Thanks for all your ideas people, I'm sure dollars will fix any problem... But there is a limit (imposed by the minister for finance ) . Changing tack a bit, and still chasing a shiny new bike, would putting drops on a trek fx, or specialised sirrus type bike work? Still would give room for a wider tyre, have fancy looking discs, and from what I can see largely resemble alloy cyclocross bikes in spec. While browsing sites I get the impression that bigger frames are more likely available with these bikes, and seem to be a bit longer anyway.