Hi Seth,
I've been a PMC road mechanic/medic for going on 9 years. and ran the mechancic crew on the Boston->New York AIDS Ride for several years. I've seen it all out there. One of the things you should avoid is fancy wheels. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a broken spoke on one of the ultra light wheels that we simply can not repair on the road and the rider ends up sitting around until we get him a standard replacement wheel.
I have to admit, Cool Wheels are nice to have and some people can get the aero advantage. (Chances are you can as you seem to be a lot stronger than most) But, for ease of repair, nothing beats standard spokes. Heck, I usually find myself relacing whole wheels at Mass Maritime about 11pm and the rider is ready to go with a better than new wheel in the morning.
I'm not a tall person, but I'm heavy at 230lbs. It is amazing how 'light' you can be on the equipment though. My road bike is a 32 spoke rim on Campy Record hubs with DT butted spokes. Light and strong. I build my own wheels, and handbuilt wheels are simply MUCH better in both strength and true. Even my Mountain Bike is a 32 spoke front wheel. My Recumbent has 36 spokes only because there is no way to unweight anything and you slam the ruts. Still, that wheel is perfect.
If you are like me and can power the pedals (I have snapped KMC chains just riding) then I HIGHLY recommend a 4-cross lacing in the rear, especially on the drive side. A 2-cross on the non drive and the front is fine.
The science behind the wheel is tension. Your weight releases tension, not adds. So, most big guys and Tandems have wheel failures not due to the weight, but because the spokes below the hub reach a 0 tension and the wheel loses it's structure. Buying a strong flange hub and reinforced eyes in the rim and then using good spokes (I love the butted DTs) with a standard brass nipple will allow the wheel builder to crank up the tension and give you a very strong wheel.
You don't need Tandem rims. In fact, if you are good at 'unloading' as you travel over rough road, you can likely ride a 32 spoke wheel with no trouble at all. The trick is finding the rim that can take the tension. Many of the really light rims deform as you crank up the tension and are only designed for lighter riders. My road bike has the old Mavic Reflex (non-anodized as the coating weakened the sidewalls) which make for a light and strong combination.
Hubs? Phil are great, but heavy. I have Phil on my Recumbent for the shock loads and towing a trailer. I have Campy Record on my road and Shimano XT on my Mountain. Find a hub you like and go with it. Just make sure that if the flange is aluminum, it is a THICK aluminum so that you can tension the wheel a lot.
This will be my 1st year actually riding the PMC. Because of the distance, I have to ride the Recumbent. (Carpel Tunnel causes my hands to go numb after about 40 miles on an upright) My job this year is to ride at the end to both keep track of the last rider, and offer mechanical and medical support for the end of the ride allowing one more van to patrol. My training this year has been to learn to go slow. Actually had to pull off the Campy rear drivetrain and install a Shimano Mountain Bike setup so that I can go slow enough. (^_^) One thing about Phil Hubs is that it's an easy change! (^_^)
See you in August! (or perhaps, hopefully not) (^_^)
Now if I can convince them to keep some food so that I have a chance to eat something this year at MMA.
Chris Siano
