All

Thank you all for your thoughtful comments. Just to bring it all together, this is what I believe is a good plan: * Wheels: Lighter wheels with better hubs. In fact, I'm thinking about going tubeless for various reasons including reduced weight, more shock absorption/higher range in psi settings. Take it from there. * Drivetrain: understood on the XT shifter...

Good question lucythefin. In all honesty, I simply like to tinker with things in general, and in doing so with this bike, I can end up with higher grade components. I have a hardtail from the 90s and back then, the difference between XT and Deore/LX was meaningful. Perhaps on a 3x9 drivetrain the XT vs Deore difference becomes more...