Suggestions for a commuting bike

Hi all!
So here's the deal. Currently i have no bicycle and i'm planning on getting one for commuting. The thing is, i'm not that of a bike expert, so i'd like to hear some oppinions and suggestions regarding my ideas for this thing.

First of all, i want a road geared bike with a nice reynold 531 frame pre 85 of something (koga miyata, gazelle, colnago, raleigh, carlton, etc..) with 60-62 c-t (my inseam is 93-94cm and i'm 6''3' tall).
Also would like to have 28-32mm tyres, cause the pavement around here, if i may call it like that, is not that nice.
Have no idea though, of what brake type to use.

my budget should be around 325£

thank you for your attention.
Cheers

Your going to struggle buying a complete bike in very good standard for £325. I'd keep an eye on Ebay, here etc. But at that price it'll likely need at least some TLC, and you've stated that you're no bike expert. Still you could look at it as a learning experiance. Might be an idea to get some help though. Clearance for 32mm tyres might be tricky too.

pmMuhtHBMf88nRy(g~~_12.JPG)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-70s-Mercier-Tourer-Tour-France-colours-/120616636712?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item1c154fd128

Ro!~~_12.JPG)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Raleigh-Pro-Race-Road-Bike-/320585653646?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item4aa464dd8e

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dave-Marsh-Road-Bike-531-c-Dura-ace-Cinelli-Mavic-Look-/120618333459?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item1c1569b513

85Mg~~_12.JPG)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RALEIGH-BANANA-DROP-HANDLE-BIKE-/330469158962?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item4cf17f3032

pdNWU9mBMhLjokjFg~~_12.JPG)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/claud-butler-531-touring-racing-bike-handbuilt-nice-/220665423147?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3360af252b

The Mercier is gorgeous!

Ebay watching is your best bet IMO, or car boot sales. I got my old Raleigh off of ebay for 12 quid, and a Brooks Sprinter saddle for it at a car boot for a tenner.

Retrobike is another good website, although harder to find a bargain than on ebay

The Mercier is gorgeous!

Is'nt it.

That deep pink is to die for. Its only 10cm too big for me too. 10cm's of shims under my cleats, a 10cm shorter stem, and ski poles to prop myself up at lights, sorted. I'm bidding ;)

Your going to struggle buying a complete bike in very good standard for £325. I'd keep an eye on Ebay, here etc. But at that price it'll likely need at least some TLC, and you've stated that you're no bike expert. Still you could look at it as a learning experiance. Might be an idea to get some help though. Clearance for 32mm tyres might be tricky too.

yeah, i got that impression. but i think i'll manage with some patience.
ebay is cool, but the main problem is that i'm not uk based, so 85% of the deals die in the beginning. i have seen some interesting things around here, so i'll just keep looking.
why is 32mm clearence tricky? i thought that most old frames could handle that.
another thing that i have some doubts is the type of brakes to install.. caliper or cantilever? what's the main difference? i read that when the tyre width is to large, should go for cantilever, but 32mm max is not that wide i think.

that mercier looks like a real bargain, shame he won't post it. (and not rly my color, to be honest)

The Mercier is gorgeous!

Ebay watching is your best bet IMO, or car boot sales. I got my old Raleigh off of ebay for 12 quid, and a Brooks Sprinter saddle for it at a car boot for a tenner.

Retrobike is another good website, although harder to find a bargain than on ebay

maybe i'll ryanair over to stansted and look for a bargain :D

why is 32mm clearence tricky? i thought that most old frames could handle that.

Depends what type of road frame you go for I suppose. I would have though most caliper brakes would fit around a 32mm tyre. I would also say that 28mm is plenty big enough, unless you're going to be heavily loaded.

no, i'll be always travelling light. my idea was to install 15mm rims or something like that, and run 28mm on a daily basis but with the possibility of 32mm if going to a messier ground.
the main reason why i'm going for 28mm it's because the are plenty of roads around here with this type of pavement

i don't even know the name of it in english.

but hey, this is all theoretical. i really don't know the practical differences between 28 and 32, because my bike experience resumes to MTB and BMX

Coble stones^

Called pave in the cycling world, and brostein where I live. I have a steel track frame running 20mm tyres, and a alu cross frame running 32mm tyres, and they are equally uncomfortable on both bikes. Just in different ways.

As another lead, have you tried the Hungry based Matuzmaster?
http://www.matuzmaster.hu/en/bikes/
Lots of very nice bikes/frames/and components, and the owner Geoff Burgess seems a nice guy to deal with, based on the correspondense I've had with him. Not a budget friendly place though.