Lauf True Grit

and for that it's proved pretty good to be honest. Ok, the tires aren't great in sloppy mud, but I think you could get around that There's plenty of m...

Got a Lauf True Grit race. AXS and Eagle out back. Superb bike. I’m also Eagle on MTB.

And the Lauf True Grit seems to have most of the features I've enjoyed from other bikes I've ridden. Long wheel base like a mountain bike, simplicity of 1x drivetrain, low suspension fork to take chatter away from badly maintained roads, drop bar hand position/posture, etc.

My gravel tires are 35... To me the True Grit is too much of an offroad bike to be very good on the road assuming the roads aren't 3rd world country level destroyed \*ahem looking at you, Michigan\* (in which case I think it'd be an excellent choice). Otherwise if you're looking for a capable bike that retains a majority of the road performance of a regular road bike, you're probably better off looking more at the racier side of gravel, e.g. Spesh Crux, Trek Checkpoint, Salsa Warbird/Warroad, Ridley Kanzo Speed/Fast, etc.

A cycling friend in the bay area (where I live, too) just bought a True Grit. He is mostly a roadie but wanted a gravel bike that he was comfortable riding quickly on tarmac to get to the dirt. The Lauf fit the bill and he loves it.

I was having this dilemma, picked up a Lauf True Grit gravel bike first. The only real issue is that you need to watch your rim internal width and tyre combo if you want to run anything less than 30mm. I did eventually pick up a road bike as well though, as I’m putting more effort into trimming weight off it. In my opinion a gravel bike does road “fine” but not “well”, the flared drops don’t help with aero and a one-by isn’t granular enough for optimum road riding.