Mountain bikes have been getting increasingly descent oriented, i.e. they’re good for going down rough tracks really fast. But that also means they’re less suitable for longer distances in less rough terrain, which is a niche that’s been filled by gravel bikes. Also road bikes are only really suitable for well maintained tarmac. Where I live all roads like that have heavy car traffic, so I prefer riding on back roads or forest tracks, which a gravel bike is much better for.
Mountain bikes have been getting increasingly descent oriented, i.e. they’re good for going down rough tracks really fast. But that also means they’re less suitable for longer distances in less rough terrain, which is a niche that’s been filled by gravel bikes. Also road bikes are only really suitable for well maintained tarmac. Where I live all roads like that have heavy car traffic, so I prefer riding on back roads or forest tracks, which a gravel bike is much better for.
Explains why they all had such fat tyres when I saw mountainbikes in a shop recently.