Falling in love with "do it all" bikes

Thin walled steel frames, 700c wheels with 28c tires, narrow handlebars and racy geometry: this fragment about sums up the first 5 years of my cycling as well as a portion of the last 5.  In the pursuit to ride more rugged road and choose different lines throughout the city's inconsistency I began riding fat(er) tired bikes in 2013 and have been an avid all around cyclist ever since.  With a fondness for road, mountain, BMX and cyclocross I have become influenced by and incorporated a wide spectrum of cycling styles into my riding.  Being able to jump on a single bike and do most things was massively attractive to me in the quest to have more unhindered fun.  For some time now I have been infatuated with the idea of making the most out of bicycle builds by utilizing a jack of all trades style mentality; even while riding dedicated road or mountain bikes up until recently.  Simply put; to be capable of tackling a little bit of everything is what characterizes a well rounded bicycle in my eyes.  So here I am today, disenchanted almost entirely with the myriad bicycle genres that seem to do a great job of limiting our cycling experience by being so heavily refined.

You cant get something for nothing 

Road bikes are fun, fast, light weight and super nimble.  They can allow you to travel vast distances with relatively little effort and are great at what it is they are designed to do; ride well on solid road surfaces.  From super clean tarmac to ultra rough pave, the road bike has its place and has indeed proven itself time and time again by granting riders the ability to traverse great lengths quickly; but at a cost of course. The road bike boasts its short chain stays, narrow bars, aggressive geometry, high gearing, and ultra light weight with no attention paid to what it sacrifices in the process: durability, suspension, comfort, poor low speed handling and inadequate gearing for sustained hills are the first that come to mind.  Though the road bike is wonderful and important, it is certainly not for everyone in having its limits.

Four different ways of saying that these bikes are all more or less the same.
Drop bars, 700c wheels, similar tire sizes, brake hoods, high gearing for speed, and
thin walled carbon, aluminum or steel frames with very similar geometry.

Mountain bikes are conversely outstanding and fun while embodying the opposite end of the aforementioned spectrum.  Super relaxed geometry, suspension forks and shocks, mega beefy frame construction (usually), soft compound tires with super tall and widely spaced knobs and ultra wide handlebars dictate the rugged, "off road only" nature of the modern mountain bike.  Though very effective in its elements, such bikes lack massively the moment a ride hits hard packed surfaces or tarmac.

Compromise is seemingly non existent these days within bicycles genres, granting little in terms of diversification.  Very particular goals are met by honing in on very specific attributes that constitute these niches, constricting the consumer into the purchase of a dedicated one-trick-pony.

I wanted it all, but couldn't have it

You want speed; get a road bike.  You want to ride trail; get a suspension mountain bike.  You want to ride gravel and hard pack roads; get a cyclocross bike.  You want to move around fluidly in the urban landscape; get a hybrid/city bike.  These are just the vague big categories of bicycles that most fill in the blank bike shops will carry and try to sell you. Curious as to where this is supposed to leave you, me and the next person as we lead to believe that every one of us should own at least 4 bicycles for each individual cycling related task.  Can most of us even set aside enough time to ride these bikes in a way that truly rationalizes such mentality?  Is it really incomprehensible to try and incorporate a crossover into our riding habits so as to save time, resources and money?  The answer varies massively depending on who you ask.  Big box bike industry will sell you a new bike for every style of riding at every opportunity like a shark seeking blood in water.  Though it is indeed hard to reinvent the wheel, it is easy to reinvent image and redundancy.  Taking an old concept and wrapping it up in new clothing has ultimately been the monetary saving grace of the bicycle industry for what is in my opinion the entirety of the 2000's and prior.  To see it for what it is will simultaneously hear the silent alarm of B.S.

Here is a bike that can do a bit of everything.  All day comfort for mortals: check.  Sensible gearing for the steepness
 factor: check.  Big kushy tires for suspension and a wide footprint when the terrain gets loose: check.   
Racks to move something other than your body: Check.