BicycleBicycle

I had a san jose that I took out to the singletrack and regularly tried to ride it on as many dirt roads as possible.
Pretty fun. Wish I could have done some cx races or something.

I wouldn't get another cx/gravel bike if it doesn't get used specifcially for offroading or work for at least 30% of the time (for the latter, this time around I would just get a track frame).
It wasn't "sloped" enough to be something that I can bunnyhop around and mess around on, and it was too sluggish to be used on the street regularly.
I took it to the skatepark a few times, caught a sliver of air and did some fakies, but again, it was too tall and roady to really mess around with.
Probably a good thing. I don't need any injuries right now.

But man, it was ridiculously fun on the single track and going from the single track, striaght onto aw inding asphalt road, then hooking back onto the single track again (I lived near an urban mountain with bike trails), was one of the best experiences ever. For that particular purpose, and for riding on cx style mud/grass/dirt, they are amazing.
It had amazing geo when it was used for those purposes. Biggest smile on my face ever.
That's a rare situation though, and I still woudl have probably had more fun with a hard tail. But I would want a cx bike on a long, easy, kinda bumpy scenic offroad trail with a few sections that were like the singletrack above. That woudl be a dream match.

cx/gravel bikes also make great workhorses as they seem to be built strong and can carry good loads and be relatively fast. I also used it as a side gig workhorse for a few months and it served that purpose well. But there were many times when I wished that the bike was ab it lighter, had less rolling resistance, and was a little snappier (i.e. I wish it was a track frame).

Actually, now that I think of it, i'd probably get one again if I could get one with disc brakes, and if the geo was tighter.
Riding one single speed is a ton of fun. I lived in an incredibly hilly area and only about 15% of the time I wish I had gears. Every other time I appreciated the simplicity.
I've been eyeballing a local shop that is coming out with a cx bike as it seems to have tighter geometry than the san jose, and it accetps disks.

If you're never going to take it off road or check out the local light scenic trails and go on adventures, don't get one. You can get a better bike suited for urban riding.
They have high BB's and are a bit sluggish, but these are obviously good traits when you take them into the gravel.
Also, please never get one with canti brakes.

Riding one fixed is totally pointless IMO. Maybe if you "urbanize" it with skinnies and some flat bars sure you can ride anything fixed, but the geo just doesn't fit, and
why would you want to ride fixed offroad? If you want a challenge go on a more technical trail. Fixed is for urban assault. Sometimes I see people do it and it's cool and looks fun but you rarely see people doing it like as a thing that they specifically buy a bike for.