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@zoom
As someone who has commuted in London at your weight and above I would say don't worry too much about the bike being tough enough, nearly everything from a reputable brand will be able to cope.
I rode around on a second hand aluminium Langster for a 3 years before it was killed by a car reversing into it when it was parked, so aluminium, steel etc will be fine.
I would suggest having a look at CX bikes as well, with a set of road tyres you should be able to go fast enough to have fun, and the more fun you have the more you will ride.
It will also have drop bars (tops and hoods are perfectly comfortable and let you tuck in a bit to go downhill).
I've never ridden a road bike with disc brakes so I don't know if they are much better or will let you feel more confident, I have had no issues stopping on calipers or mini-Vs.
I don't know how strong stock wheels will be on most OTP bikes, but if a wheel is designed for skinny fuckers to smash around off road it should cope alright with the odd pothole for you or I. I've had a lot of joy with the basic wheels from v-sprint.
For a commuter bike you could do a lot worse than a Pompino, mine has been great, put up with a lot of abuse and a very lax maintenance schedule with no complaints.
If in doubt, go to evans, test ride all the bikes, then buy whichever puts the biggest grin on your face off the internet.