“I see the opposite,there are some really good options for more ‘do it all’ bikes from main brands and frame builders now.”
I’m not seeing anything in the shops that seems to fit all my requirements. A few ‘CX’ bikes, but often with not great tyre/mud clearance. The CdF has clearance for ‘up to’ a 42c tyre, but not if you’ve fitted mudguards, when the max tyre useable is a lot narrower (32c or thereabouts apparently. Mudguards also need to be a reasonable distance from the tyre itself, as too narrow a gap can clog up. So, a rigid forked ’29er’ seems more practical, but then all seem to come with a higher front end than I want. And hardly any seem to come with rack and guard mounts.
The only bikes that seem to closely fit my requirements are hybrids, but there doesn’t seem to be anything off the peg that’s of the quality I want (mostly lower end steel and alloy frames). Lighter, fancier hybrids sacrifice stuff like tyre clearance for ‘sporty’ geometry. Or there’s ‘expedition’ bikes which are too heavy. So custom built is increasingly looking like the only option.