Originally Posted by
DorkDisk
Gravel bikes are similar and come in lower price points but are still priced higher. Hybrid is the way to go for affordabilty and multi-use.
+1
For the riding the OP describes, a hybrid sounds like the best choice. It's definitely a good starting point. I began with one several years ago and transitioned to a gravel bike last year. But I don't think I would've been happy starting with a gravel bike. A few years on the hybrid helped me build up my endurance to longer rides, and to identify what I did and didn't want in a different bike. And if all of my rides were around 10 miles or so, I'd probably still be on a hybrid. (Actually, I think of a gravel bike as a hybrid bike - wider tires and a drop bar. But that's not the typical definition.)