If you can find one refurb a Salsa Warbird if want a race leaning gravel bike or the Salsa Warroad if you want a more endurance type road bike. There is also the Surly Midnight Special, which is like an endurance road bike geo which many run 650x47mm gravel slicks(maxes at 2.2) as part of their road setup. Canyon also has the Grail, which gets positive reviews & has good enough tire clearance.

 

Any gravel bike can easily handle what you're asking for, just pick the tires that best suit the riding you'll be doing, and of course make sure it fits good.

When shopping just note that there are utilitarian gravel bikes with rack and fender mounts everywhere (Example: Surly) which is rad, and there are stripped down "race" gravel bikes that are all about lightweight and speed. Most fall somewhere in the middle.

I personally try to avoid any weird proprietary standards or technology. I just want a fun comfortable bike that I can service for years to come. I also personally prefer steel for any bike without suspension for it's supple ride qualities, bonus that I also like the way steel frames look.

It's definitely a mountain bikers road bike IMO. I like being able to jump on the bike and ride right from my door. I can go any direction or target any surface depending on the day/weather.

A couple of examples

Rove

The Rove name is synonymous with adventure. This collection of bikes is just the ticket for riders who need something dependable and fun to ride everywhere from asphalt to gravel, and even a bit of light singletrack. They’ve crossed continents as bikepacking machines, they’re incredible...

konaworld.com

Standard Rando Complete Bike (EXTRA BLACK)

The Standard Rando comes equipped with our new T6 Middle Finger dropout system, flat mount disc brake spec, 12mm front and rear thru axles, 44mm headtube, optional color-matched carbon fork, mounts for whatever you may want to carry and more. We have designed it to move you comfortably across...

www.twinsix.com

4130 All-Road w/ SRAM Rival XPLR AXS - Copper Brown (650b / 700c)

This is our most capable bike ever! Make it 2-bikes-in-1 by selecting “both” as your wheel set choice and we’ll send you a 2nd pair of wheels, tires, tubes, rotors, and cassettes for easy back-and-forth switching between 700c / 650b.

www.statebicycle.com

 

For your budget, Canyon is hard to ignore.

Something like the aluminum Grail should be right up your alley.

 

JAMIS Renegade line up. Mostly under the radar for some reason but they have some nice offerings. Aluminum, steel and carbon...

I personally own a steel version and I am very happy with it.

 

I just heard my local shop is picking Jamis up. How do you like the steel Renegade? Real heavy feeling at all for a road bike?

 

I just went through this exact scenario. I ride a stumpy and a Farley. Years ago I also had the Allez.

on wed I picked up the diverge. I’ve only ridden it about 10 miles but I like it so far and I like that I can use it in VT on all the dirt roads around my house.

 

Salsa warbird is a great option if you are looking for a mix of road riding and gravel machine. If wanting a bit more comfort and slightly more upright riding take a look at the Salsa Cutthroat.

 

I’d look into the Rove and Rando posted above by OneSpeed. Both are in your range and come with Rival (most stuff in that price range comes with Apex). I recently picked up a Rove DL, found it in stock at a shop across town and couldn’t be happier. I was looking for the same thing you’re looking for, just quick rides around the neighborhood when I didn’t feel like gearing up for single track.

 

Nope not at all. I just like the feel and ride of steel.

 

Just picked up a basic Diverge aluminum with 2x10 Shimano GRX and have only been able to ride it a little, what with all our roads being packed snow, but it's comfy to ride and stable and fairly light. This is the Diverge E5 Elite, which does not have the Future Shock head tube suspension and that's fine by me. I just wanted a basic gravel drop bar bike for some gravel and pavement riding to add to my trail riding, come summer, and this should do fine. Paid $1900.

 

The eTap equipped Grail Al for $2,500 is a smoking deal. Has me thinking things that I shouldn’t…

 

Drop bar bike categories are sliced up just as narrow as MTB now. It's pretty confusing, with each brand offering a variety of models with subtle differences. Fortunately there aren't many bad choices. Sit and sort your options and pick something, probably driven by availability as much as anything. Good luck!

 

There are lots of good choices in this category. Having and having had a few, for road miles mixed with unpaved I actually like my 72 deg bike more than our more slack bikes. 2x over 1x too if wind and carrying speed might be issues. 1x for single track and simplicity.

@bvachon29 delay gratification and go try stuff because there are so many choices in the general category. Think about your routes and what's best for them. Think if you want to have some camping or carry capacity.

 

Salsa Cutthroat, Raleigh Tamland, Black Mountain Cycles. If your budget expands a Chris Cross.

 

If a 36mm or so tyre was large enough, I wouldn't rule out a secondhand Jamis Xenith Endura carbon rim-brake from around 2015, if you can find one. Look for the frames with the Tektro long-reach brakes. e.g. JAMIS XENITH ENDURA ELITE 54cm 2014 Carbon Fiber Ultegra 11spd Comfort Road Bike | eBay

$3k Endurance Bike Shootout: Jamis Xenith Endura Elite...

