Originally posted by annie
Just my opinion, but I wouldn't ride my good road bike on a non-paved crushed limestone trail. It's safe enough. Road tires can handle that type of trail. But it does bad things to your bike components....... all that gritty gravel dust gets embedded in all the little tiny parts and you cannot get it out without disassembling the bike! The grit grinds and grinds on everything. I could not do that to a good, new bike. Especially if you have another option. Just think, if you keep riding the hybrid on the trails, how FAST and smooth the road bike will feel when you get out on the roads! Of course you want to ride the new one. Hopefully you will be able to find some routes on the road that you will enjoy and feel comfortable doing. (Look for those hills! )
other than the stability of the ride taking a road bike on to nonpaved, I really question this. You think mountain bikes don't get dirt, crud, grit and dust into thier components? Maybe the bearings are designed to take it a little better, I dont' know. (mabybe I"m way off base here???) I sure see a lot of folks around here taking thier road bikes on the rail trails which are crushed gravel, dirt, ballast and other fun stuff. Sometimes they just put a little wider tire on the bike.

Irulan