I recently started commuting on my framed x300, and while it's a decent bike, I feel the need for better.

I have looked into gravel bikes as a base for a commuter considering the roads I ride on are pretty rough, but I would still like the speed associated with "road" bikes.

I'm pretty mechanically inclined, and while I haven't ever built a bike from the ground up, it's certainly something within my abilities. I'm mostly just curious to whether a gravel centric build is a good commuter for rust belt towns with rough roads.