Cheapest stock bike for ultras

[the tortoise]

Wheels? Don't need to spend a ton of cash on wheels to find reliability. If you have any questions probably best to get hold of Mike C at lacemine and tell him your budget and needs and he can probably set you up. If they are not laced up and tensioned properly from the beginning you are probably screwed.
Heavier stronger riders are going to be really tough on wheels, whereas peter pan types like me can get lots of miles from a wheelset without trashing them.