I have a Specialized Tri-Cross bike, and I weigh 180 or so. I had repeated problems with broken spokes on the rear wheel. The spokes were just not tensioned right from the factory, and all the LBS did was just replace them. This bike should have been able to handle plenty of "abuse" as well as carry riders a lot heavier than me.

So you can't always blame broken spoke issues on a person's weight, or even on how they use the bike. You should be able to ride a hybrid or a cross bike on non-paved trails.