Russ Roth

That's a lovely, nonsensical quote and totally outdated. I'm in the 280 range and this summer did 160 miles over rough terrain on my nicely built wheels that are light, 1600g for the pair, and had no trouble even with the 40 added lbs for cargo. In my fast days I was still 240 and wore out several mavic open pro by braking through the sidewalls after thousands of miles but didn't break them. Plenty of wheels will hold up as long as you move past the pre-built, low spoke wheels. Especially modern rims are much better than in years past.

Well there's your problem, a freewheel hub, I once snapped the axle on one in the hub cranking up a hill and bent the frame stays in the process. Also going to guess that Heather is a woman, my wife at 5'6" has the same inseam as me at 5'10" and I've fit plenty of females that had taller inseams than me while still being my wife's height, long legs are common for the gender.

OP: the person who suggested a MTB might not be far off, the shop should be able to swap the tires for 1.5 tires with some modest tread which will run fine on the road. Weight wise and performance wise a 600.00 mtb won't be a lot different from a 600.00 hybrid and with the tires might be what you need. You just want to make sure that whatever you buy has 8sp or more in the back and double wall rims, at 600.00 that shouldn't be a problem but it can be. Also get something with a threadless stem system, if reach is of concern most shops have a selection of previously swapped stems, and most places I worked had an abundance of long ones, and they can get you your longer reach with some ease by swapping the stem. Shops often don't have the older quill style that cheaper hybrids tend to come with. With MTBs being 29" they are performance wise close to a hybrid, below 1000.00 they tend to have a less aggressive geometry knowing that the bike will rarely leave pavement and they're often sturdier. Often hybrids will be fairly similar in shape with few standouts but stems and handlebars can be swapped.