Rivendell, LHT, Trek 520... ever consider a rocky mountain sherpa? Great steel frame - Reynolds 853. I'm an owner of a rocky mountain sherpa and I'm extremely happy with it. My riding thus far has been on paved roads thus far and so I'm OK (in fact prefer 28mm 700c) tires. Didn't the OP mention that 10,000 of the kilometers of his tour were on paved roads... and 2,000 on gravel? Rocky Mountain is known for it's quality mountain bikes and the dealer said he wouldn't hesitate for one second to take the sherpa 30 off road or on gravel or single track. I'm not sure how wide of a tire the fork will take, however, the stock rim is a Mavic A319 and will take up to a 50mm tire.

And the OP, if I'm not mistaken, is Canadian... Rocky Mountain bicycles is a Canadian company!

check them out at www.bikes.com

It's not a Rivendell... but it's still a helluva bike!