May be worth a look at the Sonder Camino - they start (with drops) at £1100 right now. - for an alternate option. I built one up last year on a very similar budget from a frame only (although the frame was cheaper then and I already had some suitable wheels). It works well on and off road, 1x can leave you spun out depending on how hard you’re going on road, but I’ve found it ok with a 40T and 11-42T cassette.
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