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@PeteJChurchill
It all started with a casual, throw away comment on the eBay/Craigslist finds post saying something like 'Rivendell in Brighton: link'. Nobody seemed to notice and I'd been salivating over their bikes not that long before, so just had to have a look.
A lovely, orange Sam Hillborne, in my size, and I was going to be nearer to Brighton than I have been for months (years? who knows in these times) only days later for a ride, with the car, so I could even pick it up. It was, or so I tell myself, meant to be. A couple of hours or half hoping someone else would buy it and stop me from adding to an already crowded shed, and I'd clicked the 'But It Now' button and the deed was done.
With that, on to the build. My gravel itch has well and truly been scratched, so no need there, and I'm not after anything super skinny or lightweight for road riding, but a classic steel randonneur type bike is definitely on the cards. This is my thinking:
Partly inspired by this lovely build on the Radavist, I'm going with Campag Athena shifters and derailleurs.
Then from there - I can't really bring myself to pay for a Chater Lea or Rene Herse crankset, but something like that. Ideally a SunXCD clover leaf super compact double - I'd like to go for 42/26, but they seem hard to come by.
Rear cassette - Campag themselves only seem to do silly 12-29 cassettes, but I will definitely need something wider. Fortunately it seems possible to get a 12-30 (possibly 32) on an Athena short cage derailler, which should be fine with the double up front.
Brakes - I am going to splash out and go for centre mount, centre pull Paul Racers. It would almost be rude not to on this bike.
Lots of other details to finesse, but basically - silver and classic looking - Nitto, Honjo, etc... Although I am going a bit rogue with some Ritchey Venturemax Classic bars, as I really like the shallow biobend drops.
One question I can't decide on - black saddle and bar tape to match the shifter hoods, or brown saddle and brown tape, possibly try and get alternative hoods for the shifters? I'm swaying towards the the brown, but mainly because I'm all about that tan tyre wall look.