When I was 345 lbs. I got tired of broken spokes. I had some tandem type wheels built for my road bike: 48 spoke Phil Wood hubs, 135 mm rear axle, Mavic rims. I never broke a spoke or had any trouble with them. My weight is now down to 260, but I still like those wheels. I can also use my older 40 spoke Sun Tour hub wheels, but they have freewheels and no one seems to make 8 spd. freewheels these days so my new wheels all have freehubs. These days I am using the White Industries MI5 hubs. They are available in 40 hole and seem to be pretty good, for $100 less than the Phil Wood.