If you are planning to convert a mountain bike into a road bike then you are at the right place. In this article, we will discuss in detail how you can convert your mountain bike into a road bike. Mountain bikes are famous for their strength, durability, and their performance over rough terrain.
You may be living in such areas that have mixed trails. Mountain bikes perform well on rough trails but these bikes are not efficient on the paved surface don’t worry we will tell you about some easy changes that you can make to your mountain bike to make it efficient on city roads. Converting a mountain into a road bike can be difficult, as you have to remove and swap a lot of its components.
Before we discuss the changes that you can make to your mountain bike. Let’s take a look at the things that you should consider before converting your mountain bike into a road bike.
Budget
To convert your mountain bike into a road bike you need to replace some of its components like the handlebar, tires, seat, gears, etc. You have to buy all these components. you need some specific tools to properly install all these components.
If you don’t have an installation tool kit then you have to buy one and if you don’t want to buy an installation tool kit then you can visit the nearby cycle mechanic shop to get the installation job done for you. So before starting to convert your mountain bike into a road bike make sure that you have a sufficient budget.
Component compatibility
Before buying any components you must check their size and width. Check whether the components that you are buying a compatible with your mountain bike version. Otherwise, you will end up buying an incompatible component. These incompatible components can exhaust your budget.
You are converting your MTB into a road bike to save some money that you would spend on buying a new road bike. If you ignore the component compatibility then your bicycle converting cost might exceed the cost of a new road bike. In such case, the purpose of converting your mountain bike into a road bike will fail.
Weight
If you have used ridden a road bike then you probably have noticed the weight difference between both bikes. Road bikes have fewer components, and the frame of the road bike is thin and light in weight and because of that road bikes are light in weight.
This lightweight feature makes a road bike more efficient than a mountain bike on a paved surface. So to make your mountain bike efficient for city roads or paved surfaces you have to remove unneeded components from your mountain bike to make it lighter.
Purpose
Before converting your mountain bike into a road bike you should consider why you want to convert your MTB into a road bike whether you want to use it for long commutes, or just want to make it suitable for paved surfaces. By understanding the purpose of converting your MTB into a road bike you can easily identify the required modification that you need to make into your MTB so it can satisfy the purpose modification.
Check Cycle condition
Before converting your mountain bike into a road bike you should check the condition of your MTB cycle. If your MTB cycle is not very old then its components might be in good condition, converting such bikes into road bikes can be cost-effective but if the current condition of your MTB cycle is not good and if most of its components are worn out then converting such MTB cycles into a road bike can be a bad option, then in such case it will be better to a buy a new road bike.
Expertise
Converting a mountain bike into a road bike requires technical abilities which many of you may not have, so you will need to seek the help of a professional mechanic who can replace the MTB components with the purchased road bike components. Hiring a professional mechanic can also let you save the purchased road bike components from the damage that can be caused if not handled correctly.
Time and effort
Converting an MTB bike into a road bike is not easy, you have to put in both time and effort. So before converting your MTB into a road bike whether you’re willing to invest the time and effort required to make the necessary modifications.
What are the changes that you can make to a mountain bike to convert it into a road bike?
Here are the following changes that you can make to your MTB cycle to convert it into a road bike.
Swap MTB tires with road-friendly tires
Mountain bikes are specially designed to handle heavy sudden impacts, MTB bikes are capable of handling heavy impacts without going through and wear & tear, and because of that these cycles are the safest bike that you can buy for cruising through the streets.
Mountain bikes are road bikes both have different designs, both bicycles are designed to perform better in their dedicated environment. So before using your mountain bike for street cycling you need to make some adjustments for improved performance.
Mountain cycles are equipped with wide MTB tires which are designed to provide better grip and traction during off-road cycling but on paved surfaces due to high grip, you have to pedal with a higher intensity which can tire you.
To improve your cycling performance you have to swap the mtb tires with road-friendly tires. Using thinner tires for a mountain bike will reduce the pedaling intensity and will make your MTB cycle suitable for long commutes.
