Originally Posted by
busygizmo
I'm looking for a road bike that would ride as closely as possible to a traditional race geometry road bike but would be able to swap tires to something large enough to do an occasional gravel ride on local forest service roads. I'm not looking to race, tour or get into any technical riding, just be able to keep riding a bit when the pavement stops. I understand that there will be compromises and no bike is perfect for all conditions.
The Midnight Special might fit the bill. It's advertised as a road bike that fits up to 42mm tires, has disc brakes and a steel frame.
https://surlybikes.com/bikes/midnight_special
Most people here would describe any drop bar bike that fits 40mm tires as a gravel bike, but Surly calls it a "road plus bike". It ships with 650b, but can fit 700x42.