I haven’t heard anything bad about felts but they’re also not super popular. Seem like a company that makes at least half-decent bikes. I know one teammate who races an old felt and one very popular youtuber (norcal cycling) who races at the cat 1 level with a felt. I’d consider their bikes for sure.

About the Felt Broam 60: the brakes are “dual piston” which is much nicer than the old kind of brakes that have one moving piston and one stationary one. You’ll want to upgrade to compressionless brake housing if you can’t lock the brakes before bottoming out your lever - so maybe save some room for that in your budget.

Some people are sensitive to front shifting quality and I’m not sure how great FSA is. Unfortunately there aren’t any gravel-oriented Shimano 8 speed cranks out there. So the closest thing you’ve got is claris 50/34. Not the biggest deal in the world ofc. I wouldn’t call R2000 “crap”

Seems like the geo is “adventure” oriented so closer to a touring bike than a fat tire road bike. Might feel a bit sluggish in terms of handling but it’s really not a big deal.