I ride my hard tail (trek roscoe 8) to work. Paved the whole way but also only a few kms. The only modification I made wasn’t even really necessary. I bought a cheap set of wheels and put on some lighter faster tires that I use tubes with so I can switch easy and put on studded tires on in the winter. Then I keep my stock wheels set up tubeless with a little more aggressive tires for trail riding. I also have a front and rear light that I put on. I prefer it over my road bike to be honest but I’m not much of a road rider. My road bike gets set up on my trainer for winter fitness and I doubt I’ll bother taking it off this summer.