Come to think of it, my Salsa Ti Fargo review in the Gear Guide issue of Overland Journal was somewhat couched as "One bike to rule them all."
At any rate, the Fargo and Dave's Gunner do straddle the middle of the extremes and as such offer a tremendous amount of versatility. Dave's assertion that the Gunner favors singletrack whereas the Fargo prefers gravel and the open road - is spot on. One of the challenges with technical riding on a Fargo is the lower BB. I just have to remind myself of that aspect when tackling techy sections, which I have to admit is super fun on a Fargo.
I just added a Rock Shox SID XX World Cup (carbon crown) 100mm suspension fork to my ti Fargo, but have yet to really rail on it off-road. I think that will greatly increase its singletrack chops. I really struggled with that decision as the new carbon fork on the Fargo is gorgeous and rides soooo nice. But, I want to explore more of the Fargo's singletrack potential.
With regard to the drop bars, they are really nothing like standard road drops. They have a serious flare-out that makes them as wide as most flat bars. For long rides those multiple hand positions are very nice and help extract the many personalities of the Fargo. On the road, I ride on the brake hoods and it feels like any other road-biased bike. On the singletrack I get in the drops (which are positioned quite high) or on the outer drops where the width helps me saw the bars on climbs. Moving around just breaks up the positions for greater all day comfort.
I will say this - technical descents get a little tricky on the drops as the brake reach is really only suitable for the drops which is not at the widest part of the bar. Takes some getting used to, and you do have to reign it in a bit, not a big deal for a bike designed for all-day rides with less aggressiveness.