Originally Posted by
wunderkind
I too am curious if it is worth converting my current MTB into a more paved road efficient machine. What I am more interested about is the ROI and the laws of diminishing returns. What would be the best bang for the buck (apart from getting fit .... am working on that!) to get an MTB to be faster on roads?
Depends on how your bike is currently configured. If you have knobby tires, that is far and away the best bang for the buck you can get. If you have a suspension seatpost, I'd say that's the next best change you can make. You don't want to waste energy compressing your seatpost.
If you have a suspension for with lock-out capabilities, locking it out is a free upgrade. If not, a rigid fork will spare you some wasted energy. Regardless of lockout, suspension forks are crazy heavy and even a cheapo rigid fork like the one Nashbar is selling for $60 right now would probably save you a pound or two.
Finally, if you aren't using them yet, consider clipless pedals. They're more of an investment (shoes + pedals), but you can move them to whatever bike you have.
BTW, all of the above is the standard stuff you'd find with the search feature. Personally, I don't mind repeating it, because I for one am here to talk bikes.
I am a big fan of switching to a cassette with road gearing (12-25, for instance) because you rarely need a 32t gear when commuting and having tight gear spacing makes the bike noticeably more efficient. I'd probably rate this right after the tires, but a lot of people disagree with me.