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Fair points. I play with different wheelsets as well on this bike. Here’s a photo from a few days ago on 700c x 42mm tires, trying out dirt drops. It handles OK this way, but not as well as on the 650b tires. With 700c x 28mm it feels quick enough.
I hadn’t considered the issue of heart rate, but I can’t help but wonder if I had an XC hardtail set up for an aggressive position(like the beach racer types), if I could get a similar result to when I ride this bike.
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dadbike
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I guess this is where the amorphous nature of "gravel" bike design comes in, because they can be so varied. My Hook EXT-C was essentially road geo with big tyres, so it was hilarious to take on trails. This thread has plenty of examples where its really v close to MTB with drops, or actually just is MTB with drops.
I have a new bike coming soon which subscribes more closely to the long toptube, short stem geo philosophy, but is built around my road fit. I will report back on how that pans out. Hopefully well as I really went over my pay grade on it.
jackbepablo
For me, the key to this is when there are inevitably sections of road to deal with when linking up trails. In my experience the riding position of my MTB encourages a different attitude towards riding, my heart rate avg will be lower every time. The same was true while I had a Surly Troll on loan, which kind of split the difference between my gravel bike and my hardtail. It was v neatly in the middle for times on my usual loop as well, which makes sense given it's rigid but flat bar I guess.
There's also the shout of using the same bike with different tyre/wheel options for different stuff, which is something I've done a lot personally.