It’s a personal preference thing. Nearly bought a gravel bike last year. Then realised it won’t be nearly as quick as my road bike on tar, or as comfy as a MTB off tar. I second the hard-tail as a better option. Recently got a Trek Supercalibre and with suspension locked out it’s still super comfy on 29mm rims and wide tyres, but fast on gravel. That said I have mates who love doing all kinds of technical stuff on their gravel bikes - but it doesn’t look like fun to me!
