Can I use a cannondale v500 as a road bike?

i have a cannondale v500 bike. it is a mountain bike (it has mountain wheels and tires on it) i would like use it as a road bike. that means putting road wheels and tires on it? can that be done?

While you can't put road wheels on it, you can do what many other have done. Putting a set of narrow 26" high pressure slick road tires. That is a simple and economical way to give your bike a big boost in speed for the road.

Your bike will never be as efficient as a road bike but a couple guys in my club do this and can stay in the pack on rides. If you will still ride off road it's best to get a nice light set of MTB wheels so you can switch out wheels quickly. I do this for tooling around town, riding with the kids etc. even though I have a road bike too.

It depends on what you'll be using it for. If you are not out to win any races, then it would be perfectly acceptable to put some skinny tires on your 26 inch wheel. Ritchey makes Tom Slicks, which last time I checked can be as skinny as 1". You'd need new tubes at this point. You'll find quite a difference in rolling resistance.

If you're trying to get into road racing, you need a road bike, but don't worry too much about efficiency if you're just in it for fun.

No... there are a few reasons.

First, road wheels are larger diameter. Second, it will be very difficult to adjust the brakes to line up even if you could install the wheels. Next, the rear wheel spacing is wider than a road wheel and you can't just "squeeze" the frame over the axle. Finally, the bike is simply not designed to be efficient on the road.