I don't know how long I've had my Speed Master Wheel Brush, it couldn't have been more than a year. I'd like to know when I bought it, so if there is a way I can look up my previous orders please let me know. I was very pleased with it, up until the moment it broke. Just like the pocket comb that was bent back and forth too many times, it snapped. I have used it for my personal use, on my cars and the cars I've cleaned in the neighborhood, so I'm a little disappointed that it croaked. It seemed to be made very well and I hadn't abused it with an excessive amount of twisting and bending, not beyond what I feel would have been expected for it's intended use. I'm going to replace it with a different brand just to see if maybe there's a design flaw in the Speed Master or if what I got out of it is about all you can expect.
i've been using this style brush since 2008. when i used to use the EZ Detail brush (lighter duty version of Daytona), i had my first one break where yours did. that was because i was always swinging it downward to shake it out when i was done rising it while holding it at the handle. that caused the paint coating the wire to eventually break, which let it corrode and then give up with all the stress from swinging it. it broke right at the area it enters into the handle. there is an old thread about it where someone made a new handle out of a dowel.
so obviously i stopped doing that, but either way, the long and the short of it is they will all eventually break if you use them as they prescribe. i've had the Daytona break in the middle because i only had one and would bend it each time to get behind spokes and such. eventually, it will break because they don't use stainless steel, the paint cracks, the metal corrodes, fatigues and then "snap". i have one in my garage right now that is snapped in the middle because of that. pisses me off because it wasn't that old and i'm not using it all that often since i only do my own stuff.
i feel they don't use stainless because it would make the brush last too long. the brush is awesome, and they know that most people will be hooked after using it. they built in return business with the current design. to be honest, i would pay double if they just used a reasonable quality heavy duty 304 stainless steel material for the damn wire.
the solution i've found is to buy two (cheapest when there aren't promos is on Amazon from PBMC, the double brush pack), bend one in the middle, then put a slight bow from the middle to the small end and leave it there. then, keep the other one straight for the instances when you don't need a bent one. lastly, having a little one somewhat bent in the middle is the icing on the cake for me. between those three, you have what you need 95% of the time and don't have to worry about them breaking as quickly.
Microfiber Madness uses stainless in the prototype brush i saw at SEMA but i'm not wild about the brush material they chose considering it's a wheel brush. the bristles on the Daytona have great reach and are stiff enough to clean well.
