Originally Posted by el nicho

Question for those of you that venture off the paved road:

I bought a road bike last summer and can't wait for the weather to warm up a little more to get off the trainer and back outdoors. I live in an area with a lot of gravel roads and there are a few gravel road races in town as well. Obviously, I dont want or plan to take my road bike on gravel, and while I do own a mountain bike...it is very old and I'm leaving that for putzing around on trails.

So what is my best option for gravel riding? A 29'er with non aggressive tires? Cyclocross? Road bike with cyclocross tires?

Any specific bike suggestions? This would be a secondary bike so I don't want to drop a ton of cash on it...but open to any ideas.