What about the Kona Roadhouse – although £1699?

Frame Material: Reynolds 853 Butted Cromoly
Wheels: Novatec Road 30
Fork: Kona Carbon Road Disc
Crankset: Shimano RS500
Drivetrain: Shimano 105/Ultegra 11-32t 11-speed
Cockpit: Kona Road bar, Kona Road stem, Kona cork tape
Brakes: Shimano RS505 Hydraulic
Tires: Schwalbe S-One RaceGuard 700x30c
Saddle: Kona Classic Road

Appears that it will take mudguards though not quite sure whether proper or something slightly less than ‘proper’ if you know what I mean.

The Kona Essatto DDl is £1499 and appears to be the same spec, but an aluminium frame if you wanted to save a bit, but still have good stuff

Ribble 7005 Winter?

I have a Cotic Escapade and Kinesis 4S Disc, alongside my MTB.

I ran the Escapade in drop bar guise with various wheel and tyre combinations for 2 years. I’d been doing about 90% of my riding miles on it, so in January I built the 4S to give me something a little more road-focused.

I’d thought of selling the Escapade, but since built it up first as a drop bar singlespeed (great for winter commuting) and then latterly as a flat bar hybrid. I find it’s a little too short now, so I’ll either rebuilt it in a basic drop bar spec or get a dedicated flat bar frame.

Compared to a drop, geared Escapade; the 4S really is a flyer, but also a bit too road focused for me to run as my only daily ride (not so good over cobbles and unsurfaced roads).

Hope that helps, OP. 🙂

Cheers Ben, I’ve gone with the heart and ordered an Escapade today.