Suspension
Unpaved paths can be filled with bumps, stone, dirt, tree roots, or many other obstacles, riding a bicycle can be brutal for your body if it doesn’t have proper suspension which is why MTB cycles are equipped with high-quality suspension. This suspension absorbs most of the impact and helps you in getting a smooth ride on uneven surfaces.
If you ride a bicycle on an unpaved surface that doesn’t have proper suspension then most of the impact will be soaked up by your body which can discomfort you or even throw you off your bike. But these suspensions are of no use when you use your MTB cycle on normal roads, if the equipped suspension has a lockout suspension feature then you can turn your suspension bike into a rigid bike when not needed.
But if your bike doesn’t have a lockout suspension feature then you have to remove your suspension or you can stiffen your suspension by increasing the air pressure.
Handlebar
Mountain bikes are equipped with flat or riser handlebars, which allow users to maintain an upright riding position. A flat handlebar offers a better grip and more control over the cycle when riding on rough terrains, flat handlebars allow users to make quick turns and adjust their position accordingly.
Flat handlebars offer you a comfortable riding position, better grip, and better control over the cycle but flat handlebars are only ideal for shorter rides.
On the other hand, Road bikes are equipped with a drop handlebar, Drop handlebar offers a more aerodynamic cycling position so that the rider can ride longer distances without getting tired. More aerodynamic positions help the cyclist to maintain a higher speed.
Gears
Mountain bikes have lower gear ratios than road bikes, these wide ranges of gears give mountain bikes the ability to climb steep hills and navigate rough terrains. while gears given in road bikes are optimized for speed and efficiency on a smooth or flat surface. Road bike gears allow riders to cover long distances more efficiently at much higher speeds.
what are the benefits of converting a mountain bike into a Road bike?
There are several benefits of converting a mountain bike into a road bike-
Improved speed-
Mountain bikes are equipped with wide knobby tires, these tires have aggressive tread. These aggressive treads dig deep into the gravel path, sand, or loose and provide you better grip and traction but these tires are only suitable for off-road cycling. Because of these wide knobby tires, MTB cycles are harder to pedal in comparison to road bikes. If you planning to ride a mountain bike on road then it would be better if you replace these wide tires with road-friendly tires. These narrow tires will help you in achieving faster speed on city roads.
Increase efficiency
If you observe the pedaling efficiency of both bikes then you will find out that pedaling a road bike is much easier in comparison to a mountain bike. This is because of their different tire size. Tires of the mountain bikes are thicker than road bike tires. Wide tires have much larger areas that remain in contact with the ground and because of that contact rolling resistance increases. You have to pedal with much higher intensity to overcome that rolling resistance. Replacing MTB tires with road bike tires minimizes rolling resistance and because of low rolling resistance pedaling efficiency increases. This way you can save energy and can ride longer distances with less effort.
Low Maintainance
Mountains are specially designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bike components are designed to handle heavy impact. Mountain bike components possess much higher strength in comparison to road bikes. When you use a mountain bike for exploring a city, there are no obstacles on city roads that can cause damage to MTB parts. For this reason, the maintenance cost associated with the mountain bikes that are used on roads is very low in comparison to MTBs that are used for mountain climbing.
Better handling
You may have noticed that mountain bikes are heavier than road bikes or hybrid bikes as these bikes are equipped with suspension and heavy gears because of these components weight of your mountain bike increases. Both of these components are of no use when you use a mountain bike on road. So when you remove these unnecessary components from your mountain bike, the weight of your mountain bike decreases. This reduced weight makes it easier for a user to handle it on immediate turns.
Greater Versatility
You will get dual benefits when you convert your mountain bike into a road bike as you can ride your mountain bike on both off-road and on-road terrain. Converting a mountain bike into a road bike can be a great option for those who a living in such an area that has both types of terrain that is trails and roads.