Turning a mountain bike into road bike?

I converted a road frame into a flatbar bike this winter, so I'm very familiar with the issues. Switching between mtn and road styles will bea pain.

The first thing is mtn wheels are smaller in diame ter than road wheels. Rear mtn hubs are wider than road hubs. This means road wheels are not compatible with a mtn frame. Road wheels will not be compatible with a 29er frame if the rear dropout is 135 mm. The solution previously mentioned is get mtn bike slick tires.

The next challenge will be the handlebars. Older mtn bike stems are 25.4 mm, Older road stems are 26 mm. They are not compatible. New road and mtn bars are both 31.8 mm, so they can use the same stem. MTn trigger shifters will not slide onto a road bar. You will need to buy bar end shifters.

The mtn rear derailleur should accept a road cassette with the same number of cogs as the mtn cassette. A mtn rear derailleur will work with a road cassette; however, a road rear derailleur will not work with a mtn cassette.

Swapping out the mtn crank with a road crank poses the problem. The front derailleur curve may not match up very well with the chainrings. While doable, a triple front shifter will have to be tuned to a double road. It's not the cleanest shifting from inner ring to outer ring when the shifter want to put you on the middle ring.

If you luv doing bike mechanic work, this would be a challenging project. It was easier for me to fit some mtn bike parts to an old road frame. I had another bike to ride while I built up the flatbar bike.

This is the thing to do, to try and upgrade will leave you with a very poor "road" bike that you are going to be frustrated with. I added slicks to my mountain bike and was happy with it then bought a road bike when I decided I was really going to give the triathlon thing a serious go

I am doing my first tri in a month... a sprint.  I roaded my mountain bike

for $180, I got a lighter non stupid seat post, a tune up, road tires and tubes, and installation of all.

I live in Davis, CA... bike ville USA, so I feel like a total doucher, but I dont have $ a grand for a cheap road bike... I am watching craigslist...

I could in an hour switch to MTB tires and whatnot...    bars, as they said would be hard, the LBS guy said it wouldnt be comfortable due to the geometry of the mountain bike... and in the wind due to the weight of the bike in the first place....

but the road tires make a HUGE difference in rolling resistance...

Thanks for all the help everybody!  I think for now I'll just keep it simple.  I swapped my MTB tires over to skinnies, and the local bike shop said they'll put on some cheapo drop bars for 20 bucks.  The bars might not work out when it's all said and done, but it's worth a shot.  The problem with me is that although I will not be in the top 10 or anything (except in my age group), I am very competitive and strive to do my best with what I've got, in everything I do.  I can't afford an actual road bike this year, and probably not for a few years, so I was thinking I could cut some corners

So thanks for all your help! 

I have one more question.  When I lock out my shocks, they still squish down.  Is something wrong with them?  Also, when I adjust my preload, it doesn't seem to change anything.