Originally Posted by
rumrunn6
I went through a migration from MTB with knobby tires, to slicks and bolt on drop bars, then a dumb hybrid and roadified that bike too with drop bars, saddle and high press road tires. if the OP is even thinking about what width tire is faster then he needs a road bike. that old 10-speed should do fine. the difference between this or that slick tire on an MTB is meaningless compared to switching to a road bike. if you want to ride trails use your MTB. if you want to travel a distance on the road and be efficient use a road bike. that's all I'm saying. I'm trying to save the OP the ignorant moves I made using precious time and money. don't get me wrong though I love biking all kinds of bikes but when it comes to commmuting I know which of my 4 bikes to use. I use a different one for paved trail rides with my teenage kids. my MTB is quite versatile and comfortable on dirt; snow; paved trails and even yes, the road. I have 3 sets of tires for it, but for commuting I use my road bike.
I generally agree that bicyles that are made for road use are generally more efficient. However, a well-equipped mountain bike works quite well for commuting, and the OP can accommodate this with $100-150 max outlay on his existing bike.
I've commuted on road racing bicycles, cafe cruisers (up to 26 miles RT), mountain bikes (with slicks), and urban-specific commuting bikes. I can honestly say there is not much difference between them in real world conditions (weather, traffic, lights, etc), and in several instances, my mountain bikes were better suited for the role. I used my mountain bikes on routes up to 22 miles RT and they were great. Nice slick tires, lock out the fork, good to go. I frequently passed roadies.
Of the bikes, my "road bikes" - as in road racing bicycles - were the worst for commuting. They lacked the utility and comfort/control in the day-to-day road conditions encountered on my commutes. I would occasionally take my road bikes - typically on a friday - when I had little to no load and could take a longer, more road bike friendly route.
If my commute were rural in nature or very long, I would think a "club racer" or Randonneur / touring bike would be best suited for that duty.
The only way I could see using a "road bike" for a daily commute would be with a minimal (if any) backpack load on really good roads, and as part of a training regime for racing. Otherwise, why bother with the less than optimal positioning on a racing machine?
I think the OP is on the right track with some simple, affordable modifications to a bicycle he already owns. At some point in the future he may decide to spring for a Surly or Rivindell, or Civia, etc........ or not.