Zjrog, I too have broken a couple of steel frames and bent a steel fork leg so far. One frame had not been properly brazed into the bottom bracket lug and came loose. Boy did it steer and handle really weird. I had that rebrazed and it is still out there. The other bike broke on the seatpost tube just above a weld for a chainguard bracket. From what I can tell the manufacturer welded to non heat treated non alloy steel and caused an area of hardened, heatreated, steel and the crack developed right at the weld. Low quality engineering/workmanship. I've never had any problem with Schwinn bicycle frames or forks and I've owned everything from Varsity's to a 1971 sew up equipped racing Paramount. I still own a couple of Varsity's that I ride daily. My big problem with today's bicycle market is the total lack of honesty and candor about frame, fork and component group failure rates. You hear all kinds of tales about broken bicycle frames and forks but no real data from which informed choices can be made. There are several lawsuits proceeding through the US and Australian court systems that may break this data vacuum open. Four years ago I rented the latest and greatest 29er full float MTB bicycle and proceeded to ride down the Downeyville downhill here in California. The wheels were 28 spoke and I weighed 240lbs. The bicycle had disc brakes and the rims were the new disc specific rims. Those rims bent side to side terribly. I was real concerned that they would blow up before I got to the bottom. My companions kept telling me how much the wheels were visibly bending. At the time I owned a 26" solid MTB with 24 bladed spoke wheels on deep V rims by Vuelta that were completely fine at my weight and caused no problems off road. Long story short I'm sure there are wheels that will carry you with less spokes in perfect safety. Good luck with your weight reduction program. I'm not sure why I got heavy and stayed that way despite knowing it is bad for me. This time I'm losing weight until my Body Mass Index is 18 or so and keep it off. Heavy people have a harder time reaching older ages and I want to see my grandchildren graduate high school and college if I last that long.