donm1967

Hey all,
I've been riding my 2009 Cannondale quick 4 for a long time. I ride a mix of street and limestone trail, hence why I chose the hybrid back then. I added inner bar ends for diff hand positions.
Since 2 L4-L5 disc surgeries I feel the best I have in many years (50+ yo now). I started riding more/longer 2 years ago. My typical weekday ride (3x per week) is 12-18 miles, with a 25-30 mi ride on the weekend. My longest ride is 40 mi.
I'm at the point now where I think I'm ready to upgrade to a road bike. Looking to spend no more than $2K
Some novice questions:
- Does bike weight and gearing make that a big difference in speed ? I.e. will I really be faster on a road bike, or is it more a matter of my conditioning? I'm not looking to set any speed records, but it would be nice to get a little faster and get some more distance.
- Given my back history, I don't want a really aggressive posture, so I'm thinking fitness/flatbar road bike or endurance road bike. Again, is there really a huge difference? I will likely seldom ride in drops.
- Gravel bike - is it just a road bike with different tires? i.e. could I put road tires on a gravel bike and it's essentially a road bike?
I know there are a lot of variables in components that factor into my questions, I'm just looking for some general advice here.

Thanks, Don