I'm not sure what my limits are yet since I'm still relatively new to the sport.

I visited my local bike store and all they carry is trek and they recommended the trek cross rip 1. Any thoughts on the recommendation? I have also been looking online and have found a few bikes that I am interested in: jamis renegade exile, specialized diverge A1, giant revolt 3, giant anyroad 2, and raleigh merit 2. Does anyone have any thoughts on these bikes or things I should be aware of?

The Crossrip and Diverge are drop-bar adventure bikes. Are you okay with a drop-bar?

Yes I am comfortable with them.

Then it becomes the loosely labeled 'Cross Bike' having drop bars mid sized 700c wheels

US 'hybrid' is straight bars sharing the features of wheels and brakes with cross and touring bikes..

That looks like a fine bike. The issues I would have with it are 1) I prefer wider tires and 2) I would like lower gearing. But that's just my preferences, I'm not very concerned with going fast.

If I was going to spend half my time on gravel I wouldn't want to run 32mm tires. Fatter, like 50mm will give you a lot more traction and with a lower pressure you actually get more speed out of tires on rough surfaces.

I have a GT Eightball. Basically a flat urban rig converted into an adventure bike. It can take up to 42 c tires.

Basically, you want a bike that can go anywhere. A rigid 29er or 27.5 is also a good option.

this fall I thought I would do the same but it wasn't until I started looking for places to ride that I figured out what exactly I'd be riding on. can you get a more precise idea of where you'll be riding before you commit to a purchase? any chance you would try out something preowned?

I do know what I would be riding on rough and smooth pavement, and then crushed gravel and decently kept up gravel roads. I would be willing to try preowned.

why is your Specialized Crossroads Cruz not suitable?

It is, I would just prefer a drop bar bike.

These bikes may fit your needs:

Gravel & All-road Bikes - BIKEPACKING.com

Well sh.. son, that would be pretty maintaining those speeds. Realistically, unless you are some kind of "Soldier" aka Kurt Russel movie, these kind of speeds would be,... difficult. Unless of course you go with an e-bike. For instance, on an all out give er' sh.. ride of 18km I'd average 25kmh. Which is 15.53Mph. At the end of it my wife would need to resuscitate me with a cold beer.

EDIT: The above is based on a road/gravel/mud/road/hills/downhills ride on a hybrid.

In terms of bikes, then in all honesty any gravel or decent hybrid will do what you want it to do. I'm a big Giant fan, not going to hide that fact, but, their Toughroad is pretty decent, actually, Cannondale's Quick series are pretty looking machines too. It depends what you like, what fits and most importantly what suits in your budget.

EDIT: I have found drop bars when riding gravel to be twitchy and awkward. Friend of mine has a gravel bike and I prefer my modified hybrid with flat bars for anything off road. It has better leverage and stability. Personal thing, just thought I'd add.

Thank you for the advice it is very appreciated! So, is there a way to get a more comfortable ride position on flat bars for longer distances?

http://www.marinbikes.com/ca/bikes/d...6-four-corners
This sounds like where you want to go eventually.

Take a look at a similar offering by Trek. But I would much prefer the shifters and tires on the Marin.
520 Disc | Trek Bikes
Only brought to your attention, sounds like what you are looking for. Most offer something to compete. After all it is a sales game.

Hope this helps,

-Snuts-

The advantage of drop bars is not that they have a more comfortable position, but they have multiple positions to rotate through to stay fresh. For a flat bar you can add bar ends like used to be common on MTBs, which give an extra position or two, depending on length.

Another option that a lot of folks dig for touring and trekking is 'butterfly' bars:
https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...&category=1678
which generally preserve the riding position of the original flat bars but give many hand positions. There are many types. The link is just the first example I found.

Finally, for long stretches of road riding, many people find clip-on aero bars are comfortable and fast (aero):
https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...00&category=43. Again, many types. Link as an example.

Not so much. A good fit that is developed over a few rides works well. Having large hands I purchased the Ergon GP2 grips. They have a stubby bar end that you can have a couple of holds on but the grips themselves have eliminated the majority of discomfort on longer rides. I did recently get an FSA Carbon flat bar which I'm told will help obsorb additional vibrations that cause discomfort. We shall see. Like others said you can also get aero type bars and you could even mount bar ends closer to the stem for additional positions. But, a good fit usually works.

List of bikes:
http://www.cyclingabout.com/complete...re-road-bikes/