Originally Posted by
wiscobadger
At this point I don't know. I plan to mostly ride on paved trails and roads, but I may encounter gravel at times. Would a straight up road bike be ok for this?
This is very much a "it depends" question. If you're riding on finely crushed gravel and don't mind a more sedate pace then you can do fine with 25mm or 28mm road tires. If you're on rougher paths (roots, mud, big gravel) then it stops working pretty quickly. The wider the tires you're running, the faster you can go off road. Going with disc brakes and picking a frame with more clearance keeps your options open.