Originally Posted by
tsippycup
I have had a few people recommend hybrid bikes (like a Trek Multitrack) that can do it all, but my fear is they will be too heavy / similar to my MTB on the road.
Agreed.
Originally Posted by
tsippycup
I've also had people recommend gravel bikes (Cannondale Topstone), although I feel like that's the same thing as a hybrid, hah. I have no idea what a cyclocross bike is.
A gravel/adventure bike might be the ticket, so long as you are okay with drop bars. It will be a bit more built up for riding on rough roads, gravel, and non-technical dirt. You can always change out the tires to road slicks for group road rides and such. If you want to get snazzy you can even get a second wheelset so you have one for road and one for gravel.
Cyclocross bikes are used for racing cyclocross, which generally involves a lot of riding fast laps around in the grass and mud in the fall. Gravel bikes got popular in part because they took some of the desirable features of cross bikes but them a bit more suitable for long-distance road use.