>>1892349gravel bikes aren't a meme but most big companies versions of them are. The idea of a road bike with relaxed geometry and with utility and good tire clearance and built up a bit more to be durable is great. But specialized/trek/whatever just make them road bikes that can take 42mm tires and usually have some meme proprietary shit on them. If you want to go fast your bike probably isn't holding you back.
That being said if you want to race you should get a race bike, if you just wanna zip around for fitness or whatever gravel is fine, endurance road is fine, even a flat bar bike would be fine for that. Look into what you want to actually use it for. Do you wanna carry shit on it? Does it have rack and fender mounts if you want? What are you actually riding on? (road, gravel, singletrack, fire roads, mud). In the UK i think people get decathalon bikes as their first entry often but idk im burger so i never rode one before. Also check used market, facebook marketplace is a good start.
