"Gravel bikers should just get a hardtail"
Do you think this is true, even when you spend lots of time on the road?
I currently have a gravel bike, and I love that I can do road rides, hit the fire roads around me, and load it up for bikepacking. But whenever I get to steep dirt, or singletrack, my confidence plummets. I feel afraid to explore and go off the beaten path.
I'm wondering if I should sell my gravel bike and get an xc hardtail to enable more exploration and interesting riding. My concern though, is the road sections of my rides. The closest trails are 5 miles away, and I also like doing mixed-terrain bikepacking, with plenty of road miles.
I agree that a hardtail will generally be more capable and fun offroad, but is it worth the tradeoff in on-road performance? I'd like all of my ride to be fun, not just the dirt sections.