Yesterday, as I was cruising on my mountain bike I had a thought what if someday I had like to convert my mountain bike into a road bike what changes, would I need to make and how will I get started with it well, for now, I am not going to do it but I did some research and I thought you may be thinking the same thing or you have already decided to do it in any case.
Yes, you can convert a mountain bike into a road bike but buying a new bike may save you a lot of money but if you had like to know more or go with it anyways here’s how.
Now you can or I think you just need some upgrades most probably you don’t need to change all parts altogether mainly mountain bikers just go with changing tires for commuting but yes you can change all the parts you need if you had like.
The difference between mountain bikes and road bikes sustains in their tires and complexity Most of the time riders want to convert their mountain bikes into road bikes the reason is that mountain bike designing is hard and firm and also it’s comfortable while riding through rough trails if the same bike is converted into a road bike it would be very beneficial for you. after riding through the offroad tracks when you enter into the country of coarse the speed of mountain bike becomes a little bit slower because of the big tires and the flat handlebars So these both bikes really does not match to each other on the basis of their trails/tracks.
can you convert mountain bike forks/shocks into road bike forks:
Yes, you can change the fork/shocks of a mountain bike into road bike forks it is not recommended though mountain bike forks provide a more comfy ride either way here’s how to do it.
Forks of the mountain bikes play an important role in jumpy places and riding through downhills while you standing on the pedals holding the handlebars. because these are flexible they do not cause any damage to the wrist and forearm of the riders but these are not much use on-road tracks. mountain bike forts have differed in their weights and types of forks. due to this weight, road bikes are faster than mountain bikes.
Make the fork free by opening the front brake caliper with the Allen wrench. Remove the front bolts of the stem body so that the fork apart itself from the handlebar.
Now open the bolts of the wheel and eject the tire wheel from the fork. Pick the road bike tire for wheel size exactly fitted into the rim if size smaller or larger pick another tire so that the size of both should be matched to each other if you are able to buy a new wheel it’s also good you have to buy wheel along with the new tire. pick a road bike fork and fix it from the tire wheel by tightening the bolts of the wheel also fixing the brakes with the fork and bringing the fork along with the tire back to the bike frame.
Can you equip road bike tires on a mountain bike :
Yes, you can equip road bike tires on a mountain bike it is fairly easier and doesn’t cost much either you can also do it yourself at home and you can swap them regularly as well. Here’s how.
It’s almost easier for the back wheel the method is the same as for the front wheel I have described above. open the bolts of the back wheel remove the back wheel along with the cassette when you put the new tire along with the wheel containing its own cassette/old cassette you don’t have to change the cassette just smoothly fix the tire in the back frame. Removing the back tire will not cause any trouble of dropping the chain and changing gears everything works fine in its place.
a common question that’s frequently asked can you replace a 29er with a 700c
you can replace 29er with 700c in case you don’t know they are the same diameter so you can easily replace them. tbh even I didn’t know it till yesterday myself till a friend told me. In case you are still having trouble you can always look for new hubs they are easily available.
Can you change/ add or remove gear ratio on a mountain bike :
Yes, you can change gear ratios as well you can increase or decrease gear ratio as well if there’s increased space and the cassette is moving around you can always use a spacer behind the cassette or change the hub.
Most riders use 34 front chain crank and 32 back gear ratios 34/32 for the straight inclined mountains on their mountain bikes the chain gear ratio describes in such a way that if you are using the higher front gear 52 then the back gear should be lower 11 and vice versa. To convert from mountain bike to chain bike you think about the gear ratio problem while riding on the road. While riding on a road bike you may need to speed up the road bike bring the back gear in the lowest cog and the front chain in the highest cog the ratio makes 52/11 for the very high speed running on your bike. Most of the time the riders do not use this ratio because it needs to pedal hard and it brings tiredness early.
You can apply the mountain bike crank chain and the cassette on your road bike because it does not matters you have to change just gear ratios for road speed.
on a lighter note, you can just use new tires with the same gears but if you had like to go all out you can remove extra cogs
Adjusting/replacing chain :
When you are done with the gears and you had like to reduce gears or increase them in both cases the length of the chain may as well change according to the gear ratios. all you need to do is to just pull some pitches out to make it short or in case you need a longer chain you can add more pitch respectively well both of these can be done with a chain tool.
How converting some parts may change your overall experience:
Well if you are thinking of converting one or two are parts you may feel the difference in the start for example tires.
How changing tires on a mountain bike can affect you :
well if you can tire on a mountain bike you swap them for road tires you will feel really light since mountain bike tires are heavy and you will feel little light in a while.
Also, mountain bikes have extra gears for steep climbs if you are thinking of changing them/reducing them you may be a bit slow on steeper climbs but you will be flying on the road though since most of the time you will be commuting and you will just need those lower gears.
Disadvantages of converting a mountain bike into a road bike:
I think you already know the answer to that but still, the most visible or most noticeable effect of converting would be you won’t be able to ride on trails anymore since road bike tires are not meant for that kind of heavy-duty riding
Another thing would be you will be exposed to pollution roads are filled with it and you are more exposed to it than anyone else also traffic as well.
Advantages of converting mountain bikes into road bikes:
For starters you will be riding a lot faster and a lot lighter as well, you will be burning more calories and road biking is more efficient for cardio exercise and also you can still enjoy long rides on your newly converted bike it may feel a lot easier to ride as well.
Pro tip
As far as riding is concerned according to my advice it should be better for you that in the start you can convert the tires and cassette of the mountain bike into the road bike after the setup changed that would be the first of your ride on-road bike you can check your first experience whether you are satisfied on the road bike after that you can go toward the further changings.
Conclusion
You can make a hybrid from a mountain bike with suspensions in place and change tires only or you could go all out and change everything as well all the steps mentioned above will help you in that purpose
I didn’t talk about the frame in my post since it’s just useless if you had like to even change the frame as well you might as well buy a road bike altogether since it will cost a lot less that way.
But still, you can do whatever you want surely you have been riding for some time now and you know your ride better than I do and you know what best interests you so go for it good luck.
If you still have some queries left or lingering questions you can always ask them in the comment section below and I would be more than happy to answer them for you
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