After 8 months of thinking saving and reading I finally got my new commuter. It's a Vivente World Randonneur. Apart from the look of the sloping top tube which I don't really like the bike ticked all the other boxes for me.
-Steel frame
-Strong wheels
-Front disc brake option
-Full eyelets and braze-ons
-Good spread of gears
-Nice price

-Some of the bonus features include a hub driven light
-Quality Tubus racks front and rear
-Nice fenders
It even came with the pedals I would have chosen as standard

I was initially set on having a Surly but for the price I would have had to spend almost half as much again just to get it up to the same specs without a disc brake.

I made a few changes to the standard bike http://www.viventebikes.com//product...NDONNEUR&cid=6

I changed the 11-32 rear cassette for a 12-34 to give me a bit lower gearing. I also changed the LX rear derailleur for an XT shadow simply because it's tucked more out of the way. And finally I went for 170mm cranks; for some reason mine was delivered with 165mm which is shorter than I'm used to.

My initial impressions of the bike are great. It’s no light weight but gives a very comfortable ride even over heavy bumps. The bike is smooth and whilst not as responsive as my road bike it's not a complete slug either. It feels as strong as a mountain bike but rides more like a road bike. Perfect for me really.

I'll post a review once I get more than a couple of hundred km under its wheels.