Mountain Biking - Mountain bike & the road ?

Im a rodie that tried out a friend's Warp. The thing actually had a computer on it and I was supprised how fast I got it to go on the street when I hammered on it. Maybe something like a Giant NRS2 could keep up with a road bike? Thinking of getting one just cause of the versibility and it was REALLY fun to cut across the street, go up over the curb, and another, the grass, and etc.....real fun! a real blast! Never happen on a road bike.I think I could really get into this. Just wondered how fast one could expect something better like the NRS to go on the street with the combination type tire .???

I don't ride full suspension bikes, but from what I've heard, they can never be as efficient as a hardtail. That said, I think you can go even faster if you try out on a hardtail mountain bike. The reason why they're so fast compared to roadies is that their wheel diameter is smaller, therefore they have better acceleration. I'm guessing you might experience the same thing if you ride a roadie with 650c wheels.

Check out a cyclocross bike, sounds like it would be right up your alley.

for riding on road/street (urban commuting or whatever) definetly a hardtail. put on some road tires (some tread, not completely slick, 1.9 or so width) a good suspension fork to fight potholes.
a good drivetrain(xt is light)...you can have an under 30lb mountain bike that will fly on the road and you can take curb jumps and catch air, etc.

You'll never be as fast as a road bike, unless you modify the mtn bike to the point where you can't do the things you've described (jumping curbs..etc.) Since disc brakes have evolved and are now so popular, a lot of people are lacing 650c rims to mtn hubs and using them on their mtn bikes. These bikes are FAST! but you sacrifice durability.

L8R

If you really want a FS bike for those weekend outings, you can always go with a rear shock w/ lockout.

cross bike!!!!

oOOooOO.....they look so cool!

then you can run a single up front with a bash guard and be the envy of everyone on the block.