Originally Posted by
cplager
If your riding on the roads, then putting slick (smooth) tires will make a huge difference.
One issue that your going to have problems with is the suspension. Cheap(er) suspension is hard to adjust and can be very lossy.
I highly recommend changing tires. Given the suspension, I wouldn't sink to much more money in the bike.
Pretty much sums up what I was thinking. What kind of terrain are you riding on during your long rides? Street, hardpack bike path, dirt, etc?
I have Michelin Pilot Sports on my old steel non suspended MTB. I went fat and pretty smooth for a good combo of silky ride and reasonably efficient. 26x2.0 size. They work well around town, much better than a knobby but you can still hit rough stuff and not worry about it.
I had some Michelin City series 26x1.5 ( I think they come in 1.4 nowadays but close enough ) that I had on that same bike before the 2.0s. Was a good tire and size if you want to do mostly pavement. I have 26x1.75 Conti somethinorothers on my Trek Transport.
Your bike is not going to be very efficient on the street by basic design. If you want to ride mostly road and bike path, urban stuff, I'd consider getting something more targeted at that kind of riding if efficiency is a concern.