Putting the Jamis Xenith Endura Elite through its paces on the roads west of Boulder, Colorado. This article is part of RoadBikeReview's $3,000 Endurance Bike Shootout. See an introduction to the test here and head over to our Shootout Round-Up Page to read the rest of the reviews. Consensus...

www.roadbikereview.com

 

Used frames to look for maybe.

Masi CXGR
All-City Space Horse
All-City Cosmic Stallion
Niner RLT steel
Soma Double Cross
Surly Bridge Club
Surly Straggler
Kona Rove ST
Salsa Vaya
Jamis Renegade

 

Good list.

It has been a few seasons but I would find Fargos used more than Vayas. While not a gravel racer, they really cover a lot of riding types. My wife considers ours her road bike. Sutras should be added to a list with Roves. Now there are the old school tourers, off road tourers and later models that accommodate droppers.

It's really sweet how many great bikes could fit this. Far more road like but versatile are some steel Raleigh models including that Rando style with Campy. My son has one of those and it's super pleasant.

 

For endurance road/ gravel something like a Trek Domane would be perfect imo. Lots of the suggestions so far seem more like gravel/ light singletrack kind of rides.

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I definitely think based on what I'd be riding I'm looking more on the endurance road or "gravel lite" side of things. Lots of great bikes suggested though! Need to get my butt on some and ride. Now if it would just get above freezing here in MN...

 

MN is a good reason for a pure middle of everything gravel bike and consider @J.B. Weld comment on Domane. I rode one with same wheels and tires I have in my Moots.

On MN, I'm on other side of the big river but have tooled around Duluth and twin cities with the Routt 45. It covers stuff that make a road bike a handful and no fun, can get on some single track, and I ignore criticism about "jack of all trades". The whole saying or cliche nails it. It's fantastic to have one bike that does so much even if imperfect in lots of scenarios.

Wheels are worth the spend. I've used same wheels here in more road and more tour/trail oriented bike. Fast 40 mm tires are really sweet.

 

If you don’t currently do any road riding, I would get a bike that will allow you as much flexibility in road surfaces as possible. I tried adding road riding to my habits in 2019-2020 but even in my quiet suburb the number of distracted drivers who nearly hit me caused me to switch back to separated paths only.

 

I can appreciate this. That was one of the reasons I sold my Allez years ago. Luckily, where I live now there are tons of dedicated bike paths and large bike lanes but I definitely get it.

 

Don't forget Breezer (everyone always does for some reason). Doppler or Radar could fit the bill.

 

Thank you for bringing up Breezer. I had not seen anything about them in recent years and didn’t realize they were in business. Introducing the 2021 Breezer Radar X - BIKEPACKING.com
It looks like a great price. Before buying any bike I’d want to know an approximate weight. [Edit - one of the comments said a size medium is 30 pounds]

 

You guys in this thread confused the hell out of me with the Domane recommendation. I had one back in the day when it was marketed as a straight up endurance road bike and the biggest tire it would fit was a 28c. Didn’t realize until now that it had been updated to fit fatter tires and be more of an all arounder.

Sounds perfect for OP. I really liked mine before the changes.

 

Agreed. Definitely don’t need a drop bar 29er. The Domane and Renegade sound right up my alley.

 

Giant Revolt..............

 

Revolts got some nice upgrades and lost a lot of weight since my MY2019. Defys are also good if you're looking to stick with pavement. A fast gravel bike might have more bottle mounts than a road bike. I'm not sure where in the state you are but Mpls has left most of their water fountains off for a few years now.

 

My vote is for the Niner RTL, they have a number of frame options (Steel, Alloy and Carbon Fiber), with a number of builds at different price points. I picked the Niner after reading a few reviews and because it had something like 27 mount points for bags, bottles, racks etc. I had dreams of epic rides overseas...

I have the Carbon Fiber (RDO). I'm riding road 100% of the time right now, but that's going to change when the rainy season ends. I have fitted 700x35C road tires (Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass) and I've got to tell you its a great road ride. The frame is covered in mount point in case you decide to go off on an epic ride. The RLT has more relaxed riding position makes for good day long riding. It will fit unto 700x50C tires, if you want off pavement adventure. Niner has a frame bag that bolts to the top tube. I'm a huge fan of the frame bag, its replaced my saddle bag and have room for a pump, and a few tools, plus I've gone to putting my phone in during my ride. I've fitted fenders (mud guards) during the raining season. They guys I ride with say fenders aren't cool, but I riding enough they save me from washing the bike too often.

Image from my Christmas Day ride. Waikiki Beach, Honolulu HI USA.

Sidenote - there was a issue with the bike and I found the custom service at Niner super helpful and they worked extremely hard to get things settled. The issues was a component and not frame related...

 

you dont need to spend 2K. Sonder Camino | Titanium & Aluminium Gravel Bikes

 

I have a specialized sequoia. I love it.