What Audax /Winter bike should I buy?

I need a new bike for Club Runs through Winter and some longer rides in the spring.
I'm selling a motorbike so will have up to £1800 to spend.
Comfort is important but I'm not ready for anything too laid back yet.
Disc brakes with through axles seems a good idea to future proof it?
28mm tyres with mudguard seems a good idea
I like steel frames.

My thoughts so far are:

Genesis Equilibrium- seems quite expensive for what you get
Cinelli Vigorelli disc- no mudguard mounts, so-so tubing, 555mm stack so fun
Spa Cycles Elan- 613mm stack probably a bit too laid back
Keppler Stroma-interesting
Fairlight strael -somehow dosent inspire me to pay a premium
Condor- bloody hell they know how to charge, every component added is at list, may as well build it myself.
Ribble 725 endurance disc-£1400 looks like a bargain, not bothered about Ribble snobbery but no deliveries till December and they want all the money up front, not a bad business model i suppose. Only 25mm tyres with mudguards
Planet x hurricane-£1800, never used Sram stuff before, planet x snobbery, no online reviews.

Have I missed anything?
Should I compromise?
I'm happy to build up a bike myself, never worked on bicycle hydraulic brakes but have 2X6 pot + rear linked motorbike brakes

Don't get all set on through-axles, they're not really useful on that kind of bike. (ie if you find a frame that you like but that doesn't have through-axle it's not a deal breaker). But I guess nowadays it's harder to find a frame without it than with it anyway.

On that list Fairlight strael stands out for me. It is designed really well, its the most refined in the list. Tubing is better too I suppose.

I think you can build the bike yourself but it can take longer (parts missing, something going wrong).

Regarding thru axles; dont think this is a massive issue, most hubs (Hope, DT) are compatible for multiple standards. Fork could be an. issue, all carbon disc forks are pretty much thru axle.

I'd get a Strael with SON Dynamo set up.

Could get a Mason maybe.

Strael 105 builds start at £2250 so maybe. This might be my tight Yorkshire heritage but the Ribble is £850 less in 105 that's one he'll of a lot.

I'll have a look at Mason.

Thru axles interest me because I want to be able to get decent parts in 10 years time. Will they not have an advantage for 13.5 stone bloke who brakes too late anyway?

Toying with moving on my Equilibrium Disc 725 (Medium) if that interests you?

(This model)

Have I missed anything?

Unfortunately I'm just about 6 foot tall so I think a medium might be too small?

Lovely but £2k for the frame and again the Yorkshire upbringing says buy a Bob Jackson for £1k and save the rest for barm cakes.

I was looking at the ribble 105 endurance with rim brakes for this type of bike. I’ll probably get shot down for this but you can get a better frame with the savings and rim brakes are perfectly fine for audax if you’re not touring/gravel. You just need a spare set of pads with you for any roadside repairs. (Just went back to rim brakes after years of disc brakes and no regrets).

I managed to get an second hand Yukon via eBay with dynamo hub and lights which was a bit lucky so you could keep an eye out for something second hand but audax ready that you can upgrade with left over cash.

Realistically are you likely to have the new bike in 5 years time or flog it on here when you get bored of it? Just another thought that frees up budget/complicates things.

I wouldn't spend loads on a winter / audax bike.
Personally I'd go for aluminium. Kinesis are all virtaully disc nowadays but Tifosi CK7 rim brake version is under £1k. Mostly Tiagra. Disc version £200 more.

I’m 5’10” and it works well for me. No worries though 🙂

I feel like this guy's agent but it bothers me that this Audax is still for sale. If someone buys it it'll stop me doing something stupid. It's a Hewitt custom with Ultegra and 22", not 21" as listed.
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