Originally Posted by
kuroba
It's hard to find a bike that can do it all and do it all well, most of the times you'll be giving up something somewhere. Jack of all trades, master of none.
The Jake the Snake is a CX racing bike, features 1x setup (with closer gear ration) and racing geometry, no bosses for fender or racks.
The Rove is on the other side of the spectrum, relaxed (upright) geometry, easier gearing and allows to add fenders/racks. In my understanding, it's more of a monstercross bike, a MTB with drop bars.
Since you are focused on comfort and want to do primarily longer distance rides, I'd go for the Rove. It has more gearing for off-road climbs and picking up speed on the road and the more upright geometry will be more comfortable in long rides, IMO. You could try racing on it too if you want and if you get serious about it get a proper CX bike.
I think you're thinking of the Major Jake, not the Jake the Snake. The Jake the Snake does have fender/rack bosses. It can fit 40-ish tires. The current model also ships with 2x gearing. It's a pretty good compromise bike, with decent performance on road, CX, or more "gravel" type rides. I would highly recommend it for the OP.