an option. I’d buy some spokes and change them yourself. Just set the tension close to the others. I don’t think it matters that much. My took my rear tire to have it "trued" cause it was all outta wack. I paid the guy and took the tire home. It is basically the same as it was. Maybe that stuff is a science and maybe it is luck….and maybe it doesn’t matter anyway on cheap stuff….