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Unsurprisingly, my earlier bodge was less than ideal and the handlebar had a tendency to loosen over time. I found an extremely satisfying solution however that should be known to all owners of bikes with 21.1mm steerers. It's this 20.8 to 28.6mm quill adapter from Muqzi on eBay, designed for kids' bikes. The 20.8mm diameter is close enough to 21.1mm (especially with the expanding quill) that it fits the Raleigh steerer just fine.
So out came the crowbar, prised off the old single-bolt steel stem and stuck a modern one on. No more loose handlebar.
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Still no gravel in North Yorkshire.
Moor to Sea over Fylingdales Moor.
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In case it helps anyone: my Specialized Sequoia came with an FSA chainset that's 48/32T and works with a standard 105 front derailleur. The cassette is an 11–36T Sunrace and also works with a 105 derailleur (GS cage but no extender as far as I am aware). So it's possible to make a non-GRX Shimano road setup work. Though I don't know if I would have necessarily gone for this exact setup had it not come with the bike.
Pictured with 1.9" 650B Gravel Kings (probably the largest tyre that the chainstays will clear).
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Stronglight have 44, 46, 48 and 49T outer rings to fit 4-bolt Ultegra/105.
Their smallest inner ring is 34T though, which I think is a limitation of (non-oval) chainrings with 110 BCD. So if you want 32T or smaller you need either an oval chainring or a different crankset (e.g. FSA, GRX).
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De Rosa Gravel GRX800