Transitioning from hybrid to road/cyclocross

[north woods gal]

Can't help much on specific bikes, but can give you some info on the different types road bikes and using them for gravel. I do a lot of gravel riding.

I have had a couple outstanding cyclocross bikes and really enjoyed them for their quick handling and fast acceleration. That's built into their design. That sort of geometry, though, is rather use specific. You can use a cyclocross bike for other things besides cyclocross racing, of course, but, in my experience, that compact geometry isn't the best for long distance work. They're not very comfy for all day riding and not what the gravel bike crowd are using for gravel riding. The other issue with cyclocross bikes is the rather narrow range of gearing. Typical cyclocross races are short mileage events with not a lot of long steep climbs. If you live in hill country, you may find yourself a bit over-geared.

Endurance road bikes are what I would recommend for long distance work and they'll also do a decent job on gravel as long as they'll take wider tires, up around 35mm wide or more (though most won't). Endurance road bikes have a geometry designed with comfort in mind for all day riding. They'll take much of the sting out of riding pavement, plus, you'll have a lot more choices in gearing.

Drop bar gravel bikes are a great choice as a do it all road bike. They're essentially endurance bikes setup for wider tires. Tire width is important for gravel riding. Don't let those wider tires fool you into thinking they're slow. My Salsa Warbird gravel bike with its 700x35 tires was every bit as fast as my Trek carbon Domane endurance road bike with its 700x25 tires on the pavement, not to mention that the Warbird also gave me the option of riding gravel and took a lot of the bite out of rough pavement. Riding gravel with a 700x25 bike is a big no-no. Not recommended.

As to brakes, go disc all the way. The old external rim brakes work for fair weather use, but in wet weather or situations where you need some real braking power, you need discs. Absolute must for gravel work. Besides, disc brakes are now standard on nearly all bikes, these days. If you go with eternal rim brakes, your bike model choices will be severely limited.

As for carbon versus steel versus aluminum, take your pic. Have used them all. Carbon gives a velvet smooth ride, but, be warned, you will nick and gouge that carbon if you ride gravel (have done it) and nicks and gouges in carbon can cause durability issues and frame failures. The other issue with carbon is that unless you go to the top of the line carbon model, you take a hit on the component package. Personally, I don't think the expense of carbon is justified. I'd rather have aluminum or steel with 105 than carbon with a cheaper component package. Trust me when I say, that going 105 is a no brainer. If you're going to spend the money, get 105 as a minimum. Have ridden well over thirty thousand miles on 105 without a single failure. Every time I settled for less, I ended up upgrading to 105, anyway.