durability versus speed

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Off road is a bit too rought on the back side and not an enjoyable experience for me.I have always preffered the road bike but over the last few months I have traded the skinny touring bike for the heavy duty Gary Fisher.I have parted it out a bit with components from the Schwinn creating a sort of hybrid and given up lite weight for durability.Sacrificed speed for the ability to deal with pot holes or whatever else may be lurking ahead.
The All Terrain has become my ride of choice now.......My ride of choice on the road.As for the off road events,well thats something for the younger crowd in my opinion.:)

Time will tell but I made a similar decision recently buying my first bike. I will be riding primarily on hard surface roads but will occationally ride on hardpack dirt and gravel roads. I began looking at road bikes, then hybrids, and did not find exactly what I wanted. I ended up buying an upscale mountain bike. I had the dealer change out the tires and put some tires that are about half the width of the standard for the bike and slick on the top with grips on the sides. The bike handles the occational rock, pot hole, and ruff surface pretty well. I have found that I will also need to play with the casset as the gearing does not go high enough. I am happy so far with what I got, but I know I will never be as fast as a road bike.Mark