Suggestions for a sub £900 drop bar disc brake commuting bike with rack and mudguard mounts.

halford's are doing last year's cx team for as little as £350 in some branches right now (shop display), so you could get that, rip all the basic sram and fsa junk off, go full shimano 105 etc., put some slicker tryres on (the rapid robs are virtually mountain bike style tread), maybe tweak the stem, and away you go

still plenty of cash left for panniers, pedals, lock, lights and a decent cheap hi-vis warm jacket from decathalon - oh you always need to replace avid bb5s with bb7s as well, but again, 50 quid for both off ebay, done

I know this goes against the n+1 - but you could just replace the crank..... ?

I'm currently tempted by Boardman CX Team Bike, currently £899.  But my planned usage is a forest fire trails commuter bike for the nicer months and  a winter bike with a change of tyres (maybe wheels).

CAADX Tiagra looks a good bet

GT grade alloy 105
Pinnacle arkose 3
Planet x London road
Raleigh mustang elite
Jamie renegade ex pat
Giant defy 1 disc

All of these are adventure bikes that fit your needs of large tyres, mudguards, racks. Most have a tiagra version for around 850-900 with spyre disc brakes. BUT, most of them have a 105 and hyrd semi-hydraullic version for 999 as they hitting the cycle to work point. The 2016 arkose 3 for example also has full shimano hydraulic disc brakes which is crazy value.

I have my c2w scheme coming round in May and of that shortlist above will be looking at the GT Grade and the Pinnacle arkose 3 for test rides. My expectation is the GT will win it.

got me a Jamis Expat which has the Tiagra and mechy discs (TRP). Reynalds steel frame. A bit heavy, but rolls a lot nicer over the roads on the commute than my previous.

Look at Boardman bikes CX Team model comes to mind £850-ish

Yeah, check out the Pinnacle Arkose options, they are good value, but all the people I know with one (3, including me) have had problems with constantly loosening headset as supplied. Carbon fibre grip paste inside the stem clamp may help but if you don't catch it soon, it may wear the frame headset bearing seats. Doesn't really affect handling but annoying. Not sure the if the stems are oversized, steerers undersized, or just the inevitable lameness of integrated headsets...

If you can bring yourself to contemplate a flat bar bike, the Merida Speeder 500 retails for £949 complete with Ultegra 11sp and Shimano hydraulic discs. It has rack and mudguard eyelets. I bought one in December and commute on it daily. it's's a fantastic and very fast bike - if you can cope without drop bars.

I'm just thinking that you must be pushing out some mega wattage to snap the crank.  Good effort.   #wattagebazooka

However, looking at the big guys online as an alternative to the London Road.

Avanti Giro, discs and Tiagra.  Currently 25% off at 578GBP.  And Mekk Pave, GT Grade under 850. Wiggle.

Just got a London Road with hydro's as a workhorse, two weeks in and couldn't be happier, it arrived pretty well set up, just needed a tweak to the front derailleur. No problems since. Nice job on the paintwork, nothing out of place, cables kept short and tidy. External cable routing should make maintenance easy too (important if you intend to ride through British winters!)

They're selling it with fulcrums at the moment too. Wish I'd checked my order before hitting purchase as she arrived with vision 30's. Having said that, they're doing alright and are might be a bit better for us with bigger frames (I'm 6'4" and 85kg).

Takes a little more effort to get up to speed than an old school racer, my XL size with hydro's weighs in at v. close to 10kg. But that's not such an issue when you consider it's designed for commutes and light touring. Once you've got up to speed though, it seems more than happy to hold it.

There is also lots of clearance for daft tires such as you might need if you have a stab at cyclocross or maybe even if your commute takes in the odd bit of dirt and gravel track. Mine does not so I coughed up a little extra for the continental sport contact tyres which are serving well and haven't punctured past the nightclubs and pubs on my daily commute.

Last point that might affect your decision is some people found it hard to fit front mudguards due to the slightly daft location of the mounting points half way up the fork but can assure you that with a little bit of bending, fettling and cursing they do indeed fit!

Long story short, would recommend this bike if you can save another £100.

Croix de Fer 10 is a penny under £900 at RRP and is a great copper colour.

Pinnacle Arkose perhaps? One of the 2016 models has the TRP hy-rds and latest Tiagra.

Whyte Dorset also has TRP hy-rds and Tiagra I think. 

Almost all Croix de Fers have TRP Spyre brakes.

The London Road with full hydraulic SRAM for £999 looks unbeatable value to me, bit over budget but worth it.

GT Grade Alu - either tiagra or 105 depending on your budget. I have the Tiagra 2015 version, great bike. I've done over 4000kms on it in pretty varied conditions and use it for commuting daily. You can get a set of SKS chromoplastic on them easily. Also the bike will accept up to 35c tyres should you have the need. 

Very comfortable bike to ride in any conditions really, it can feel on the heavy side if you're on a club run doing up and overs but other than that great commuter / winter bike

P.S I'm also 6ft 2, weigh 110kgs i ride a 58cm frame